U.S. freight railways plan to spend an estimated USD 29 billion on the nation’s rail network, and project to hire about 15,000 people in 2015, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported in its 2015 Outlook . These high-paying jobs, and record private spending will further strengthen an essential transportation system that is today powering a U.S. economic comeback.
The planned USD 29 billion in projected spending in 2015 – or approximately USD 79 million a day – brings the freight railroads’ private investments to USD 575 billion since 1980. The spending has covered upgraded track, new locomotives and freight cars needed to meet growing demand and make a safe network even safer.
“By providing affordable, efficient and reliable transportation of goods, from lumber to oil to auto parts and grain, freight railroads continue to play a vital role in the positive economic trends rippling through the U.S. economy – including rising gross domestic product, improving employment statistics and plummeting gasoline and heating prices,” said AAR President and CEO Edward R. Hamberger.
photo: usa.streetsblog.org
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