The I-70 mountain corridor presents a number of risks for truckers — severe winter weather conditions, steep grades, brake failure risk, and hazards like rockfalls, fires, and floods. I-70 in Colorado is frequently closed for crashes, many of them involving commercial vehicles.
Trains would use an existing Union Pacific rail line to carry trucks on a nine hour trip through Colorado, taking loads of commercial vehicles up and over the Rocky Mountains as an alternative to taking I-70.
system would involve driving semi trucks onto flatbed rail cars at the onset of the train journey. The truck drivers would then be free to choose to enjoy the trip in a train sleeper car, potentially helping them to maximize their allowable driving time.
Swartzwelter says that the concept is already in use in European countries, with a system in Austria acting as “the model for this whole thing.”
Great idea!
ReplyDelete