PUBLIC-ASSISTANCE AND PROMOTION OF LOCAL RAIL PROJECTS

In the second half of the nineteenth century, and again in the middle of the twentieth century, federal, state, and local governments were i nvolved in large-scale subsidizing and promoting of railroad infrastru cture for economic development purposes. In the 1800s, public financia l involvement centered on the expansion of railroads to develop the We st. In the 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s, public financial assistance focused on preserving rail freight services, and on restructuring the then oversized national rail network. In the 1990s and beyond, rail im provements and the need for public assistance are likely to be more in cremental, with mostly local projects. Case study research was conduct ed on six local freight rail service projects, all of which had public sector investment. Five attributes were identified whose presence was associated with project success, or conversely, whose absence may hav e reduced the likelihood for project success. These success attributes should be used as an adjunct to sound economic analysis, and incorpor ated within future policies governing selection of local rail projects to receive public assistance.