by STrRedWolf
Backshophoss wrote:Believe a good chunk of this is covered in the Sunset East thread,the "news" of a possible sale of the route might be on hold as Mr Foote isI think everyone but CSX is considering "Restoration of previous service." CSX is saying "Times have changed. Forget your law?"
still trying to calm down the customer base after the rash of service foul ups under EHH's brief tenure.
Any return of service to this route, needs the host RR to reasonable on cost of what truly needed upgrades are.
CSX has been quoting HIGH costs as to keep Amtrak from returning since that storm hit the Gulf coast shoreline,
their legal dept worries of another Bay Canot type wreck(Barge vs Bridge,train wind up in the water) between NOL and the Al/FL state line.
The restart of service might be a push-pull consist from NOL to Biloxi MS (Casinos Resorts) and an extension to Mobile Al some time later.
I can see why CSX is quoting a high figure. A line that's mostly single track, with a ton of drawbridges, that you can verify through Google Maps and Wikimapia's satellite view? It's a matter of double tracking and rebuilding bridges higher, possibly with a new alignment.
Is it too high? Maybe. Or maybe in this instance CSX is really freakin' scared of lawsuits when the next accident on the line occurs, and it will occur! Until we get CSX's justification and plans for the line to support Amtrak service, all we can do is guess why.