by Gilbert B Norman
mtuandrew wrote: ↑Mon Apr 06, 2020 6:52 pm7) force UP into compliance for CHI-STL higher-speed rail operation, or purchase it from them at market value.Mr. Stephens, although I'm sure this "con job" ranks low with what private enterprise has "pulled" on the taxpayers, it hurts me because I own some "smither" of the "perp". Of course, I sure every other company in my portfolio is a "choir boy".
If it was known how much traffic UP intended to operate over the GM&O and that the primary intent of the funding under ARRA09 was to operate "ten a day (passenger trains) @110", and further any use for freight traffic was to be ancilliary (serve on-line industries @ 0-dark-30), that's one thing. But to have an additional through route to the C&EI where trains would be dispatched without apparent restriction, then the line should have been double tracked (just as it was until '69) and with UP participating in the cost of such.
The existing operating practices of "holing" a "high speed" passenger train, and worse - even with only "five a day"- pull in behind, meet, back up, then run around, is just saying "booey, what you going to do about it" to the taxpayers who signed up and dug in for HSR.
disclaimer: author long UNP