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The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has an ally in its opposition to rail industry “re-regulation” legislation.

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) recently defeated a resolution calling for railroad re-regulation. A committee on agriculture, environment and energy within NCSL — a bipartisan group comprising legislators from all states — proposed the resolution earlier this year.

The resolution was similar to the Railroad Competition and Service Improvement Act of 2007 (H.R. 2125/S. 953) and Railroad Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2007 (H.R. 1650/S. 772), which propose to amend federal antitrust laws to eliminate certain railroad exemptions and empower the Surface Transportation Board to suspend certain railroad actions.

“Legislation like this bill will kill railroad infrastructure investment,” said Rep. Sherman Packard (R-N.H.) in a prepared statement.

U.S. freight railroads have invested about $400 billion to maintain and improve infrastructure and equipment since The Staggers Act passed in 1980.

“Demand for freight rail is now at the highest level in history, and railroads will continue to spend billions over the next decade in order to expand capacity to meet this challenge,” said AAR President and Chief Executive Officer Edward Hamberger. “Efforts to re-regulate the nation’s railroads would hinder that investment, resulting in more traffic congestion on our already crowded highways.”