johnpbarlow wrote:Speaking of G&U, there has been discussion for a few years now that they would get some of the CSX track/rights around Franklin via their rebuilt Milford track but the rebuild seems to be in limbo these days.
It's not in limbo. G&U's very small, and had to assign resources to get their propane transload constructed and serve growth at their 3 yards that's exceeded all expectations. It's the
nicest problem for a small business to have! CSX is more than happy to give them all the time in the world to catch up on the Milford reconnection, because they're the ones getting the spike in interchange revenue from G&U taking care of first priorities first. The handover will take place when they're ready. Supposedly overhead trackage rights have already tentatively been secured as far north as Walpole Jct. so the carriers will have a #2 interchange spot at that yard to do as they please with.
CSX can't get out of Everett quite yet because they still have to serve Houghton Chemical once or twice per week at Beacon Park on that same job. So even if they had PAR do haulage for them with set-offs at Barbers to pocket the ops cost savings of cutting a pretty small daily...they'd still have to run the same train with the same crew for nearly the same distance every time Houghton needed a measly 1 or 2 tankers. Harvard U. and the Boston Redevelopment Authority are negotiating with Houghton for a relocation so that parcel can be redeveloped contiguous with the rest of Harvard's Beacon Park land. Unlike Beacon Park's other former rail tenant Romar Transportation, who CSX actively negotiated a relocation for out to Hopedale on G&U, Houghton insists that any new site has to be in or immediately adjacent to Boston...on a rail line next to a highway interchange. And they are driving a hard bargain with those requirements (as is their right), resisting all offers to-date in order to drive up the asking price to can't-refuse sums. It'll happen soon enough and they'll be re-situated within 2-4 years, but the city and Harvard have to be the ones to pony-up; CSX is just a spectator until then.
I'm not surprised that they're still chasing Everett customers in the meantime. Even if it ends up PAR haulage tacked onto the back of an LA-# and interchanged later in the day, those would still be CSX--not PAR--customers served. They retain the control, retain the ability to take the job back if they need/want to terminate the haulage agreement, and earn more money exercising that control than if they just outright sold their Everett rights to PAR. If they get out, it'll be via haulage agreement and PAR seeing enough extra free-throw revenue in the haulage fees to be fine with tacking on the extra daily carloads...not any sort of competitive cease-fire or outright abdication of territorial rights. It's still good long-term business for CSX to be competitive and in-control at a port like Everett. The question is whether they find it
better business to be competitive and in-control while leveraging somebody else for ops cost control. Both railroads very easily have something to gain from 'coopetition' in that scenario.