Transporte ferroviário nos Estados Unidos: diferenças entre revisões
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[[Imagem:Class1rr.png|thumb|right|250px|Mapa das [[Ferrovia Classe I|ferrovias Classe I]] na América do Norte]]
A '''rede ferroviária norte americana''' é a mais extensa do mundo com cerca de 226,612 mil quilômetros ([[2005]]) <ref>https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html</ref>. Suas ferrovias são divididas em 3 classes (de acordo com cotas de lucro anual criadas pelo [[Surface Transportation Board]]):
* [[Ferrovia Classe I]]: [[companhia ferroviária|companhias ferroviárias]] de grande porte. São as companhias que obtem uma receita operacional anual de US$ 250 milhões ou mais ,após terem sua margem de lucro corrigida pelo índice de preços do frete ferroviário, desenvolvido pelo [[Bureau of Labor Statistics]]. De acordo com a [[Association of American Railroads]] (AAR), as ferrovias classe I tinham transportado em [[2006]] um mínimo de receitas operacionais de US$ 346,8 milhões.
* [[Ferrovias Classe II]]: [[companhia ferroviária|companhias ferroviárias]] de médio porte. São as companhias que obtem uma receita operacional anual entre US$ 20,5 milhões e US$ 277,7 milhões por no mínimo três anos consecutivos. Ferrovias com tráfego e equipamentos compartilhados e terminais de carga não são considerados de classe II.
* [[Ferrovia Classe III]]: [[companhia ferroviária|companhias ferroviárias]] de pequeno porte. Segundo o Surface Transportation Board, são ferrovias que obtem uma receita operacional anual de é uma ferrovia com uma receita operacional anual de até US$ 20 milhões.
Apesar do transporte ferroviário ter nascido na [[Europa]], os [[Estados Unidos]] adotaram esse meio de transporte de tal forma que sua história se confunde com a história do país, principalmente entre a metade do [[século XIX]] até a metade do [[século XX]].
==História==
===1826-1850===
[[Imagem:B&O Railroad cornerstone.jpg|thumb|right|150px|O ex senador de [[Maryland]], [[Charles Carroll of Carrollton]] preside a cerimônia de lançamento da pedra fundamental do primeiro trecho da [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]], realizada em [[4 de julho]] de [[1829]].]]
A criação da primeira ferrovia do mundo na [[Inglaterra]] serviu de inspiração para os norte americanos iniciarem planos deconstrução de ferrovias. Naquela época o transporte de mercadorrias era feito por [[carroças]], [[muares]] e de forma [[Transporte hidroviário|fluvial]].
A ferrovia foi considerada o maior feito tecnológico estadunidense do [[século XIX]]. Ela serviu como uma ligação vital para o comércio e as viagens que conectou as metades oriental e ocidental ao fim do século XIX nos [[Estados Unidos]].
O estado de [[Massachusetts]] chegou a elaborar um plano de rede ferroviária em [[1829]],embora não tenha sido executada por falta de recursos. Essa falta de recursos do estado obrigou a criação de cartas de crédito e incentivos fiscais à iniciativa privada que acabou implantando a maior parte das ferrovias norte americanas. Com isso muitas companhias ferroviárias surgiram no páis, viabilizando a contrusção de uma imensa rede ferroviária no futuro.
A primeira companhia ferroviária dos Estados Unidos foi a [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]] (B & O), fundada em [[1827]] que inauguou seu primeiro trecho entre [[Baltimore]] e Ellicott's Mills (hoje chamada de [[Ellicott City]]) em [[24 de maio]] de [[1830]]. Posteriormente essa empresa levaria seus trilhos para a capital [[Washington D.C.]].
Após a B&O, surgiu a [[Boston and Providence Railroad]], fundada em [[1831]]para construir uma ferrovia entre [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]] e [[Providence]], [[Rhode Island]]que seria concluída em [[1835]];
Novas ferrovias surgiram para fortalecer o transporte intermodal hidrovia-ferrovia, principlamente no sul do páis, onde a crescente produção agrícola precisava ser escoada com cada vez mais rapidez.
Entre 1829 -1830 foi iniciada a construção da [[Tuscumbia-Courtland-Decatur Railroad]], primeira ferrovia construída a oeste dos [[Apalaches]]. Ligava duas cidades do [[Alabama]], [[Decatur]] e [[Tuscumbia]]. A [[Pontchartrain Rail-Road]], ferrovia de 8 km de extensão, ligava o [[Lago Pontchartrain]] ao [[Rio Mississipi]].
Como crescimento do transporte ferroviário, fusões e falências e emcampações de empresas ferroviárias se tornaram inevitáveis, formando grandes comporações ferroviárias.
Por exemplo, o [[Camden e Amboy Railroad]] (C & A), a primeira estrada de ferro construída em Nova Jersey, inaugrada em 1834, acabou sendo incorporado pela [[Pennsylvania Railroad]].
===1851-1900===
[[Imagem:Pioneers Crossing the Plains of Nebraska by C.C.A. Christensen.png|thumb|right|200px|Na metade do século XIX o transporte de mercadorias no oeste americano passou das diligências para as ferrovias.]]
[[Imagem:Railroad1860.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ferrovia norte americana em [[1860]].]]
{{ver artigo principal|[[Primeira Ferrovia Transcontinental]]}}
Nas décadas de 1850 e 1860 o sistema ferroviário norte americano viveu seu auge no século XIX. Naquela época construir ferrovias era o melhor negócio do pais, atraindo milhares de investidores privados.<ref>http://www.ftc.com.br/main/default.php?pg=2722DRlR4&dt=d1c2MXY2lGdv12bj9GTf</ref>
A [[Primeira Ferrovia Transcontinental]], aberta ao tráfego em [[10 de maio]] de [[1869]], com o "Prego de Ouro" ({{lang-en|''[[Golden Spike]]''}}) em [[Promontory (Utah)|Promontory, Utah]], a rota estabeleceu uma rede de transportes trancontinental mecanizado que revolucionou a população e a economia do [[Velho Oeste|Oeste Americano]].
{{em tradução}}
<!--
Authorized by the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 and heavily backed by the federal government, it was the culmination of a decades-long movement to build such a line and was one of the crowning achievements of the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, completed four years after his death. The building of the railroad required enormous feats of engineering and labor in the crossing of plains and high mountains by the Union Pacific Railroad and Central Pacific Railroad, the two federally chartered enterprises that built the line westward and eastward respectively. The building of the railroad was motivated in part to bind the Union together during the strife of the American Civil War. It substantially accelerated the populating of the West by white homesteaders, led to rapid cultivation of new farm lands. The Central Pacific and the Southern Pacific Railroad combined operations in 1870 and formally merged in 1885; the Union Pacific originally bought the Southern Pacific in 1901 and was forced to divest it in 1913, but finally took it over for good in 1996.
Many Canadian and United States railroads originally used various broad gauges, but most were converted to 4 ft 9 in (1,448 mm) by 1886, when the conversion of much of the southern rail network from 5 ft (1,524 mm) gauge took place, see Broad gauge#United States. This and the standardization of couplings and air brakes enabled the pooling and interchange of locomotives and rolling stock, see Rail gauge in North America.
The Railroad had its largest impact on the American transportation system during the second half of the 19th century. The conventional historical view has been that the railroads were indispensable to the development of a national market in the United States in the late 19th century. American economic historian Robert Fogel, however, disagrees. In his article entitled: "Railroads and American Economic Growth", Fogel imagines a world in 1890 in which the railroad had never been invented and instead considers a world in which the next best alternatives in transportation were able to develop, such as additional canals and resurfaced roads. He calculates that the railroad contributed to a ~7% increase in GNP when compared to a world without a railroad. Said differently: without the railroad, America's GNP would have been 7.2% less in 1890. While this is the largest contribution to GNP growth made by any single innovation before 1900, this percentage only represents 2–3 years of GNP growth, which is relatively small. The conclusion of Fogel's argument is that the railroads were important but not essential to late 19th century growth in the US. The railway would remain the dominant form of transportation until the invention and production of the automobile.
Fogel's specific hypothesis is that the primary effect of the invention of the railroad was the resulting social savings from converting from a system based in water and wagon transport to one which used railroads. Switching to railroads served as a means of reducing not only the cost but also the time of transportation, which had important subsequent opportunity cost implications as well. Fogel calculated railroads produced increased social savings of about 1.2% of the total GDP, noting the unique efficiency of the railroad lies in that it can be operated in any weather condition throughout the year. Specifically, one industry in which savings were significantly large was the shipping of agricultural commodities inter-regionally. Fogel calculates that the absence of the railroad would have "doubled the cost of shipping agricultural commodities inter-regionally." [7]
Much of the actual capital came from Europe—especially Britain and also Dutch and German banks, which purchased large blocks of shares. The Northern Pacific for example, originally financed by Jay Cooke (his bank failed after the Panic of 1873), might not have survived some of its many setbacks without the help of Deutsche Bank. DB held $20 million in NP bonds in 1883, and it was on the road's board until World War I.[8]
Much of the original right-of-way is still in use today and owned by the modern Union Pacific Railroad, which is descended from both of the original railroads. -->
{| align=center class="wikitable"
|+ '''Expansão da malha ferroviária por grupos ou estados'''<br><small>Source: [[Chauncey Depew]] (ed.), ''One Hundred Years of American Commerce 1795-1895'' p 111</small>
|-
!
! 1850
! 1860
! 1870
! 1880
! 1890
|-
| [[Nova Inglaterra]]
| 2,507
| 3,660
| 4,494
| 5,982
| 6,831
|-
| [[Região Centro-Oeste dos Estados Unidos da América|Meio Oeste]]
| 3,202
| 6,705
| 10,964
| 15,872
| 21,536
|-
| [[Região Sul dos Estados Unidos da América|Sul]]
| 2,036
| 8,838
| 11,192
| 14,778
| 29,209
|-
| [[Região Oeste dos Estados Unidos da América|Oeste e territórios]]
| 1,276
| 11,400
| 24,587
| 52,589
| 62,394
|-
| [[Pacific States e territórios]]
|
| 23
| 1,677
| 4,080
| 9,804
|-
! Totals
| 9,021
| 30,626
| 52,914
| 93,301
| 129,774
|}
<!-- ===1901-1970===
[[Image:Railroads of the United States in 1918 - Project Gutenberg eText 16960.png|thumb|right|Railroads of the United States in 1918.]]
[[Image:Santa Fe stopped at Cajon Siding, March 1943.jpg|thumb|A [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway|Santa Fe Railroad]] freight train pauses at Cajon, California, in March 1943 to cool its braking equipment after descending [[Cajon Pass]]. [[U.S. Route 66]] (a section that is now part of [[Interstate 15 in California|Interstate 15]]) is visible to the right of the train.]]
As early as the 1930s, automobile travel had begun to cut into the rail passenger market, somewhat reducing economies of scale, but it was the development of the [[Interstate Highway System]] and of [[commercial aviation]] in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as increasingly restrictive regulation, that dealt the most damaging blows to rail transportation, both passenger and freight. (But some also cite the [[Great American Streetcar Scandal]].) There was little point in operating passenger trains to advertise freight service when those who made decisions about freight shipping traveled by car and by air, and when the railroads' chief competitors for that market were interstate trucking companies. Soon, the only things keeping most passenger trains running were legal obligations. Meanwhile, companies who were interested in using railroads for profitable freight traffic were looking for ways to get out of those legal obligations, and it looked like intercity passenger rail service would soon become extinct in the United States beyond a few highly-populated corridors. The final blow for passenger trains in the U.S. came with the loss of [[railroad post office]]s in the 1960s, and on May 1, 1971, the federally funded bailout Amtrak took over (with a few exceptions) all intercity passenger rail service in the continental United States. The [[Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad|Rio Grande]], with its Denver-Ogden ''Rio Grande Zephyr'' and the Southern with its Washington, DC-New Orleans [[Crescent (Amtrak)|''Southern Crescent'']] chose to stay out of Amtrak, and the Rock Island, with two intrastate Illinois trains, was too far gone to be included into Amtrak.
Freight transportation continued to labor under regulations developed when rail transport had a monopoly on intercity traffic, and railroads only competed with one another. An entire generation of rail managers had been trained to operate under this regulatory regime. Labor unions and their work rules were likewise a formidable barrier to change. Overregulation, management and unions formed an "[[iron triangle]]" of stagnation, frustrating the efforts of leaders such as the New York Central's [[New_York_Central_Railroad#Alfred_E._Perlman:_1958-1968|Alfred E. Perlman]]. In particular, the dense rail network in the Northeastern U.S. was in need of radical pruning and consolidation. A spectacularly unsuccessful beginning was the 1968 formation and subsequent bankruptcy of the [[Penn Central]], barely two years later. In 1976, the [[Penn Central]], [[Erie Lackawanna]], [[Reading Railroad]], [[Ann Arbor Railroad (1895-1976)|Ann Arbor Railroad]], [[Central Railroad of New Jersey]], [[Lehigh Valley Railroad|Lehigh Valley]], and [[Lehigh and Hudson River]] were merged into the federally funded bailout railroad [[Conrail]]. -->
===1970-presente===
{{ver artigo principal|[[Amtrak]]}}
Historicamente, onde uma companhia ferroviária teve um monopólio incontestável de transporte de passageiros, os serviços de transporte foram realizados de forma espartana e ou com péssima qualidade ,além de serem mais caros do que determinava a ''Interstate Commerce Commission.'' Já em outros lugares onde duas ou três ferrovias mantinham uma concorrência, os serviços de transporte de passageiros foram utilizados como uma forma de propagandear a eficência das empresas no transprote de passageiros (que servia para atrair novos clientes para os serviços de transporte de carga) que investiam quantias cada vez mais altas para proporcionar serviços de passageiros luxuosos e ao emsmo tempo populares, já que contavam com preço acessível.
Para defender o transporte de passagerios foi criada em [[1967]] a [[National Association of Railroad Passengers]], mas seus esforços foram prejudicados pelos [[Partido Democrático]], de oposição política a qualquer tipo de subsídios para ferrovias de propriedade privada, e [[Partido RepublicanoRepublicano]] qu mantinha oposição política a nacionalização da indústria de transporte ferroviário.
A situação do transporte de passageiros nos Estados Unidos se tornou insustentável em [[21 de junho]] de [[1970]] com o pedido de falência da [[Penn Central Transportation Company]] que dominava o transporte da região noroeste dos [[Estados Unidos]].
Nesse mesmo ano o governo americano edita o [[Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970]], sendo que o congresso criou a [[Amtrak|National Railroad Passenger Corporation]] (renomeada Railpass até assumir seu nome definitivo Amtrak) para subsidizar e supervisionar os serviços de transporte ferroviário de passageros.
{{em tradução}}
<!-- The Act provided that
* Any railroad operating intercity passenger service could contract with the NRPC, thereby joining the national system.
* Participating railroads bought into the new corporation using a formula based on their recent intercity passenger losses. The purchase price could be satisfied either by cash or rolling stock; in exchange, the railroads received Amtrak common stock.
* Any participating railroad was freed of the obligation to operate intercity passenger service after May 1971, except for those services chosen by the Department of Transportation as part of a "basic system" of service and paid for by NRPC using its federal funds.
* Railroads who chose not to join the Amtrak system were required to continue operating their existing passenger service until 1975 and thenceforth had to pursue the customary [[Interstate Commerce Commission]] (ICC) approval process for any discontinuance or alteration to the service.
The original working brand name for NRPC was ''Railpax'', which eventually became ''Amtrak''. At the time, many Washington insiders viewed the corporation as a face-saving way to give passenger trains the one "last hurrah" demanded by the public, but expected that the NRPC would quietly disappear in a few years as public interest waned. However, while Amtrak's political and financial support have often been shaky, popular and political support for Amtrak has allowed it to survive into the 21st century.
Similarly, the cumulative effects of decades of excessive government regulation brought the freight rail industry to the brink of ruin. Knowing it had to do something, Congress had two choices: nationalize the railroads or give railroads the opportunity to compete in the free market. Congress chose the free market; In 1974, President [[Richard Nixon]] created a government-sponsored company called [[Consolidated Rail Corporation]] from various bankrupt northeastern railroads. The freight industry continued its decline until Congress passed the [[Staggers Rail Act]] in 1980, which largely deregulated the rail industry. Since then, U.S. freight railroads have been reborn and returned to profitability.
==Freight railroads in today's economy==
[[Freight railroad]]s are critical to the economic health and global competitiveness of the United States. They move more than 40 percent of the United States’s freight{{Fact|reason=please give a reliable source for this assertion. How old is this stat?|date=April 2009}} and connect businesses with each other across the country and with markets overseas. They also directly contribute tens of billions of dollars each year to the economy through wages, purchases, retirement benefits, and taxes.
=== Types of rail ===
There are four different types of freight railroads: [[Class I]], regional, local line haul, and switching & terminal. [[Class I railroads]] are defined as those with revenue of at least $346.8 million in 2006. They comprise just one percent of [[freight railroad]]s, but account for 67 percent of the industry’s mileage, 90 percent of its employees, and 93 percent of its freight revenue.
A [[regional railroad]] is a line haul railroad with at least 350 miles and/or revenue between $40 million and the Class I threshold. There were 33 regional railroads in 2006. Most have between 75 and 500 employees.
Local line haul railroads operate less than 350 miles and earn less than $40 million per year (most earn less than $5 million per year). In 2006, there were 323 local line haul railroads. They generally perform point-to-point service over short distances.
Switching and terminal (S&T) carriers are railroads that primarily provide switching and/or terminal services, regardless of revenue. They perform pick up and delivery services within a certain area.
=== Traffic and public benefits ===
U.S. freight railroads operate in a highly-competitive marketplace. To compete effectively against each other and against other transportation providers, railroads must offer high-quality service at competitive rates. Railroads account for just over 40 percent of freight [[ton-mile]]s, more than any other mode of transportation. However, railroads’ revenue share has been falling for decades, a reflection of the intensity of the competition they face and of the large rate reductions railroads have passed through to their customers over the years.
Railroads carry a wide variety of [[commodities]], [[coal]] being the most single important commodity. In 2006, coal accounted for 21 percent of rail revenue. Coal accounts around half of U.S. electricity generation. Other major commodities carried include chemicals, grain, non-metallic minerals, lumber, cars, and waste materials.
The fastest growing rail traffic segment is currently [[intermodal]]. Intermodal is the movement of shipping containers or truck trailers by rail and at least one other mode of transportation, usually trucks or ocean-going vessels. Intermodal combines the door-to-door convenience of trucks with the long-haul economy of railroads. Rail intermodal has tripled in the last 25 years. It plays a critical role in making logistics far more efficient for retailers and others. The efficiency of intermodal provides the U.S. with a huge competitive advantage in the global economy.
Freight railroads offer major public benefits in addition to cost-competitiveness and efficiency. First, railroads are more [[fuel efficient]] than other modes of transportation. On average, they are three times more fuel efficient than trucks. In 2006, railroads moved a ton of freight an average of 436 miles per gallon of fuel. That number is an 80 percent increase from 1980. Because of their [[fuel efficiency]], railroads also have a clear advantage over other modes of transportation in terms of [[greenhouse gas]] emissions, most notably [[carbon dioxide]].
Highway congestion costs $78 billion per year just in wasted travel time (4.2 billion hours) and wasted fuel (2.9 billion gallons). Railroads reduce traffic worries for drivers by taking a number of trucks off of our highways.
=== Freight rail working with passenger rail ===
Prior to Amtrak’s creation in 1970, intercity passenger rail service in the U.S. was provided by the same companies that provided freight service. When Amtrak was formed, in return for government permission to exit the passenger rail business, freight railroads donated passenger equipment to Amtrak and helped it get started with a capital infusion of some $200 million.
The vast majority of the 22,000 or so miles over which [[Amtrak]] operates are actually owned by freight railroads. By law, freight railroads must grant Amtrak access to their track upon request and must give priority to Amtrak trains over all other trains. Amtrak pays fees to freight railroads to cover the incremental costs of Amtrak’s use of freight railroad tracks. Freight railroads recognize the potential benefits of passenger service and work to accommodate passenger train when mutually-beneficial arrangements can be negotiated, as the many successful examples of passenger trains operation on freight-owned property make clear.
==Passenger rail ==
===Car types===
The basic design of a passenger car was standardized by 1870. By 1900 the main car types were: baggage, coach, combine, diner, [[dome car]], lounge, observation, private, Pullman, railroad post office (RPO) and sleeper.
===19th century: First passenger cars and early development===
[[Image:Chicago and Alton Railroad Pullman car interior c 1900.png|thumb|300px|right|The interior of a [[Pullman car]] on the [[Chicago and Alton Railroad]], circa 1900.]]
{{main|Passenger car (rail)}}
The first passenger cars in the resembled [[stagecoach]]es. They were short, often less than 10 ft (3 m) long, tall and rode on a single pair of axles.
American mail cars first appeared in the 1860s and at first followed English design. They had a hook that would catch the mailbag in its crook.
As locomotive technology progressed in the mid-19th century, trains grew in length and weight. Passenger cars grew along with them, first getting longer with the addition of a second truck (one at each end), and wider as their suspensions improved. Cars built for European use featured side door compartments, while American car design favored a single pair of doors at one end of the car in the car's vestibule; compartmentized cars on American railroads featured a long hallway with doors from the hall to the compartments.
One possible reason for this difference in design principles between American and European carbuilding practice could be the average distance between stations on the two continents. As most European railroads connected towns and villages that were still very closely spaced, American railroads had to travel over much greater distances to reach their destinations. Building passenger cars with a long passageway through the length of the car allowed the passengers easy access to the restroom, among other things, on longer journeys.
Dining cars first appeared in the late 1870s and into the 1880s. Until this time, the common practice was to stop for meals at restaurants along the way (which led to the rise of [[Fred Harvey]]'s chain of [[Harvey House]] restaurants in America). At first, the dining car was simply a place to serve meals that were picked up en route, but they soon evolved to include galleys in which the meals were prepared.
===1900-1950: Lighter materials, new car types===
[[Image:Pioneer Zephyr, observation end.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The observation car on [[Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad|CB&Q]]'s ''[[Pioneer Zephyr]]''. The carbody was made of [[stainless steel]] in 1934, it is seen here at the [[Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago)|Museum of Science and Industry]] in [[Chicago]] in 2003.]]
By the 1920s, passenger cars on the larger [[standard gauge]] railroads were normally between 60 ft (18.3 m) and 70 ft (21.3 m) long. The cars of this time were still quite ornate, many of them being built by experienced coach makers and skilled carpenters.
With the 1930s came the widespread use of [[stainless steel]] for carbodies. The typical passenger car was now much lighter than its "heavyweight" wood cousins of old. The new "lightweight" and [[streamliner|streamlined]] cars carried passengers in speed and comfort to an extent that had not been experienced to date. [[Aluminum]] and [[Cor-ten]] were also used in lightweight car construction, but stainless steel was the preferred material for car bodies. It is not the lightest of materials, nor is it the least expensive, but stainless steel cars could be, and often were, left unpainted except for the car's [[reporting mark]]s that were required by law.
By the end of the 1930s, railroads and carbuilders were debuting carbody and interior styles that could only be dreamed of before. In 1937, the Pullman Company delivered the first cars equipped with [[roomette]]s – that is, the car's interior was sectioned off into compartments, much like the coaches that were still in widespread use across Europe. Pullman's roomettes, however, were designed with the single traveler in mind. The roomette featured a large picture window, a privacy door, a single fold-away bed, a sink and small toilet. The roomette's floor space was barely larger than the space taken up by the bed, but it allowed the traveler to ride in luxury compared to the multilevel semiprivate berths of old.
Now that passenger cars were lighter, they were able to carry heavier loads, but the size of the average passenger that rode in them didn't increase to match the cars' new capacities. The average passenger car couldn't get any wider or longer due to side clearances along the railroad lines, but they generally could get taller because they were still shorter than many freight cars and locomotives. As a result, the railroads soon began building and buying [[dome car|dome]] and [[double decker|bilevel]] cars to carry more passengers.
===1950-present: High-technology advancements===
[[File:Tri-rail Bombardier BiLevel Coach.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A [[Bombardier BiLevel Coach]]. Shown here is a [[Tri-Rail]] coach, a regional commuter rail system in [[Florida]]. Similar cars are used in [[California]] by [[Metrolink (Southern California)|Metrolink]].]]
Carbody styles have generally remained consistent since the middle of the 20th century. While new car types have not made much of an impact, the existing car types have been further enhanced with new technology.
Starting in the 1950s, the passenger travel market declined in North America, though there was growth in [[commuter rail]]. The higher clearances in North America enabled bi-level commuter coaches that could hold more passengers. These cars started to become common in the United States in the 1960s.
While intercity passenger rail travel declined in America, ridership continued to increase in other parts of the world. With the increase came an increased use of newer technology on existing and new equipment. The [[Spain|Spanish]] company [[Talgo]] began experimenting in the 1940s with technology that would enable the axles to steer into a curve, allowing the train to move around the curve at a higher speed. The steering axles evolved into mechanisms that would also tilt the passenger car as it entered a curve to counter the [[centrifugal force]] experienced by the train, further increasing speeds on existing track. Today, Talgo trains are used in many places in Europe and they have also found a home in North America on some short and medium distance routes such as [[Seattle, Washington]], to [[Vancouver, British Columbia]].
===U.S. high-speed rail===
[[Image:High-Speed Rail Corridor Designations.png|thumb|right|300px|This map from 2001 shows a number of proposed high-speed routes in the U.S.]]
{{main|High-speed rail in the United States}}
High-speed rail in the United States is geographically limited to the Northeast, the only portion of the US with population densities comparable to Western Europe. High-speed rail in this corridor began in 1969 with the introduction of the [[Metroliner]]. Services initially ran at 125mph (200 km/h), with speeds later increasing to 135mph (220 km/h). In 2001 Amtrak introduced the ''[[Acela Express]]'', which operates at a maximum speed of 160mph (260 km/h) between [[Washington, D.C.]] and [[Boston]]. These trains [[tilting train|tilt]] into curves along the track, allowing them to travel between Washington and New York in 2 hours and 45 minutes. This time - an average speed of only 83mph (130 km/h) - is heavily influenced by the need to travel through and around Baltimore on tracks which are in some places over 160 years old. Ambitious long-term plans by the [[Maryland Department of Transportation|Maryland DOT]] to create a new express route through Baltimore for Acela and [[MARC Train|MARC]] commuter trains would significantly reduce this travel time.
== Rolling stock reporting marks==
Every piece of railroad [[rolling stock]] operating in [[North America]]n interchange service is required to carry a standardized set of [[reporting mark]]s. The marks are made up of a two- to four-letter code identifying the owner of the equipment accompanied by an identification number and statistics on the equipment's capacity and tare (unloaded) weight. Marks whose codes end in X (such as TTGX) are used on equipment owned by entities that are not [[common carrier]] railroads themselves. Marks whose codes end in U are used on [[containerization|container]]s that are carried in [[intermodal freight transport|intermodal transport]], and marks whose codes end in Z are used on [[trailer (vehicle)|trailer]]s that are carried in intermodal transport.
Typically, railroads operating in the [[United States]] reserve one- to four-digit identification numbers for powered equipment such as [[diesel locomotive]]s and six-digit identification numbers for unpowered equipment. There is no hard and fast rule for how equipment is numbered; each railroad maintains its own numbering policy for its equipment.
==Equipment specific to the United States==
The types of equipment seen in trains on American railroads are not substantially different from the types seen around the world. The [[Association of American Railroads|AAR]] (Janney) [[Coupling (railway)|coupler]] has been standard on North American equipment for over a century, though some car types use particular variants for operational or safety reasons. Two axle cars remain the rare exception.
[[Image:Acela express 1 copyright Cian Ginty.JPG|thumb|left|125px|Acela Express at [[Union Station (Washington, D.C.)]]]]
It is possible to trace the development of long-distance rail transport back to the [[streamliner]]s that criss-crossed the United States in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s which, in turn, can be traced further back to the competing companies operating different routes between [[London]] and [[Scotland]], and to railways in [[Germany]] and [[France]]. However, several factors contributed to the stagnation of rail passenger transport in the United States, a decline which occurred just as [[Europe]] and [[Japan]] were pushing forward with new technologies. Little investment has been made in high-speed rail infrastructure. In the Northeast Corridor, rail travel is time and price competitive with air travel, but other routes travel at highway speeds, putting rail in direct competition with buses and private automobiles. Long-distance travel is currently dominated by airlines, but given continued population growth and congestion at airports and on highways, there has been a resurgence of interest in high-speed rail in the United States in recent decades. Several corridors are being examined for potential high-speed service, either at the federal or state level.
==List of major United States railroads==
{{main|List of United States railroads|List of defunct United States railroads}}
* [[Amtrak]]
* [[BNSF Railway]]
* [[Canadian National Railway]]
* [[Canadian Pacific Railway]]
* [[CSX Transportation]]
* [[Kansas City Southern Railway]]
* [[Norfolk Southern Railway]]
* [[Union Pacific Railroad]] -->
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