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Solutionary Rail: A people-powered campaign to electrify America's railroads and open corridors to a clean energy future
Could railroads, the oldest form of mechanized mass transportation, be the key to unlocking solutions to some of the greatest challenges of the 21st century? Unique among modes of long-haul transport, rail can be electrified. So, why not power trains with renewable energy? Might a clean, modernized, higher-speed rail network draw freight and passengers off the highways and back onto the tracks? Could electrifying the railroads actually open new transmission corridors and increase the supply and reliability of electricity from wind and solar? If the rest of the world is already electrifying their railroads, why isn't the US?
After three years of inquiry with experts and stakeholders, the Solutionary Rail team addresses these questions and more. The Solutionary Rail vision draws unlikely allies together. It provides common cause to workers, farmers, tribes, urban and rural communities via the tracks and corridors that connect them. Solutionary Rail invites railroads into a win-win partnership with We the People. Solutionary Rail charts a path forward to tackle interlocking economic, environmental, and social problems. Part action plan and part manifesto, this book launches a new people-powered campaign to transform the way we use trains and the corridors they travel through. So, echoing the conductor's call, "All aboard!"
After three years of inquiry with experts and stakeholders, the Solutionary Rail team addresses these questions and more. The Solutionary Rail vision draws unlikely allies together. It provides common cause to workers, farmers, tribes, urban and rural communities via the tracks and corridors that connect them. Solutionary Rail invites railroads into a win-win partnership with We the People. Solutionary Rail charts a path forward to tackle interlocking economic, environmental, and social problems. Part action plan and part manifesto, this book launches a new people-powered campaign to transform the way we use trains and the corridors they travel through. So, echoing the conductor's call, "All aboard!"
- GenresClimate ChangeNonfiction
126 pages, Paperback
First published November 4, 2016
4 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 4, 2018
Bring On Solutionary Rail!
It's not every day that you run across an idea so elegant, so eminently practical that your jaw literally drops as you stagger beneath the shock of your huge "aha" moment. Solutionary Rail did that for me. Rail experts and long-time activists from Backbone Campaign have struck gold with their well-researched proposal to electrify America's railroads.
Solutionary Rail: a people-powered campaign to electrify America's railroads and open corridors to a clean energy future is a book, a proposal, a profound vision, and an exciting multi-pronged solution all rolled into one bundle. Electrifying our rail system to run on renewable energy is just plain good sense. It creates jobs. It reduces carbon emissions. It increases freight transport efficiency. It solves the looming highway repair budget shortfalls. It works toward economic justice for rural and Indigenous communities. It contains an astonishing multiplier effect as it meets the demands of climate change.
So, what's the drawback? (I can hear you, oh skeptics.) The usual: money and political willpower. The Solutionary Rail team addresses those concerns with interestingly palpable solutions. To deal with the hefty investment required to transition to electrified rails, they propose a public-private partnership that minimizes the profit-motive from the investor side. It's not a new idea. It's how the original rail system was built. And speaking of old-fashioned ideas turned new, electric rail was actually a viable part of our railroading history. In the 1960s, however, internal politics and the development of the interstate highways that sank electric rail, even though the system was far more economical and efficient than diesel.
United States citizens have long bemoaned the sad state of our rails. As an avid rail rider myself, I've traveled across our beautiful country by train more times than I can count. It's amazing. The rail lines are national (and neglected) treasures. You can see the heart and soul of the United States from these routes less-traveled. Also, when riding trains, you hear and see your fellow Americans in ways you never do while shuffling through airport security or crammed into your tiny airplane seat. My personal experience is that train travel has deepened my respect and appreciation for our staggering diversity, and opened my eyes to the complexity that is integral to our country. Revitalizing rail travel holds some unusual bonuses, such as a deepened understanding of the vast terrain and tangible unique diversity of this nation. It might rekindle our experiential understanding of our incredible ecosystems, and also remind everyone of the small towns, rural regions, urban corridors, water ways and mountain crossings that are hidden from the view of the interstate highway system.
Solutionary Rail offers us a vision for transforming our railroads and creating jobs along the way. In a nation the size of the United States, rail travel and transport makes nothing but sense. Solutionary Rail shows that electrified rail is more than feasible. It's being done around the world. Seventy percent of Russia's freight lines are already electrified. Ninety percent of France's passenger rail trips are on an electrified system. Renewable energy experts demonstrate that we have the renewable resources to run our rails on solar and wind. In the book, railroad engineers also explain how electric engines can even generate energy while braking.
And, where the political willpower is lacking, well, that's Backbone Campaign's specialty. They're skilled campaigners for change - if anyone can put Solutionary Rail on the national agenda, it's them. Pairing their knowledge with the expertise of railroad engineers, and renewable energy experts, it takes Solutionary Rail out of the realms of dreams and halfway into reality. Their proposal is well-researched, solid, and tantalizingly possible. The Solutionary Rail book includes action steps for citizens to get involved in the campaign to bring this proposal to the plates of policy makers and power holders. The sooner, the better, I say!
________________
Author/Activist Rivera Sun, syndicated by PeaceVoice, is the author of The Dandelion Insurrection and other books. She is a nonviolent strategy trainer and a regular contributor to journals across the country.
It's not every day that you run across an idea so elegant, so eminently practical that your jaw literally drops as you stagger beneath the shock of your huge "aha" moment. Solutionary Rail did that for me. Rail experts and long-time activists from Backbone Campaign have struck gold with their well-researched proposal to electrify America's railroads.
Solutionary Rail: a people-powered campaign to electrify America's railroads and open corridors to a clean energy future is a book, a proposal, a profound vision, and an exciting multi-pronged solution all rolled into one bundle. Electrifying our rail system to run on renewable energy is just plain good sense. It creates jobs. It reduces carbon emissions. It increases freight transport efficiency. It solves the looming highway repair budget shortfalls. It works toward economic justice for rural and Indigenous communities. It contains an astonishing multiplier effect as it meets the demands of climate change.
So, what's the drawback? (I can hear you, oh skeptics.) The usual: money and political willpower. The Solutionary Rail team addresses those concerns with interestingly palpable solutions. To deal with the hefty investment required to transition to electrified rails, they propose a public-private partnership that minimizes the profit-motive from the investor side. It's not a new idea. It's how the original rail system was built. And speaking of old-fashioned ideas turned new, electric rail was actually a viable part of our railroading history. In the 1960s, however, internal politics and the development of the interstate highways that sank electric rail, even though the system was far more economical and efficient than diesel.
United States citizens have long bemoaned the sad state of our rails. As an avid rail rider myself, I've traveled across our beautiful country by train more times than I can count. It's amazing. The rail lines are national (and neglected) treasures. You can see the heart and soul of the United States from these routes less-traveled. Also, when riding trains, you hear and see your fellow Americans in ways you never do while shuffling through airport security or crammed into your tiny airplane seat. My personal experience is that train travel has deepened my respect and appreciation for our staggering diversity, and opened my eyes to the complexity that is integral to our country. Revitalizing rail travel holds some unusual bonuses, such as a deepened understanding of the vast terrain and tangible unique diversity of this nation. It might rekindle our experiential understanding of our incredible ecosystems, and also remind everyone of the small towns, rural regions, urban corridors, water ways and mountain crossings that are hidden from the view of the interstate highway system.
Solutionary Rail offers us a vision for transforming our railroads and creating jobs along the way. In a nation the size of the United States, rail travel and transport makes nothing but sense. Solutionary Rail shows that electrified rail is more than feasible. It's being done around the world. Seventy percent of Russia's freight lines are already electrified. Ninety percent of France's passenger rail trips are on an electrified system. Renewable energy experts demonstrate that we have the renewable resources to run our rails on solar and wind. In the book, railroad engineers also explain how electric engines can even generate energy while braking.
And, where the political willpower is lacking, well, that's Backbone Campaign's specialty. They're skilled campaigners for change - if anyone can put Solutionary Rail on the national agenda, it's them. Pairing their knowledge with the expertise of railroad engineers, and renewable energy experts, it takes Solutionary Rail out of the realms of dreams and halfway into reality. Their proposal is well-researched, solid, and tantalizingly possible. The Solutionary Rail book includes action steps for citizens to get involved in the campaign to bring this proposal to the plates of policy makers and power holders. The sooner, the better, I say!
________________
Author/Activist Rivera Sun, syndicated by PeaceVoice, is the author of The Dandelion Insurrection and other books. She is a nonviolent strategy trainer and a regular contributor to journals across the country.
February 16, 2025
Book #7 of 2025. "Solutionary Rail" by Bill Moyer, Patrick Mazza, and the Solutionary Rail Team. 3/5 rating. 85 p.
While this book may have been a 3 overall, the idea is a solid 5!!! The authors propose a public-private partnership to electrify our railroad system. Much like our public funding of roads, this would be a huge benefit to everyone.
The current paradigm where we have this perfect distribution, shipping, and transportation technology being used in only a fraction of its possible capacity is idiotic! The US is far behind on rail use in general, but especially in electried rail: we have around 1% of our rail electrified while it is about 25% globally, and 53% in Western Europe.
Trains in general are much more efficient than trucks and air transport which are currently used for a large amount of freight because of our under-financed infrastructure.
How could electrified rail benefit everyone:
- Cheaper freight costs
- Ability to ship more time-sensitive freight (think fruits and vegetables)
- Ability to use rail lines as a distribution system for Midwest wind power, and Sun Belt solar power in order to allow for cheaper renewable energy to reach more people
- Alternative transportation system from car or planes - especially with building double tracks so trains could travel between 90-125 mph
- Reduced traffic congestion through less semis and commuters on roads
- Assist in rural development by bringing back rail to farming and small communities
What is stopping us?
- High upfront costs
- Inertia
- Electric requires a larger system change than just switching over a few engines
- Trucking and aviation are publicly subsidized, while private rail companies are required to pay for their infrastructure
This is the reason for a need to have publicly funded infrastructure. It will benefit everyone, so allowing for public bonds to pay for the electric lines and some track would allow the public to have control over access to these.
I love this idea, but it will require changing minds and building a vision. It can't rely on telling people no, as
"our 'No!' is only as powerful as our 'Yes!' is compelling."
While this book may have been a 3 overall, the idea is a solid 5!!! The authors propose a public-private partnership to electrify our railroad system. Much like our public funding of roads, this would be a huge benefit to everyone.
The current paradigm where we have this perfect distribution, shipping, and transportation technology being used in only a fraction of its possible capacity is idiotic! The US is far behind on rail use in general, but especially in electried rail: we have around 1% of our rail electrified while it is about 25% globally, and 53% in Western Europe.
Trains in general are much more efficient than trucks and air transport which are currently used for a large amount of freight because of our under-financed infrastructure.
How could electrified rail benefit everyone:
- Cheaper freight costs
- Ability to ship more time-sensitive freight (think fruits and vegetables)
- Ability to use rail lines as a distribution system for Midwest wind power, and Sun Belt solar power in order to allow for cheaper renewable energy to reach more people
- Alternative transportation system from car or planes - especially with building double tracks so trains could travel between 90-125 mph
- Reduced traffic congestion through less semis and commuters on roads
- Assist in rural development by bringing back rail to farming and small communities
What is stopping us?
- High upfront costs
- Inertia
- Electric requires a larger system change than just switching over a few engines
- Trucking and aviation are publicly subsidized, while private rail companies are required to pay for their infrastructure
This is the reason for a need to have publicly funded infrastructure. It will benefit everyone, so allowing for public bonds to pay for the electric lines and some track would allow the public to have control over access to these.
I love this idea, but it will require changing minds and building a vision. It can't rely on telling people no, as
"our 'No!' is only as powerful as our 'Yes!' is compelling."
January 13, 2025
This relatively short non-fiction book was very convincing and I hope more people read it. You will probably have to buy it from Amazon (it's not in libraries) but it's an inexpensive paperback. The basic pitch is that the US should catch up with the rest of the world and electrify our railroads, using renewable energy rather than diesel. To be fair a lot of the countries who have done so are much smaller than the US so it's not as big an investment. Also American railroads are privately owned.
The book was written by a team of engineers and economists who have thought through all the details (particularly the economics) and have proposed a workable solution involving a public-private partnership. The proposal solves several environmental issues at once. I particularly like the switch from dirty diesel to renewable power (solar and wind) and the potential for a getting many big trucks off our roads. The authors detail how a proof-of-concept would involve electrifying the route from Chicago to Seattle, which carries wheat and other commodities to be exported to Asia. Although the emphasis is on freight, the plan includes expanding to double tracks so passenger rail can expand too.
The book was written by a team of engineers and economists who have thought through all the details (particularly the economics) and have proposed a workable solution involving a public-private partnership. The proposal solves several environmental issues at once. I particularly like the switch from dirty diesel to renewable power (solar and wind) and the potential for a getting many big trucks off our roads. The authors detail how a proof-of-concept would involve electrifying the route from Chicago to Seattle, which carries wheat and other commodities to be exported to Asia. Although the emphasis is on freight, the plan includes expanding to double tracks so passenger rail can expand too.
June 23, 2022
A comprehensive and well-researched argument for the necessary electrification of rail in the US.
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