New OneRail Coalition poll confirms Americans’ support for rail travel

Americans’ support for rail remains strong, showing increases from 2020 for commuting short distances, traveling long distances, improving the environment, and meeting growing freight transportation demands, according to a new poll conducted by ENGINE Insights on behalf of the OneRail Coalition.

Findings of the poll include:

83 percent of Americans polled in 2021 agree that there should be more shift of trips to passenger rail and public transit, as well as more freight to trains to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

For passenger rail, post-pandemic favourability ratings showed strong gains, increasing from 65 percent in 2020 to 75 percent in 2021.