RAIL to RICHES? * USA - Rising fuel costs may mean comeback for freight trains

Spiking diesel fuel prices have deflated trucking stocks and made road kill out of many a small motor carrier

Indianapolis,IN,USA -Indianapolis Business Journal -June 7, 2008: -- ... The rising price of diesel is poised to invigorate a mode of transportation that trucks nearly annihilated—the 40 freight railroads crisscrossing the state... The diesel-fueled locomotives that run on them have one giant advantage over the ordinary Freightliner or Kenworth: They’re commercial transportation’s version of the Toyota Prius hybrid... By coupling diesel engines to electric generators that power steel wheels, your run-of-the-mill diesel-electric locomotive is at least three times more fuel-efficient than a semi. One gallon of diesel can move a ton of freight an average of 436 miles, the Association of American Railroads is fond of touting... The trend clearly favors railroads if diesel prices remain high; they recently averaged $4.70 a gallon. That’s nearly $2 more per gallon than this time last year, or $570 more to fill a semi’s twin 150-gallon tanks. Trucking firms inevitably pass on all or part of that to their customers...