My problem is that all the "locals" are all accepting what ever Husband says, as the impartial truth. However, I feel that what he is saying is being spun by him, to the advantage of his employer, NS. For example, Husband told the crowd that it was totally illegal for Amtrak to ever run a passenger train on their freight lines (including the planned one-time excursion run).
I am no legal expert, but I can think of several examples where Amtrak is currently running passenger service using freight lines, and the host rail road is not exactly thrilled by it.
Oh yeah, if Hubbard said that he's just lying through his teeth. Amtrak can force NS to run Amtrak trains on any line they like. If NS presents an truly unreasonable price, Amtrak can go to the Surface Transportation Board and get a board-ordered price. The only reasons this hasn't been done more often is that (a) this would alienate the criminals at NS, and (b) the board-ordered price would probably still be pretty expensive; so it isn't worth it for Amtrak to do this unless there's a powerful and rich government backing Amtrak who really intends to make it happen. If the Pennsylvania Governor calls up NS and says "This route is happening, and we're going to spend what it takes, but we won't let you cheat us, so don't try anything", NS will meekly offer a reasonable price. But without a governor or someone equally powerful (mayor of a very large city perhaps) 100% behind the project, NS accurately feels that they can get away with obstruction.
Consider the Moline service. BNSF was recalcitrant at first, but they did what they were ordered to do and they charged a reasonable price for reasonable upgrades, because you do not mess with a governor's signature program. Consider Vermont. Consider North Carolina. Consider Massachusetts. All of them have done stuff in the same category. When CSX was exceptionally unreasonable and recalcitrant over the Worcester-Framingham line, Senators started making barely-veiled threats to pass federal legislation to seize the line, and CSX then made a fair deal pretty darn quick.
There just isn't enough political backing in Pennsylvania yet. Not nearly enough.
There was even *less* political backing for the daily Sunset. Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, none of them have *any* political backing for the train.
For what it's worth, this is why I figure pretty much anything proposed in California has a good chance of happening. The California politicians are much more likely to back a passenger train expansion 100%, and UP and BNSF know this, so they won't be mindlessly obstructionist, they'll stick to "this is what we need to maintain freight capacity".
I wish we could get more backing in New York, but Andrew Cuomo is an automobile nut. Maybe next governor.