Who’d have thought that the federal government—specifically the Surface Transportation Board—would publicly poke a finger in the eye of one of the Class I railroads? Who’d have thought that since the STB is, after all, part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, a federal department run by Elaine Chao, a Trump appointee and wife…
Well, of course, when it comes to On Time Performance, there’s always room for improvement and, with a few of the long-distance trains, there’s still room for a LOT of improvement. But think back two or three years. Remember? Amtrak was struggling with chronically late trains, especially the long-distance trains running in and out…
I’ve done it and probably you have, too—sat in a Superliner roomette somewhere in the middle of Montana or Nebraska or Texas watching a 100-car freight go lumbering by while our train waits on a siding and falls farther and farther behind schedule. Toaster ovens from China get priority while we wait on a siding….
Back in 1970, when the private railroads were all desperate to get out of the money-losing passenger business, the federal government put together a deal: Amtrak was created to operate the passenger trains in the country and the freight railroads would be paid to accommodate Amtrak trains on their systems. In addition, the freight railroads…