Join us for a Conversation with Carlo Borghini, Executive Director of the European Union's Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking (Fact sheet). Shift2Rail is working to get freight off trucks and onto tracks across Europe. What can we learn from them, as we tackle this urgent need in the US?

Date: Wednesday, September 2nd

Time: 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern 

RSVP Below

While many Americans fantasize about a system of High Speed Rail like countries in Europe, passenger rail is only part of what's needed in a transportation/infrastructure plan; the impacts of freight and the role of trains vs trucks need to be addressed. We must prioritize a mode shift of freight onto rails, in order to address air pollution, wear and tear on highways, congestion, labor justice, and significant impacts on fenceline communities.

Let's hear from an expert in Europe whose organization is tackling this issue, and use their learnings to facilitate a faster mode shift in the US from roads to rail.

More about Shift2Rail: 

Shift2Rail is the first European rail initiative to seek focused research and innovation (R&I) and market-driven solutions by accelerating the integration of new and advanced technologies into innovative rail product solutions. Shift2Rail promotes the competitiveness of the European rail industry and meets changing EU transport needs. R&I carried out under this Horizon 2020 initiative develops the necessary technology to complete the Single European Railway Area (SERA).

Moreover, Shift2Rail has ambitious targets and a robust framework in which to meet them. Specifically, the initiative aims to double the capacity of the European rail system and increase its reliability and service quality by 50%, all while halving life-cycle costs.

Mr. Borghini some links to resources in preparation for our discussion. This one in particular, from 2019, answers some of the questions for the EU that we are asking in regards to the US: https://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/sustainable/studies/sustainable_en

See also this Handbook on External Costs of Transport

Below are some of the graphs and charts from the studies on external costs of transport: 

(HGV = Heavy Goods Vehicle, i.e. large trucks. IWT = Inland Waterway Transport.)