It’s amazing how little public discussion there’s been of making the US Midwest–but especially Michigan–an international center of railcar making. Politicians have no problem trying to start a mini Silicon Valley in every state of the union (which is only a very, very slight exaggeration). But through all this slow motion carnage in the automobile industry, our political class been remarkable reticent about stepping up and saying: “Hey, let’s convert this capacity, so we can make train and transit equipment, as that industry looks very positioned for the next few decades at least.”
As of yesterday, the idea got a nice boost though. Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm has apparently been pushing a plan along these lines to Obama. At yesterday’s rail summit at the White House with Joe Biden, Ray LaHood and several other governors, Granholm was making the case that it’s time to start making railcars if we’re going to be building a passenger rail network. “We have lots of capacity in Michigan and workers who know how to make things,” she said.
After all, with companies like Siemens reaping billion dollar deals from the Chinese, and European companies expecting the US to be a $150 billion market for train equipment, what’s the excuse for not trying capture some of the action?
Of course, Michael Dukakis has been saying all this for a while. But it’s good to hear serving politicians chiming in.
With a little vision, those closed GM and Chrysler plants might have life in them yet.
Tags: NEWS AND VIEWS
I’d like to point out that GM used to build railroad equipment. But GM spun off the company in 2005 to private equity firms to exit the railroad business. Perhaps this was one of their bonehead mistakes, or perhaps there are too many differences to make an automobile company work in the railroad business. A better approach may simply be to encourage new railroad manufacturing companies to take over the idled infrastructure left by the auto business.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electro-Motive_Diesel
Let’s get companies that know how to make railcars take over the empty factories in Michigan or Ohio or elsewhere to do it. Like Bombardier or Siemens or Kawasaki, who have the know-how, the R&D, and the marketing muscle to make an export business. Maybe they could sell shares in the U.S. subsidiary to satisfy certain made-in-America regs.
But stick with those that know what they’re doing. Back in the 60s it was a fad to get aerospace companies to make transit equipment, and that didn’t work out very well at all.
Michael Moore had a similar idea in a post on DailyKos, but not trains per se but green technology. His thought was, We did it in WWII, and we’re at war now against climate change. Why not repurpose the factories again?
I think it’s a wonderful idea.
Detroit can’t build decent cars, so what makes you think they can build trains or trolleys?
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[...] Michigan Gov to White House: Turn Car Factories Into Train Factories (Infrastructurist) [...]
The problem with this is that trains have to last a long time. When you look at the biz models of the Big Three, with their “planned obsolescence”, making trains is in direct conflict.
Further – the infrastructure needed to make X amount of trains is lot less than having to make 3X amount of cars. The government would also have to think about whether or not we can become competitive and actually make GM internationally competitive. Remember, these are big things – they are not that easy to ship to India, or other developing nations, for instance. And who says that the developing world will WANT sustainable transport, when it is so much easier to stimulate aggregate demand with the individual consumption of cheaply made cars?
Look at Tata in India, for instance.
Michael Moore seems to have thought this out a bit more. His strategy is a lot more diversified.
Silican Valleys, Alleys, whatever are easy to envision and politically palatable because of one big reason: no unions. These companies and industries are small, fragile, nimble and innovative — the direct opposite of heavy industry. Any auto- to transit- factory conversion in MI will have to haggled over, right down to the rivets and bolts, with the UAW’s relatively onerous salary and benefits demands — and who wants to bet against that taking decades if at all?
Unfortunately for MI, you’re likelier to see these factories converted or created in non-union states.
[...] Michigan Governor: Use Car Factories To Make Trains INFRASTRUCTURIST [...]
JM, every factory in Europe that makes rail cars, trams, etc. is unionized, and those companies all seem to be doing good business.
Oh, wait. They have unions, but they don’t have to pay the medical costs of their employees and their dependents. In every other developed country, medical care is a national concern, but not an employer’s problem.
Only in America do we persist in a system in which MANY thousands of dollars in annual medical costs is added to the cost of each and every employee on payroll.
In the U.S. we have made medical care a crushing tax on employment! Worked out well, do you think?
great idea.
just gotta make sure that the quality is good. from their cars, i would worry. there’s something to be said for the foreign designs, since they’ve been in the (modern) business for longer and have the know-how. last thing we want is GM and Chrysler coming out with shiny new trains that break down, and don’t last as long as off-the-shelf european or asian models…
JM couldn’t be more incorrect. Woody hit the nail on the head.
While the environment, Iraq and other hot topics seem to hold the political spotlight, organized labor (or lack thereof) is one of the fundamental reasons why Barack Obama was elected, and it’s certainly not lost on people in Michigan, as well as Ohio, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Indiana, Chicagoland, etc.
We elected the Democrats BECAUSE they can be very persuasive in opening these plants with union workers. And let’s not forget – the very height of Labor in America was the 1950′s, right? Was that not arguably the most prosperous time in American history?
Here’s my idea for product quality and “planned obsolescence”: Any rail vehicle manufactured for passenger service must come with at LEAST a ten-year warranty TO THE GOVERNMENT. If the quality of the product isn’t good enough to last ten years (for example), than the manufacturer will be penalized. Let me know if anything like this already exists! I know there are federal standards for manufacturers (obviously), but I’m talking about something bigger and more aggressive. Planned obsolescence must not be allowed!
[...] A few days after this story came out, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm suggested to Vice President Biden and USDOT Sectretary LaHood that they build trains and light rail in former [...]
Over the past 40 years, there have been various attempts by US government to develop domestic passenger rail factories — always with very horrible results.
Acela, BART, Boeing LRV, Colorado Railcar, Amtrak “California” cars are just some examples where the public got stuck with very crappy and overpriced vehicles compared to what was available “off-the-shelf” from existing manufacturers in the world market.
Building reliable 224mph high-speed rail trains involves some very complex engineering. With so many very established manufacturers out there, who have huge economies-of-scale and decades of experience, why try to re-invent the wheel?
[...] America will never again have the car culture like it once had. The governor of Michigan recently suggested that GM has the proper facilities and should start building trains. No matter how nice hybrid cars [...]
We share Sec. LaHood’s enthusiasm in the Pacific Northwest.
High Speed Rail (HSR) is in our nations best interest as fuel prices begin their inevitable climb upwards in the future. Trains get much higher fuel economy per passenger mile than both planes and cars, while emitting far fewer green house gases. Emerging alternate energy sources will likely provide electricity – something our current fleet of autos, buses, and planes will find difficult to convert to. Rail lines are quite easily electrified.
Our fast tilt trains running between Vancouver, BC and Eugene, OR for the last 10 years have shown remarkable ridership gains each year. More than twice as many people now choose trains between Seattle and Portland than planes. Impressive results, given that our 125 mph trains have been limited to just 79 mph for lack of federally mandated track, and signal improvements along the corridor. We embrace President Obamas vision for future travel between medium distance cities in our nation.
Mike Skehan, Member, All Aboard Washington
[...] insane not to try to kickstart a domestic railcar and streetcar industry in this country, as Jennifer Granholm has suggested doing in Michigan. The rail build out now gaining momentum around the world has many decades to go. [...]
We elect our leaders because they represent our opinions. Then why not take the
suggestions made by Govener Granholm and go ahead with the production of
trains? I can not understand those folks who oppose everthing and present nothing
as a solution. The ability to produce those tanks and weapons that helped to win
WW 2 came from the very plants which are now in jepordy, we have proven that the
USA can out manufacture any country in the world. What we need now is the confidence in our own workers and our own leaders like Jennifer Granholm to make
the USA what it used to be, the number 1 producer of all products. I can remember
being a young child and my parents were opposed to any product made overseas
because they were pure junk. Those items were made with no regared to lasting
use, but we the citizens of this country made those overseas plants succesful because
we bought enough of them at a cheaper price than USA made ones . But now those
very same products cost even more money than our own. We must have faith, buy
American every chance you get.
[...] do what? Well. Several on the left want to convert them to make green technologies and infrastructure of various sorts. I’m wary [...]