RAILROAD NEWS AND COMMENTARY FROM WASHINGTON BY WES VERNON On Speeding Up and Slowing Down
CONFLICTING CONCERNS have brought age-old rail issues to the forefront, both in freight and passenger traffic. While that is going on, cred- ible activity on Capitol Hill focuses on new legislation that Amtrak supporters describe as a huge leap forward for America’s 44-year- old inter-city passenger railroad.
“High Speed?” Slow Down
At the very time that passenger interests are doubling down on their efforts to bring the United States into the family of high-speed rail (HSR) nations, the FRA — reacting to the disastrous accident of Amtrak No. 188 in May — has undertaken a series of actions that could slow the printed schedules on the Northeast Corridor and elsewhere. By itself, that will not halt progress (such
as it is) in the HSR movement (we’re not go- ing back to the dawn of the 20th century), but it could dim some of the enthusiasm behind high-speed rail. The first consideration real- ly doesn’t have any logical connection to the other. But to a public that is tone deaf to the intricacies of railroading, the increasing acci- dent rate on a transportation mode that pro- motes its advertised “beat-the-plane” prom- ises could run up against public weariness with anticipated high-speed trains that never materialize — and with present-day railroads experiencing difficulties simply keeping con- ventional trains on the tracks through an out- break of serious life-threatening (and life-de- stroying) accidents. On a much slower scale, the Class I carri-
ers are under increasing pressure to follow through on their railroads’ already highly prioritized (arguably legendary) safety cam- paign, as they seek to avoid more oil spills on the rails that have increased in recent months.
The NEC
The accident of Amtrak Regional No. 188 at Frankford Junction just outside of Philadel- phia once again calls attention the fact that the Boston-New York-Washington corridor — by far the most heavily traveled passenger line in America — has a series of deferred re- pair/rebuild issues with bridges, tunnels, and other right-of-way infrastructure. Moral of the story: America’s “showcase” corridor won’t really be “high-speed” until we shell out the resources to bring that desired goal to reality without sacrificing the safety imperative. Under the post-Frankford FRA order, Am-
trak was required — certainly for starters — to enforce the Frankford speed limit of 50 m.p.h. immediately. The railroad set about to accomplish that. That, of course, is basic, especially given that there are still (as of this writing) open questions about how No. 188 was allowed to go 106 m.p.h. — over twice the limit — for over a minute before the de- railment, with eight lives lost and many more injured as a result.
What Apparently Did Not Happen
It has been established by investigations that the train’s engineer, Brandon Bostian, was not texting nor operating his cell phone at the time leading up to the accident. His attorney
says he “blacked out.” That and other incon- clusive issues are still being probed. Something about the 188 disaster seems
to have sharply focused the deep concerns in Washington about the safety issue, as exem- plified by a larger-than-usual string of bad accidents, originally set off by Lac-Megantic. Now No. 188 is seen as the most jolting wake- up call since that night of July of 2013 when runaway oil train wiped out a huge chunk of that small town in Quebec, with over 40 dead and buildings in the center of the town’s busi- ness section flattened. A major goal is to make the NEC and oth-
er properties “High-Speed ready,” or — for the freight carriers — consistently Bakken shale oil ready, all against a backdrop of huge construction costs. Despite some disappoint- ments in monetary outlays for Amtrak, an aggressive pro-Amtrak legislative effort is under way on the passenger and freight sides of the business on several fronts.
Front 1: One Regulator
The Senate has passed a bill to focus rail regulation under the umbrella of one agency — the Surface Transportation Board (STB). Furthermore, it passed the Senate by unan- imous vote. Can you believe it? With all the turf wars
in Washington (petty and otherwise), you’d think there’d be at least a whimper of some sort before any efficiency intrudes on anyone’s precious fiefdom. This is a far cry from the days back in the early ’80s when Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) moved heaven and earth to save ancient prerogatives of the old Inter- state Commerce Commission (ICC). He went the extra mile to make the case for the “every- thing but the kitchen sink” agenda of the ICC, which had been around for nearly 100 years, since 1887. Lawmakers such as Dingell had built their power by building a constituency among the alphabet soup interests amongst those who had depended on some action or another by the ICC. But the old 19th century commission fell
by the wayside, only (as it turned out) to be replaced by the Surface Transportation Board because — well, you know somebody has to keep an eye on the railroads. So the STB lives by unanimous support
of the “world’s most deliberative body.” The main sponsor of the measure is the Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) His state was one of the main suf- ferers of major backups in freight traffic in 2014, caused in part by the Bakken shale shipments. He and others believed there was a need to sweep the cobwebs, so to speak.
The Shakeup
There is a lot of talk about cutting back on appropriations for Amtrak; indeed such pro- posals are routinely introduced and just as quickly swatted down when put to a vote on the floor — usually on the House side. Such ideas, though they throw a scare into Amtrak backers, have made no real headway beyond the margins. The latest example came in late June when the House rejected a push to impose steep
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