Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief, Railway Age Magazine; October 5, 2017
American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) President Linda Bauer Darr on Oct. 4 testified before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials in support of the infrastructure needs of Class II and III railroads.
Darr, representing nearly 1,000 ASLRRA railroad and supplier members, stressed that the 45G short line railroad rehabilitation tax credit “is the most economical and effective way to maximize investment in our portion of the national rail system. While there is a realization that an appropriately sized infrastructure package must contain both federal spending and private investment, there is disagreement as to what it takes to draw out that private investment. There is also considerable concern that the kinds of projects that will attract private capital are not feasible in rural America. We support programs such as TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) and INFRA (Infrastructure For Rebuilding America). And we are particularly hopeful Congress will fund the CRISI (Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement) program, which has a rural set-aside that will benefit short line railroads. But given the opportunity to testify, I am here to say that 45G has clearly been demonstrated to work.”
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