CSX Acquisition of Pan Am Railways

Last I checked Amtrak came into existence to take a money losing business off the hands of the RR's. The least a company like CSX can do is provide reasonable service, especially given all the taxpayer funds that go towards improved clearances and what not. Perhaps if they were not such a bad actor down south no one would worry about their purchase of PAR. It's entirely reasonable for Amtrak to seek out some protections here.

Amtrak likely paid more to PAR than they would have had the Downeaster been running on a road with a predecessor who joined Amtrak.

The debts absorbed for CSX and the other Class 1's have long since been repaid via cut rate access for Amtrak. It's long overdue for the terms of the deal to be renegotiated reflect that. Perhaps the recent SCOTUS ruling on the eviction moratorium should be argued as a precedent...

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Dogbert666 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 31, 2021 8:45 pm Last I checked Amtrak came into existence to take a money losing business off the hands of the RR's. The least a company like CSX can do is provide reasonable service, especially given all the taxpayer funds that go towards improved clearances and what not. Perhaps if they were not such a bad actor down south no one would worry about their purchase of PAR. It's entirely reasonable for Amtrak to seek out some protections here.

CSX actually has dramatically improved Amtrak on time performance down south in the last couple years. Not to say it’s perfect - but it has improved. There may be financial reasons for that - Amtrak reportedly has at times negotiated financial incentives for the roads if they deliver better OTP from a dispatch perspective which may be driving the improvement.

I don’t think it’s the current long distance and other existing services that many of these roads have had to carry for decades that they are losing sleep over - it’s new proposals of creation of passenger rail corridors like Connect US with multiple trains per day without what they view is sufficient investment in the infrastructure. Bringing through one long distance train a day that you’ve had to bring through for years and trying to schedule in 6 round trip passengers trains a day are two very different matters. If the involved state is willing to jump in and put in a brand new upgraded railroad to carry these passenger trains (while also speeding up the freights) I’m sure the roads will oblige. But many of the states where Amtrak is looking to expand may be less willing to dump a whole bunch of money into rail corridors that they may have a casual interest in but don’t necessarily want to pay to do it the right way - I think thats where you’re going to see the biggest fight. I don’t see Florida forking out the dough for Amtrak - with the development of brightline they are likely perfectly happy with the current Silver service and auto train routes that the state doesn’t have to pay for.

This sale can't come soon enough. The geometry train did a number on PAS. 10 MPH from Mechanicville to Buskirk (believe there is one 5 as well). Lots of 10 between Deerfield and Royalston. Pretty bad that this is a routine occurrence where the geometry train comes and globbers them for months. Trains are sitting for days due to lack of crews and these running times.

I fear the STB is going to ask for another operator for PAS, which will set it back another year at minimum. As long as some semblance of competition is there, who cares if the train sit right?

Maybe not. CSX must have an second operator option in their back pocket.

They could always offer that (becoming the operator of PAS) as a possibility to VRS... That would (potentially) solve everyone's problems, although it would be a sizable expansion for VRS.

I jokingly proposed this a while ago either here or on another forum. As a bonus for VRS, it would help then connect all of their VT and NH properties.

As good as they are with customers, I don't believe the "Wellfare Railroad" is capable of scaling to operate something to that degree.

Nickname for the VRS among some circles. Referencing their quasi-governmental status.

VRS bailed out PAS during the tunnel collapse with it's all hands on deck efforts. What did "some circle" contribute?

I am not sure what the relevance is. Regardless, it's neither here nor there. They aren't capable of running a railroad over that much territory, with that much tonnage, with CTC, with that many inter-related parties at the drop of a dime; which is going to be required here.

Perhaps the G&U's alleged purchase of 13 former MBTA F-40's presages a longshot interest in Pam An. Of course they would need to convert them into freight locos...

NRGeep wrote: ↑Tue Sep 07, 2021 3:46 pm Perhaps the G&U's alleged purchase of 13 former MBTA F-40's presages a longshot interest in Pam An. Of course they would need to convert them into freight locos...

That would be really putting the cart before the horse, no?