Contact: Bob Ratliff
The Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington should be a wake-up call for drastic changes in the nation's transportation system, according to a report by Mississippi State University and University of Denver scientists.
Released Wednesday [the 6th], "New Transportation Agenda for America" is based on a recent study by the National Center for Intermodal Transportation.
A federally funded partnership between the Colorado and Mississippi schools, the center was created in 1998 to promote improvements in American passenger and freight transportation. The partnership is partially funded by the United States Department of Transportation.
The report's conclusion calls for widespread reforms in all areas of the nation's transportation systems, said NCIT deputy director Royce Bowden, an MSU industrial engineering professor.
"The goal of the U.S. should be to overcome transportation defects and create an integrated system promoting, among other things, efficiency, safety, mobility, and national security," Bowden said. "The heart of reforms is a need to link together all transportation modes, including rail, water, highway, and air.
"The ultimate goal would be to create transportation systems similar to the duplicate communications networks the Defense Department produced when it created the Internet," he explained.
The report was prepared by NCIT personnel and consultants, including Meridian businessman Gil Carmichael, who serves as chairman of the Amtrak Reform Council and senior chairman of the University of Denver's Intermodal Transportation Institute.
According to the report, Americans prior to 9/11 generally were unaware of major defects in their transport system. The surprise attacks also demonstrated that:
--The nation is too reliant on airlines as the single commercial mode of passenger travel, and
--Alternative transportation modes generally are poor or nonexistent.
The report calls on the federal government to commit $15 billion a year for the next 15 to 20 years to fund a new transportation approach, including a new system of high-speed trains and more frequent schedules of trains on some short routes.
While the amount may seem considerable in these economically depressed times, NCIT scientists say the money should be regarded as a critical investment in the nation's future prosperity and well-being. Also, improved links between airports and other means of travel should be a major priority.
"As an example, airport terminal planners seem to assume all passengers will arrive by car," Bowden said. "Even when stranded airline travelers on Sept. 11 secured a seat on a train or a bus, they often found themselves 10 to 30 miles from the nearest intercity rail or bus terminal."
For additional information on the report or the work of NCIT, contact Bowden at (662) 325-7623 or bowden@ie.msstate.edu.