A major merger – or mergers – could bring regular Pan Am Railways trains to Columbus to interchange with the Ohio Central. It could morph Florida East Coast into America East Coast with service to New Jersey and Virginia. It could even bring new, non-railroad players into the railroad field.
Imagine if United Parcel and K-Line ran their own dedicated trains between the West Coast and Midwest. The next generation of supposedly “boring” diesel locomotives could carry a myriad of new paint schemes in all manner of colors: chocolate brown for UPS, bright yellow for DHL, and light blue for Warner Enterprises. And there’s more: ADM, Cargill, and Staley; FedEx and Roadway Express; and ArcelorMittal and U.S. Steel.
To be clear, nobody is (publicly) proposing that existing railroad customers start to run their own trains. Not yet, anyway. And other railroads are less than thrilled with the idea. Recently, an executive with the Association of American Railroads characterized the concept as “forced access” while speaking to a group of railroad historians.
But Hunter Harrison’s vague proposal to embrace open access as a way to rubber-stamp approval of his proposed takeover of NS could bring even more far-reaching (and colorful!) change to North America’s railroads than anyone could imagine now.
I, for one, am a little excited at that prospect.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.