The U.S. railroads have been among the most innovative in the world throughout history. The U.S. had almost completely replaced steam locomotives with diesel locomotives by the end of the 1950s, and the use of computers dates back to 1961, when the Missouri Pacific bought the industry’s first IBM.
American railroad workers are one of the pioneers in the technology of all-welded rails. Nowadays, continuous or “velvet” track dominates the network.
It is considered to be less destructive for the rolling stock. Besides, Americans were among the first to start using intermodal transportation – transportation by several modes of transport. They also helped in solving problems with low-volume stations.
The Association of American Railroads estimates that from 1980 to 2019, companies spent more than $710 billion of their own money on capital spending and maintenance related to locomotives, freight cars, track facilities, bridges, tunnels, and other infrastructure and equipment.
Net capital investment in the cost structure of U.S. railroads is 19%. This is more than in any other area of manufacturing, including computers. The national average for the real sector is about 3-5% of revenues.
Funds are directed to technical re-equipment and technology development. State support plays an important role in providing research to improve efficiency.
Years of development have led to improvements in track components and the way they are maintained, which have reduced the need for manpower.
Thanks to them, the productivity of railroads has increased considerably over the past few decades. Growth has been about 10 percent a year.
Studies show that shippers have benefited greatly from the productivity gains in the form of lower fares, adjusted for the price index.
Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology estimate that customers saved more than $23 billion between 1985 and 2008 alone.
According to their study, if railroad technology had stayed at the same level (1980), freight costs, by contrast, would have doubled.
Particularly striking are the changes in railcar load capacity and train heaviness. Thanks to the increase of the axle load to 32.5 tons (with the improvement of the track), together with the use of aluminum alloys in wagon construction (which reduced tare weight), the loading capacity of one wagon for coal and other bulk cargo was increased first to 100 tons and later to 112 tons.
More powerful locomotives increased fuel efficiency. However, this did not ultimately lead to a positive economic result due to a significant increase in diesel fuel prices in the early 2000s. The U.S. predominantly uses heat-powered locomotives.