Skip to content
MarketScale
Demo
Contributors›Christopher Barkan
Christopher Barkan photo

Professor

Christopher Barkan

Christopher P.L. Barkan is Professor and George Krambles Director of the Rail Transportation and Engineering Center (RailTEC) in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He received his B.A. (1977) from Goddard College and his M.S. (1984) and Ph.D. (1987) from the State University of New York at Albany. He held a postdoctoral fellowship at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center before joining the Association of American Railroads (AAR) in 1988 where he worked for 10 years in the Research & Test and the Safety & Operations departments in Washington, D.C. He joined the faculty at the University of Illinois in 1998. Dr. Barkan teaches courses in railroad transportation engineering, railway signaling and operation, advances in rail technology and graduate seminars in various rail transportation topics. Since coming to the University of Illinois, he and his colleagues have expanded the rail curriculum from one course to ten, the largest of any North American university. He is also working with colleagues at other colleges and universities, leading efforts to expand rail transportation and engineering academic programs and opportunities nationwide.

1 articleLinkedIn ↗
Contributor Brief·Christopher Barkan · 1 article
Updated Sep 6, 2023

Rail technology can recapture freight market share from trucking

Barkan argues that emerging rail technologies represent a genuine competitive alternative to long-haul trucking, not merely an incremental improvement to existing rail infrastructure. He believes Georgia's pilot test signals an inflection point where rail can address the operational constraints that have allowed trucking to dominate freight movement.

1

emerging rail system being tested in Georgia for freight competitiveness

“This system could reshape how goods move by rail and compete directly with long-haul trucking.”

New Rail Technology is Aiming to Revitalize More Rail Infrastructure as an Alternative to Trucking

Transportation mode characteristics enabling trucking dominance over rail

Flexibility in pickup/delivery locations9
Speed of deployment to regional markets8
Equipment utilization efficiency7
Infrastructure cost barriers for rail9

SHARE

27%Flexibility in
Flexibility in pickup/delivery locations
Speed of deployment to regional markets
Equipment utilization efficiency
Infrastructure cost barriers for rail

long-haul freight

primary market segment new rail technology targets for displacement

Georgia is preparing to test an emerging system that could reshape transportation logistics.

New Rail Technology is Aiming to Revitalize More Rail Infrastructure as an Alternative to Trucking

Infrastructure modernization enables rail to compete on operational flexibility previously held by trucking.

New Rail Technology is Aiming to Revitalize More Rail Infrastructure as an Alternative to Trucking

“Rail's future depends on matching trucking's accessibility, not just cost efficiency.”

Themes:Rail technology as direct trucking competitorInfrastructure modernization enabling modal shiftOperational flexibility as competitive necessity

What is MarketScale

These experts publish through MarketScale, a content platform that turns industry knowledge into articles, video, and audience. Want the same for your team?