The Association of American Railroads is launching the Freight Rail Research Consortium, an AAR-led network of academic partnerships designed to strengthen the freight rail industry’s long-term research and analytical capabilities through collaborative, data-driven research and policy analysis.
Through the consortium, AAR has established new research partnerships with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of California, Berkeley, and Rutgers University, while expanding its longstanding relationship with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Together, these partnerships establish a long-term platform for research on the economic, operational, technological and policy issues shaping the future of freight rail.
“Industries don’t remain competitive simply because they invest in physical infrastructure,” Rand Ghayad, senior vice president of policy & economics and chief economist at the AAR, said. “They also invest in ideas, research, talent, and institutions that continuously improve how they understand and respond to change.
“As freight rail approaches its 200th anniversary next year, this initiative reflects AAR’s longstanding commitment to building a strong intellectual foundation for the industry’s next 200 years,” Ghayad added. “By bringing together leading universities, industry experts, and policymakers, we’re investing in the ideas, evidence and manpower that will help the freight rail industry better anticipate change, inform public policy and solve the complex challenges of the future.”
Freight rail is one of the nation’s most enduring and critical industries, supporting economic growth, supply chain performance, industrial development and global competitiveness. Yet despite its importance, many questions surrounding rail economics, freight markets, infrastructure investment and transportation policy remain understudied. AAR’s initiative seeks to help address that gap by encouraging new academic research, expanding engagement with leading scholars and promoting a deeper understanding of the industry’s role in the modern economy.
Research supported through these partnerships will explore a range of critical topics, including emerging technologies and innovation; transportation policy and regulatory issues; supply chain resilience and system performance; and infrastructure investment and economic growth.
The consortium brings together leading centers of excellence whose expertise spans economics, transportation, logistics, engineering and public policy.
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