JimBoylan wrote:What will happen to Detroit area operations of ConRail?
There is not really that much left of Conrail Shared Assets in Detroit. BTW, my residence is on the only residential (dead-end) street abutting Livernois Yard, formerly the once-huge NYC yard--the heart of Conrail SA-Detroit. But I rarely notice any sounds of its railroading other than occasional containers being parked (dropped).
The DIFT (Detroit Intermodal Freight Terminal) plans from the mid 1990s had four options. Only the fourth (the do-nothing) option is in effect: the railroads are free to do anything they want to on their own original properties or any properties they might acquire without governmental action. The Michigan Supreme Court decision several years ago killed any condemnation of property, as private firms have no eminent-domain rights or privileges in Michigan.
So, CSX built its own intermodal at Livernois Yard by the Dix, Waterman, and Vernor intersection, and its truck freight traffic is nowhere what was originally planned or anticipated a decade and a half ago--not even close, even before the economy tanked. IOW, the Conrail Shared in Detroit has very little traffic of its own. Norfolk Southern, if it ever wanted to, could build its own intermodal facilities in the totally empty Livernois Yard area between Central and Lonyo. Instead, the Norfolk Southern is reported to be looking to dump much or all of its Michigan operations.
After their purchase of Detroit Shared Assets, several Conrail freight yards were gradually shuttered, starting very early after acquisition. CSX operates the only manned interlocking tower in these parts at Delray. That former overworked bottle neck now resembles a Maytag repair shop much of the time.
IOW, Detroit more and more is becoming a ghost town whose railroad traffic is getting light or is through traffic, primarily of the four major railroads here.