The railroad industry won’t take action to change the federal size and weight limits on trucks, as long as trucking doesn’t move to increase the allowable maximums, Association of American Railroads President Edward Hamberger said.
“We are not attacking big trucks. The whole issue of truck size and weight is one where we are playing defense on,” he said in an interview with Transport Topics last month.
“We view trucking as partners. Intermodal is the fastest growing sector in the rail business and is the second most important from the revenue standpoint. It’s an important line of business for railroads,” Hamberger said.
“We appreciate the business that we get from truckers and we want to get more of it,” he said. “We want to work together.”
The AAR represents North America’s nine large freight railroads and Amtrak.
Hamberger acknowledges that the AAR is funding the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks, but distanced his association from proposals to transfer jurisdiction over truck safety from the Federal Highway Administration to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
For the full story, see the Feb. 8 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.
