Investment in rail infrastructure (e.g. new or improved rail infrastructure, rail capacity improvements, or reactivation of former rail lines) and/or pipeline infrastructure along with roadway improvements might serve as an alternative approach to address freight transport needs in Texas shale energy regions.
The research will provide information to policy makers of potential costs and benefits to the state of pursuing such a strategy, evaluate the types of freight transportation needs within major shale development regions that might be served by alternate transportation modes, and examine environmental, safety, and operational benefits of shifting these loads off of the rural FM/RM roadway system.
Check back for a publication of this study to come out late August 2015. Read more about TTI’s research regarding energy development impact on transportation in the most recent issue of Researcher – Patching the Oil Patch: The Cost of Progress.