abuse” on the part of the railroads. “It is anti-free market to suggest the government can dictate property usage of a private owner,” Jefferies adds. “Forced access,” as it is labeled by the


rail industry, would impose a regimen running counter to the congressional intention of the Staggers deregulation act of 1980, agrees the R Street institute.


On Top of That… The city fathers of Spokane, Wash.,


having failed to enact a law to impose a direct fine on the railroads for the shipment of coal and crude oil through downtown areas of the city, now are proposing to word the law in such a way as to target the shippers, not the railroads. However, representatives of Union


Pacific and BNSF are singularly unimpressed with that supposed “concession.” The railroads argue the new proposed law still would seek to take control of the process out of the lawful hands of Congress, and would not survive a legal challenge.


Speaking of Legal Action For months — arguably for years


— very close attention has been paid, including in this column, to the modification of the age-old truism that most passenger trains cannot exist without government subsidies. All eyes have been fixated on All Aboard Florida and its planned privately supported Brightline passenger trains that would run from Miami to Orlando, largely on existing Florida East Coast rails. An Indian River County legal action


fund now has tossed a potential monkey wrench into those well-laid plans. Its legal action argues that issuing the private activity bonds before a final environmental report was completed violated federal law. Thus, a federal court is being asked to nullify financing for the $3.1 billion project. Alternate financing, under that scenario, would come two possible ways — either from a federal loan (but already the federal DOT has described such a loan as “hypothetical”) or from other private investors (many of whom are reluctant to court political flak). So there the quandary stands — for


now. Another exciting chapter in a forever debated infrastructure project.


But Hey! Not All News is Bad Norfolk-Southern Corp. became the


only American railroad to report higher third quarter earnings, improving net income 2 percent to $460 million or $1.55 per share. CEO James Squires attributed this to “our continued focus on efficiency and asset utilization, balanced with our commitment to customer service ... even in the face of economic headwinds.” Good


22 JANUARY 2017 • RAILFAN.COM


An Acela trainset led by power car No. 2026 rolls south through Marcus Hook, Pa., on September 15, 2016. Amtrak’s Acela fleet is scheduled to be retired in the early 2020s as new equipment is purchased. STEVE BARRY PHOTO


news survives for NS despite the fact that coal, the railroad’s largest revenue earner, declined by 18 percent. The Financial Times headline, “Coal


trains rumble back on U.S. rail network,” helpfully reminds us that railroads are “the only practical way to haul coal across land,” but nonetheless “suffered collateral damage.” And FT adds, “Investors want to know whether the worst is over for the railroads’ coal business, which once comprised nearly a third of revenues.” But NS, whose coal business has been about as crucial as most others, does manage to keep going very well, despite that significant downside.


An Infusion to Amtrak Amtrak, it seems, is the recipient


of a loan that can help boost its operating fortunes during the next few years. The U.S. Department of Transportation recently has loaned “America’s railroad” $2.45 billion aimed at helping modernization of the aging infrastructure on the Northeast Corridor. The passenger railroad will have 29 years to pay back the loan. Among the items included in this funding are 28 new trains for the popular Acela Express. The loans are to be paid for from the revenues expected to be raised from the operation of the extra-fare well- patronized train. Repayments will begin no later than 2022. The current Acela equipment,


which began operations at the turn of this century, will be retired. Their introduction in the early 2000s was difficult, with designs being constantly changed in the run-up to and the early days of operation. The new equipment


hits the NEC trackage for regular service in 2021. The loans will also be applied to


30 miles of new track in Maryland between New Carrollton and Baltimore- Washington International Airport. Other expenditures will go toward construction projects at Baltimore Penn Station, at the Moynihan Station across the street from New York Penn (see last month’s column), and the planned “makeover” of Washington Union Station.


Speaking of Which


The Washington Post, in what was perhaps a fit of grandiosity, led with this: “Enter through the front doors of the cavernous, Beaux-Arts-style rail station, look around, straight up, and the view of the immense ‘General Waiting Room’, as it used to be called, is now much like it was in 1907 when renowned architect Daniel Burnham completed a masterwork befitting a city of monuments.” “Grandiosity” did we say? Judging by


a plan that is lying around somewhere, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.” Believe it or not, even though Union Station has just been “restored to its century-old splendor,” as the headline blares, it would pale in comparison with a longer- range plan that adds to the grandeur and several additional tracks for what is envisioned as an expanded and super- busy NEC, extending to a neighborhood residential complex surrounding the station. The proposal was introduced a few years back by now-former Amtrak CEO Joe Boardman. There’s not much movement about it at this moment. We’ll see.


WES VERNON IS A WASHINGTON WRITER and veteran broadcast journalist. You can reach him with questions or comments at capitollines@railfan.com.


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