Indiana Senator introduces bill to restore U.S. railcar fleet

(WTWO/WAWV) — Senators Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) introduced a new act focused on revitalizing the United States’ railcars.

The two senators introduced the Freight Rail Assets Investment to Launch Commercial Activity Revitalization (Freight RAILCAR) Act earlier this week. The bipartisan bill aims to create a temporary three-year 10% investment tax credit to modernize America’s railcar fleet.

Officials said the bill will also incentivize private companies to retire old and less efficient cars, as well as better position America’s industry to address the supply chain constraints and support U.S. manufacturing jobs.

The credit will be limited to 1,000 new freight cars per company each year. The credit for these cars will also be non-transferable and non-refundable. It will also require all existing railcars to have been in service during the four years prior to enactment of the bill, and if not, they are to be permanently taken out of service.

The bill will also prohibit Chinese railcar manufacturer CRRC and other state-owned or state-subsidized entities from qualifying for the credits.

The current North American railcar fleet consists of more than 1.6 million railcars, with over 200,000 in the U.S. being more than 40 years old. Current estimates indicate that nearly a quarter million of the freight railcars will be obsolete and need replacement within the next 15 years.

You can find the full text of the bill at this link.