Citation

Wolfe K. J. Transp. Res. Forum 1988; 29(1): 124-137.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1988, Transportation Research Forum)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Covering the period of 1970 through 1987, this paper identifies, explores, and to some degree quantifies, the underlying causes of recent business failure among local and regional railroads in the United States. Since railroads were partially deregulated by the Staggers Rail Act of 1980, there have been 190 new local and regional railroads created, of which 157 continue to provide uninterrupted service. This success rate is comparable with other major industry sectors. The paper cites six symptoms of local and regional railroad service failure and investigates the underlying causes of such failures by identifying 12 key areas of concern. Based on these findings, service failures are believed due to a variety and combination of managerial, economic and financial reasons--none of which dominates the list, but managerial shortcomings is a commonly-mentioned factor.