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Rail traffic has increased 64 percent since 1980 with strong growth forecast through 2020, according to a freight and passenger industry audit by Kenneth Mead, the Transportation Department inspector general. More traffic combined with a steady decline in track miles and continued reductions in railroad staff to save money aggravates crowded conditions, industry officials say. The audit found that numerous infrastructure bottlenecks–undersized bridges and tunnels, track design limits and outmoded communications systems–are magnifying the problem.
