Commentary

STB Calls ‘Time Out’ in Mobile Slugfest. What’s Next?

Many have been waiting for the ongoing battle at the Surface Transportation Board (STB) between Amtrak on one side and CSX, Norfolk Southern and the Port of Mobile on the other (Docket No. FD-36496) to resume on Monday, June 13. The issue was how much infrastructure would have to be built before Amtrak can run two daily round trips between New Orleans and Mobile.

CN to STB: New Amtrak OA Sought—on Our Terms

We recently reported on Amtrak’s request to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to set terms and conditions for a new operating agreement (OA) between Amtrak and CN, as one of the host railroads whose lines Amtrak uses for its trains.

Second FTA Safety Probe Targets MBTA

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is using authority granted years ago to investigate safety conditions at Boston’s Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). This authority came from the MAP-21 (Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act) legislation and has been used only once before, for an investigation at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Prior to that time, the agency had no authority over safety on the nation’s transit.

Amtrak to STB: We Want New Host Railroad Rules

The authority vested in the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to decide issues concerning passenger trains has been expanding lately. On May 27, Amtrak asked the Board to intervene in a dispute with Canadian National (CN) over a number of issues, including on-time performance (OTP), penalties for low performance, and incentives to improve performance.

Gulf Coast Battle, Rounds 7-8

The slugfest between Amtrak on one side and CSX, NS, and the Port of Mobile on the other, has been long. It has lasted for ten full days plus an afternoon so far, and reached its originally scheduled conclusion on Thursday, May 11. That was the half-day, following the morning appearance of Chair Martin J. Oberman and other members of the Surface Transportation Board (STB) before the House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee.

Commentary

Gulf Coast Battle: An Interim Report

The witness phase of the slugout between Amtrak on one side and CSX, Norfolk Southern (NS) and the Port of Mobile on the other, ended May 12 as its 11th day concluded. It ended not with T.S. Eliot’s oft-quoted “whimper” but truly with a bang.

Commentary

RUN Conference Highlights Advocacy Efforts in the West

With recent concerns about Amtrak scheduling, voluminous reporting on the ongoing STB hearing about trains between New Orleans and Mobile, and numerous construction projects in the Northeast, it’s easy to turn our

Round 6: The Port Raises a Statutory Issue

At this writing, Amtrak is preparing to present its case to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) disputing the amount of new infrastructure that potential host railroads CSX and Norfolk Southern claim must

Round 5: A Skirmish Over a Model

The “Second Battle of Mobile” is in full swing. Prospective host railroads CSX and Norfolk Southern, along with the Port of Mobile, are in a hearted dispute with Amtrak at the Surface Transportation Board (STB) about how much infrastructure must be built between New Orleans and Mobile before Amtrak will be allowed to run two daily round trips between those cities.

Commentary

Has the Railroads’ ‘Get Up and Go’ Spirit ‘Got Up and Gone’?

My take on the STB Gulf Coast hearings, so far: There seems to be little question that the ongoing campaign to bring Amtrak trains to the Gulf Coast between New Orleans and Mobile is among Railway Age’s biggest stories of the past two-plus years, second-only to coverage of the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger.

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