Now that Michael Ward has retired as CEO of CSX, he will remain in Jacksonville and continue the work that he loves as much as running a railroad—giving back to the community.
I travel between the New York metro area and Washington D.C. several times a year on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor trains, and I always treat myself to one of those tasty Angus cheeseburgers from the Café Car. Over the years, Amtrak has changed the offerings, but those big, juicy burgers, fresh out of the microwave, have never gone away.
Some three decades ago, the Association of American Railroads bestowed Rusty Spike Awards to recognize hypocritical posturing by those seeking legislative or regulatory advantage at the expense of railroads.
As we’ve been reporting and editorializing on for the past couple of weeks, Caltrain’s electrification project has been jeopardized by a delay of federal funding that is based on the state’s Republican delegation’s efforts to shut down the only-loosely connected high-speed rail program.
Press releases disguised as letters? Or letters disguised as press releases? In a corporate power struggle, either method can be deployed with the intent of influencing shareholders. Both sides in the power struggle tend to get rather long-winded, to put it politely.
This is Jim Blaze, rail economist and teacher—sometimes a reporter; always one who questions. I’m concerned about how the “Big 7” railroads are going to address their next five to ten years of market position, taking the wealth they created, and turning it into an upgraded business model. Which one so far has laid out the best disruptive plan? Which one is struggling? And which one might simply be cashing out?
With early indications that the Trump Administration is a political version of the Jerry Springer show, expect an atypical legislative session, with the Republican majority sometimes in open conflict with a Republican President who is unpredictable, impetuous, lacking previous government experience and quick to take vengeance on those critical of him.
You want to kill yet another chance to bring U.S. passenger rail into the 21st Century? Play a disingenuous game of smoke and mirrors by attempting to associate the object of your loathing to something else that has only little to do with it, and try to kill it as well.
If Judge Neil Gorsuch is Senate-confirmed to the Supreme Court, federal regulatory agencies such as the Surface Transportation Board (STB) and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) could be closer to losing a handy, trusted and effective judicial ally in their interpretations of the statutes they administer.
Expediency over principle describes a unanimous vote Jan. 27 by the three Surface Transportation Board (STB) members—Acting Chairman Ann Begeman, a Republican, and Democrats Dan Elliott and Deb Miller.
