Railroads, that 19th-century technology, are having a 21st-century impact on the U.S. crude oil industry.
What was first seen as a stop-gap measure to deal with extra output is now being considered a viable complement to pipelines and a permanent part of the energy infrastructure in the U.S.
The swift growth in U.S. petroleum production left the energy industry with a lot of crude oil and nowhere to send it. Since the U.S. Energy Department forecast U.S. crude production to grow to 8.15 million barrels a day by December 2014, from the 6.89 million produced in November 2012, the U.S. will rely on even more on rail.
