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2.3.4 Examples of Low-Cost their connections to rail and highway transportation modes
Rail Improvements and system. MTS includes 361 public and private deepwater
and intercoastal waterway ports and over 24,000 miles of
The following are some examples of improvements that inland and coastal navigable waterways (28). There are about
could be classified as low-cost and quickly implementable and 70 deep-draft port areas along the U.S. coasts (31). Within
that have positive impacts on freight mobility. Even though these ports there are about 2,000 major terminals that are
these projects are not specifically classified as such, the cost, in mostly privately owned and operated (32). While deep sea
relative terms, and the period of implementation would sat- routes are the primary means of moving international freight,
isfy the requirements of such a definition. the rivers, coastal, and Great Lakes waterways are equally
important means of moving domestic freight and for provid-
· Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Effi-
ing outbound feeder traffic for international shipping (33).
ciency Program (CREATE) Project EW-4: BRC/NS Signal
Upgrade--This project involved upgrading the Belt Rail-
way Company of Chicago (BRC) and Norfolk Southern 2.4.2 System Capacity
(NS) signal systems to power switches and signals along a Knatz (34) noted that port capacity has two important dimen-
segment of track. The result of this improvement is that sions: the short-term capability to respond to interruptions
average train speeds increased from 10 to 20 miles per in the supply chain and the ultimate capacity to handle the
hour. The bottleneck at this location is now significantly nation's long-range forecasts of trade. GAO (35) also observed
alleviated as this segment can handle twice the number of that the U.S. maritime freight transportation system primarily
trains, an increase from 23 to 46 freight trains per day (29). consists of waterways, ports, the intermodal connections (i.e.,
· Improve Passing Siding: West Durban, North Carolina-- inland rail and roadways) that permit freight to reach maritime
Upgraded and extended the passing siding track in West facilities, and the vessels and the vehicles that move cargo within
Durban from 6,500 feet to more than 9,000 feet. Realigned the system. The marine infrastructure is owned and operated
track to straighten curve to increase speed from 45 mph to by an aggregation of state and local agencies and private com-
65 mph and accommodate two tracks. Constructed a total panies with some Federal funding. International freight is an
of 12,500 feet of new track. The existing track became the important aspect of the U.S. economy. The U.S. surface and
new siding. No. 20 turnouts were installed to allow all trains maritime transportation systems facilitate mobility through
to travel faster through the siding. The cost was $3.6 mil- an extensive network of infrastructure and operators as well as
lion. Extending the siding improved capacity and reliability through the vehicles and vessels that permit passengers and
of service and saved 30 seconds of travel time per train (30). freight to move within the systems.
· Install Traffic Control System, North Carolina--A new The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) (28) noted
centralized train traffic control system was installed between that as larger ships put increased pressure on ports, greater
Greensboro and Cary, North Carolina, to automate train container volumes and customer expectations would require
dispatching, improve rail capacity, and increase train speeds an effective, efficient, and integrated total transportation sys-
from 59 mph to 79 mph. Cost was $8 million. The result is tem. For inland waterways, there is sufficient capacity, although
improved traffic flow and reliability allowing trains to oper- congestion is increasing at small, aging, and increasingly unre-
ate at a maximum speed of 79 mph saving 5 minutes of liable locks.
travel time per train (30). Port terminals function as nodal points within MTS with the
basic function of transferring and storing freight. Le-Griffin
and Murphy (36) noted that as the demand for international
2.4 Water Ports and
trade and global logistic services continues to increase, port
Inland Waterways
capacity can be expanded by improving productivity and
This section presents a synthesis of published information operational efficiency of terminal facilities.
on freight mobility issues regarding freight transportation
through the sea ports, inland waterways, Great Lakes, and
2.4.3 Performance Indicators
intercoastal waterways.
Ports are dissimilar and even within a single port the current
or potential activities can be broad in scope and nature, so that
2.4.1 Marine Transportation System
the choice of measure of performance can be difficult. There is
The marine transportation system (MTS) is defined to no acceptable standard method of measuring performance that
include interrelated components of the national transporta- is applicable to every port (37). Inconsistencies in performance
tion system, such as shipping, ports, inland waterways, and data make it difficult to compare operational efficiencies of U.S.
