Container transport got sped up in the last two decades with the introduction of the technique of double-stacking containers on trains. That technique reduces damage and theft and increases the amount of freight that can be moved per linier foot of train.
One of the problems with double-stacking is that you need to make sure the train has sufficient overhead clearance; electric trains with overhead wires have proved problematic for double-stacking, as have tunnels. Shorter tunnels will require a single-stack approach, which will mean having twice as many rail cars going through to deliver the same amount of goods.
Freight between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario go via a freight tunnel; there is an additional bridge and tunnel for truck and car traffic between the car capitals of the US and Canada and a second car-truck bridge is in the planning stages. However, there is now plans to do a double-stack sized second rail tunnel between Detroit and Windsor; the news of the days is that the tunnel consortium is going to be doing an environmental assessment of the new tunnel.
I’m not sure if they would include this in the environmental assessment, but the efficiency of double-stacking will take a lot of the container trucking load off the Windsor Tunnel and Ambassador Bridge; containers that aren’t going by rail now may have to go by truck on that busy run between automotive plants on both sides of the border. That’s going to cut down on diesel consumption and improve the air in the area. There may be some problems with the geology of the proposed route, but unless there is a deal-breaker in the geology or the entrances to the new tunnel, the big dig should be environmentally friendly on balance.
Source: http://www.todaystrucking.com/news.cfm?intDocID=23216
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermodal_fr...ainer_transport
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