Rail Passengers Urge Federal Regulators’ Caution on Proposed Railroad Sale
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The National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) has expressed its concern about the proposed sale of Norfolk Southern-owned railroad trackage in Michigan to a short-line railroad.
Norfolk Southern (NS) proposes to sell most of the lines it owns in the State of Michigan to WATCO Industries, an operator of so-called shortline railroads. While many of the NS routes are low-density branch lines well suited for acquisition and operation by a shortline railroad, NARP is concerned about the mainline segment between Kalamazoo and Ypsilanti, used by eight Amtrak trains a day.
In a filing with the Surface Transportation Board, the federal entity responsible for regulation and approval of such transactions, on Friday, NARP expressed “serious concerns” about the transaction, noting that “the Amtrak Wolverine service (the brand name for all Chicago-Detroit trains) carried over 324,000 passengers for the period ending June 30, 2007—four percent more than last year. Ridership is also up 4.7% on the Chicago-Port Huron Blue Water, which uses the NS line between Kalamazoo and Battle Creek.”
NARP, along with other regional rail advocates, stated in its filing that it is concerned that “a short line operator could let the top speed for passenger trains fall below its current 79 mph…on a segment of this growing corridor. Such a decrease in speed would make the service less attractive and result in reduced ridership as travelers switched to other modes of travel.”
In closing, NARP requested that the Surface Transportation Board, “study this proposed acquisition carefully and if it does approve this transaction, condition its approval on the inclusion of adequate safeguards to maintain passenger rail service at no less than its current level of quality.”
About NARP
NARP is the largest national membership advocacy organization for train and rail transit passengers. We have worked since 1967 to expand the quality and quantity of passenger rail in the U.S. Our mission is to work towards a modern, customer-focused national passenger train network that provides a travel choice Americans want. Our work is supported by over 23,000 individual members.