Discusses railroad conditions that have led to rail branch-line abandonment, estimates the prevalence of those conditions throughout the North Central Region, summarizes NC-112 and related research studies bearing on branch-line abandonment, and indicates alternatives available to local commnities when rail abandonments occur.

Estimates were developed of the potential for rail-service termination and on the probable transport-related effects that such loss of service would have on: freight transport system; transport costs of affected rail users; resulting public-sector and private-sector investment requirements; and energy consumption. A survey was conducted of users of four sets of rail lines that had either recently lost service or could lose service in the future. Estimates of the overall effects of abandonment were developed by a computer program from an analysis of survey responses and from waybill data for shipments originating or terminating on the four sets of lines. All results are presented for these four sets of lines, and separately for sixteen commodity groups and for seven regions.