The slow pace of trains in the U.S. can be maddening, particularly during delays on rail sidings for an hour or more to enable freight trains - which have the right-of-way - to pass.
Less revenue, more people, more freight, more gridlock - that is not a formula for success.
As we look at a future where we're going to have to double our freight capacity, how do you create a freight system that's integrated across the country when you have 50 different freight systems that are built one state at a time?
Beyond highways and roads, we need more money for mass transit, intercity passenger rail and freight rail. We have a long way to go to bridge the funding gaps.
Freight mobility and movement, while not a sexy policy issue, is a highly important one. Capacity constraints and congestion on our nation's freight rail system create many problems.
My grandfather and dad worked at General American Transportation Corp. in Chicago, a company that made tank cars and freight cars. We had a pragmatic, Republican, manufacturing, Illinois consciousness as far as employment went.
To me, writing an ongoing series feels like driving a freight train downhill. All you can do is steer and pray.
On issues carrying as much emotional freight as race - and there aren't many - a U.S. senator needs to speak with care and consistency. Otherwise, he could find people speaking at his own retirement tribute.
Admire a small ship, but put your freight in a large one; for the larger the load, the greater will be the profit upon profit.
No matter how much Bill Gates may claim otherwise, he missed the Internet, like a barreling freight train that he didn't hear or see coming.
