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By IPI President, Tom Giovanetti
We do a number of work right here at IPI on the significance of innovation and know-how. However when you concentrate on innovation and know-how, odds are you don’t take into consideration . . . freight rail.
However it shouldn’t be a shock to be taught that innovation by know-how is occurring in each sector of trade, together with the freight rail trade.
Innovation makes firms and industries sooner, extra environment friendly, safer, and thus extra productive. And with all of the emphasis on our provide chain difficulties proper now, who wouldn’t need the freight rail trade to be as productive as doable?
In truth, the U.S. authorities just lately appropriated $1.2 trillion {dollars} to restore, enhance and modernize our supposedly “crumbling” infrastructure. So between this large dedication of taxpayer funds and our renewed consciousness of the significance of our provide chains, shouldn’t the federal government be encouraging innovation and effectivity in our freight rail system?
You’d suppose so, however you’d be improper. The Federal Railroad Administration (you knew there was a Federal Railroad Administration, didn’t you?) is inexplicably opposing rail innovation and modernization on a number of fronts.
A brand new security know-how that inspects railroad monitor can detect defects and geometry issues that the human eye can’t detect. This know-how has been used efficiently by virtually the entire main freight rail firms, however just lately the FRA has begun denying permits to proceed the know-how or to deploy it on new routes.
What’s modified? Nicely, the opposition is a labor union—the Brotherhood of Upkeep of Method—and the Biden administration is blatantly placing the calls for of labor unions forward of innovation, know-how, effectivity and productiveness.
And in an period when self-driving automobiles and vans are being efficiently examined on roads and highways throughout America, the FRA can also be insisting on minimal crew sizes which are now not mandatory given fashionable management know-how and ongoing innovation. Once more, that is little greater than a union safety coverage, and it cuts instantly towards productiveness and effectivity positive factors from innovation.
Innovation has allowed the freight rail trade to efficiently cut back crew sizes for many years, and with out making trains any much less protected. Nonetheless, the federal authorities stands against permitting our crucial rail infrastructure to implement confirmed applied sciences that make them extra environment friendly and productive.
“It’s 2022. Why don’t we have now flying automobiles and jetpacks?” A minimum of one cause could also be that authorities regulators prize defending their political constituencies above realizing all the advantages and positive factors to shoppers that consequence from encouraging and implementing know-how and innovation.
Immediately’s TechByte was written by IPI President, Tom Giovanetti.
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