Modeling the indiana coal rail transportation infrastructure

Summary form only given. The United States possesses a vast railroad infrastructure. Nearly one hundred forty thousand miles of rail exist across the country that are shared by over five hundred railroad companies. The railroad infrastructure is a driving force in the globalization of the US economy. As cross country container traffic has increased, traditional rail transport commodities such as coal have been forced to compete for scarce locomotive and track right resources. This competition has increased the cost of coal transportation. The state of Indiana ranks ninth nationally in the number of miles of railroad tracks. Indiana also possesses vast coal reserves. This paper presents the results of a project that used simulation to examine the coal transportation rail infrastructure capacity in the state of Indiana from the standpoint of increasing coal exports.