I haven't had time to open the link but just from your summary I wonder why the Lake Shore or even Michigan Service is not included.
The Railway Age article only has 2 additional (meaty) paragraphs after my excerpt. As for filing for only the CL, the LSL may get a separate filing given the different CSX route if Amtrak is planning a complaint for the LSL as well. Or Amtrak is following a strategy of filing a complaint where they have the strongest and most direct case.
Or it may be the case that even Amtrak realizes that a significant part of the delay faced by the LSL in upstate New York is really Amtrak's own problems at Albany followed by strange practices followed by Amtrak Conductors at station stops wasting enormous amount of time and always blowing the timetable.
The case at the SCOTUS is not about trackage rights. Trackage rights have never really been challenged by anyone. The case is about the process for setting standards for measuring performance of host railroads relative to their contracts with Amtrak. Intricately tied in with that appears to be the question of whether Amtrak is a federal government entity or a private entity.
They're big boys. They can take the criticism.
copy of complaint letter follows.
Yes, the LSL route is more complex with part of the route dispatched by Amtrak and MNRR. Then there are themuddled handling and delays across upper state NY. CSX could point to westbound trains leaving SDY 20 minutes late and, say, see it entered our tracks out of slot, so it was Amtrak's fault to begin with. The CL route is cleaner and dispatched by NS and CSX almost its entire route.Or it may be the case that even Amtrak realizes that a significant part of the delay faced by the LSL in upstate New York is really Amtrak's own problems at Albany followed by strange practices followed by Amtrak Conductors at station stops wasting enormous amount of time and always blowing the timetable.
QFT. Unless your business model is based on routine litigation most business lawyers are working on mundane tasks involving drafting and reviewing contracts, researching applicable rules and regulations, and generally avoiding litigation.
Perhaps they will no longer be necessary because the practical application of OTP standards will be genuinely toothless after the SCOTUS rules on this debate.
They're also big bullies who are likely to respond to the criticism with a call to their buddies in Congress and serving with the Supremes.
No, it does not work this way. CL #30(11/17) lost 5 hours between Toledo and Sandusky, and LSL #48(11/17) lost over 3 hours. With the cold front pushing through and snow fall in some areas, could be weather related. #49 (11/17) was over 5 hours late by the time it got to Erie while the Buffalo and Erie region is getting hit with a lot of lake effect snow. According to the news, some parts of Erie County, PA already have 3 feet of snow.
I love how everybody thinks the leaders of CSX and NS take this personally and would order the mishandling of Amtrak trains. Today's no different from any other day, both railroads just act incompetently out of practice.
The LSL route is also disrupted by Amtrak's own trackwork from SDY to POU at the moment, allowing for yet more excuses. The CL makes for a much clearer complaint.Yes, the LSL route is more complex with part of the route dispatched by Amtrak and MNRR. Tnen there is long established muddle and delays across upper state NY. CSX could point to westbound trains leaving SDY 20 minutes late and, say, see it entered our tracks out of slot, so it was Amtrak's fault to begin with. The CL route is cleaner and dispatched by NS and CSX almost its entire route.Or it may be the case that even Amtrak realizes that a significant part of the delay faced by the LSL in upstate New York is really Amtrak's own problems at Albany followed by strange practices followed by Amtrak Conductors at station stops wasting enormous amount of time and always blowing the timetable.
One would hope that they would be smart enough to realize which side their bread is buttered on at the moment. The freight shippers are all mad at them too, and have more influence in Congress than the railroads do. Attempting to throw your weight around politically doesn't work when you don't have as much weight as you think.
Let them be mad. Let them be furious. Let them eat cake. Modern class ones have surprisingly little to fear from the vast majority of shippers. I've seen heavy haul shippers that were good for hundreds of rail cars per day switch to trucking services in order to save time and money. Extended contract shippers have fought class ones in court over high prices and anti-competitive practices only to have their lawsuits tossed before they could go to trial. While there are indeed numerous industries that depend on rail freight there are very few industries (let alone individual companies) that can successfully take on a class one and win. When it comes to throwing weight around which rail shipper has more weight than Berkshire Hathaway Inc?The LSL route is also disrupted by Amtrak's own trackwork from SDY to POU at the moment, allowing for yet more excuses. The CL makes for a much clearer complaint.Yes, the LSL route is more complex with part of the route dispatched by Amtrak and MNRR. Tnen there is long established muddle and delays across upper state NY. CSX could point to westbound trains leaving SDY 20 minutes late and, say, see it entered our tracks out of slot, so it was Amtrak's fault to begin with. The CL route is cleaner and dispatched by NS and CSX almost its entire route.Or it may be the case that even Amtrak realizes that a significant part of the delay faced by the LSL in upstate New York is really Amtrak's own problems at Albany followed by strange practices followed by Amtrak Conductors at station stops wasting enormous amount of time and always blowing the timetable.
One would hope that they would be smart enough to realize which side their bread is buttered on at the moment. The freight shippers are all mad at them too, and have more influence in Congress than the railroads do. Attempting to throw your weight around politically doesn't work when you don't have as much weight as you think. If NS is really sensible, they'll immediately blame all the problems on the Auto-Router, announce that they've stopped ordering dispatchers to use it, and say that the problem is therefore fixed.
United Parcel Service, FedEx, Yellow, JB Hunt.
Not to mention all the power companies around the nation that depend on coal shipments, as well as the agricultural industry. Re-regulation of the rail freight industry is a great fear of railroad executives, although now the Sen. Jay Rockefeller from West Virginia has retired and has been replaced by a Republican, the re-regulation effort has probably lot a lot of steam.
Similarly with large volume shipment of grain or POL.
