Economic Impact Analysis of Short Line Railroads : Research Project Capsule

Research project capsule.PDFBooklet/Pamphlet13-6SSEconomic impactsShort line railroadsLouisianaLouisiana Transportation Research CenterLouisiana Transportation Research CenterNTL-ECONOMICS AND FINANCE-Economic ImpactsNTL-RAIL TRANSPORTATION-Rail Economics and FinanceUS Transportation CollectionRail transportation is of vitalimportance to the state ofLouisiana and is a keycomponent of the state\ue2\u20ac\u2122sbusiness infrastructure, supporting agricultural, petroleum, chemical, and manufacturingindustries across the state. Short line (Class III) rail is defi ned as rail operations withrevenues of $31.9 million or less and those handling terminal and switching operations.Short line rail operations function in tandem with larger regional (Class II) and national(Class I) rail operations. Class III rail operations are generally responsible for movingcommodities from manufacturing sites to interchange points with Class I rail operationswhere they can be transported to transnational locations. While not as large as ClassI and II operators, Class III operators play a crucial role in ensuring that goods andcommodities are both shipped and received in a timely fashion