POLI 100K, Railroads and American Politics: Topic 1, Why are Railroads Important?

Railroads moved about 42 percent of the intercity freight -- about 1,558,000,000,000 ton miles in 2001.
The equivalent of almost 5300 ton-miles of freight for every person in the U.S.
or the equivalent of about 100,000,000 trucks driven 1000 miles each carrying 15 tons.