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Yesterday, the U.S. freight-rail industry marked the 30th anniversary of the Staggers Rail Act of 1980, a “watershed piece of legislation that revitalized the nation’s railroads and removed a century’s worth of excessive regulation,” according to the Association of American railroads (AAR).

Named after former Rep. Harley Staggers (D-W.Va.), who at the time chaired the House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee, and signed into law by former President Jimmy Carter on Oct. 14, 1980, the Staggers Act replaced a regulatory structure that had existed since the 1887 Interstate Commerce Act and deregulated the U.S. rail industry. Prior to 1980, government regulations inhibited rail competition, causing many railroads to go bankrupt and rail infrastructure to crumble, restraining rail investments and worsening the quality of rail service, AAR officials said in a prepared statement.

“Before the Staggers Act was passed, the future looked bleak. Today, freight rail is a driving force in the nation’s economy, supporting more than 1 million jobs and keeping American businesses competitive,” said AAR President and Chief Executive Officer Ed Hamberger.

The Staggers Act is credited with lowering average inflation-adjusted rail rates by 55 percent; improving rail safety and productivity; increasing rail marketshare; and returning financial stability to an industry that since 1980 has reinvested $460 billion back into its infrastructure, according to the AAR.