CSX Acquisition of Pan Am Railways

I have several friends from SMS who run the branch. NS officials have been up regularly, there is a slide at MP 19.2 that needs to be addressed. Major rehab of the branch is expected summer 2023.

Like button needed.

NS personnel in town this week touring the NS Voorheesville runner to inventory all bridges, ditches, culverts, etc. for material calculations, to get materials on order for 2023 rehab. SMS hogger has been hi railing them along the line.

Good to hear NS is getting its act together re: Albany Main rehab including Voorheesville connection (I assume). I wonder if NS sees this route not only as a means to achieving expedited double stack & auto service to/from southern New England but also as an insurance policy in case Hoosac Tunnel fails again?

Not insurance. If the tunnel fails and they for some reason choose not to repair, it is not going to be cost effective to pay CSX trackage or haulage feels for every ton they are moving on marginal carloads. They will exit PAS stage left.

That said, the condition of the tunnel is much more understand than it was in the past after the cave in. There are no imminent dangers.

Interesting to learn, Mr. Newpy, that the Hoosac Tunnel is in better shape today than in the past.

Uh, possibly when you were in service?

But all told, it appears you hold that if the tunnel were to have a major cave in, Topper, and likely a successor short line, would simply "bolt" from the Boston market.

I am not that well connected, but I do have close friends that work for SMS out of Guilderland. FWIW, my interest in railroading is not as a foamer, but that of one that is a proponent of US manufacturing and railroading, as I work in industry. Listening intently to what my SMS friends say, NS suggests a finite time frame for the use of the old Albany main and then a long term interest in PAS.... Personally, I would love to see NS and the two short lines in New England restore the ability to attract businesses and OMG, dare think it, some manufacturing, but having the shortlines operate similar to the Reading and Northern, with fantastic customer service..... what a fantasy...

That's what the tea leaves are saying. The fees being incurred for just the Ayer IM traffic over the B&A nearly make it not worth it. It's not viable long term if they can't somehow get that tunnel opened up.

Hoosac Tunnel still can't accommodate 2 double stacked, 53" hi-cube containers. It right now can only handle Double stacked 40' ocean boxes. NS had known this since the 2009 creation of Pan Am Southern. Whether NS pays haulage fees to CSX to run Voorheesville to Worcester up to Ayer, or invests in the clearances in the Tunnel, it will cost them money for thin margin intermodal traffic.

I would have to check the STB agreement since CSX and NS may have negotiated a cap on the haulage charges over Voorheesville. Otherwise it wouldn't be surprising if NS isn't in it for the long run.

Has CSX released any kind of plan for the biggest things they want to change? Do railroads usually do that with buyouts?

No, outside of a few talking points you're not going to see a bulleted list.

Csx provided their plans in some detail in all of the stb filings to get the buyout approved. Of course, plans may change some

I am hearing the ST collective bargaining agreements will be gone by mid-January, which begs the question what's going on with PAS? CSX has to file an update with the STB in November so we'll hear more... GWI still having labor issues is the word.

Negotiation on how the Railroad will be broken up contractually is the current holding point. CSX wants to force people to fill the jobs according to their seniority and have been unwilling to back down on this. Basically they want to put everything up for bid at once, and what you win is the railroad you work for. Unions want employees to have the choice of road as they should. It's been a stalemate since they began talking and that's the main reason they overshot October and still aren't doing well figuring it out.

A215 wrote:Negotiation on how the Railroad will be broken up contractually is the current holding point. CSX wants to force people to fill the jobs according to their seniority and have been unwilling to back down on this. Basically they want to put everything up for bid at once, and what you win is the railroad you work for. Unions want employees to have the choice of road as they should. It's been a stalemate since they began talking and that's the main reason they overshot October and still aren't doing well figuring it out.

Which is a smart move by CSX, because they know that if its done the other way, they will have even more crew shortages than what they have now.