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"Open Access" and regulation of railroad freight rates.
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<P>[quote user="TimChgo9"]As I read these threads, I begin to wonder if Open Access is a good idea. Now, I have no railroad freight moving experience at all, all I know is what I read. But it seems, that opening up rail lines to "anyone" who wants to use them, while someone else (be it government, or a corporation, or what have you) maintains the infrastructure seems like a model that could be fraught with problems. While, from what I read, "competition" would increase, and would benefit those captive shippers out there (would it?), it seems like a system asking for trouble. Aside from safety, and maintenance issues, would Open Access mean that any Tom, Dick or Harry that could afford to buy a train, ask for permission to run it on the rails? Let me ask it this way.. Say that I have some money to burn, and I find out that the railroads are now "Open Access" and I have always wanted to buy a train, and run it, and make some money. So, I buy an old locomotive, and some cars, and put myself in business as "TimChgo9 Transportation Company" Now, under OA, would I be able to just put my train on the tracks, and go drumming up customers, or not? How would I be regulated, would the FRA still play a part, or not? Who inspects my equipment, and the training of my Engineers and Brakemen? Or under OA, would all of the regulations be cursory? Or nonexistent? And if the government were to be the ones in control of the infrastructure, would repairs even be made, or would one have to jump through bureaucratic hoops to get something simple done? How long would it take to replace defective rail, or ties, or worn switch points? Not to mention signals, crossing gates, and the like. Since the owner would have no vested interest in a profit, then what would be the motivation to fix anything? AND if there is an accident due to poor infrastructure maintenance, who reimburses the affected carrier, as well as the shipper? What would be the regulating body? Airports can be used by anyone who wants to start an airline, whether they own 2 747's or a bunch of Gulfstream I's, they may be able to start the airline, but they have to submit to the FAA as far as airworthiness of their airplanes, crew training and etc... So, would I have to submit to the FRA, or in lieu of them, would the infrastructure owner demand standards. And who gets priority? The big Railroads, or is it a first come first served.... In other words, if I am there with my old GP40 and my half a dozen cars, can I ask for and get priority over, say, a Chicago to Seattle intermodal? Who would dispatch? Does that fall under "Infrastructure" or would each carrier dispatch their own? I don't see these questions being answered, all I see are one person's apparent dislike, if not loathing of the big railroads, and perhaps his desire for OA is to see the "giants" cut down to size, and his remarks are followed by, either jibes, links to other places, or large, broad based answers that don't deal in nuts and bolts. The theory of a "level playing field" where everyone can "compete fairly" is a nice one.... in theory. But, would it not lead to a period of confusion, over crowding, reduction of service, and possibly a decrease in safety? And if that were the case, would that be good? (Before anyone says anything, I know that some railroads defer maintenance, and have the occasional "safety issue", since I am not a railroader, the railroaders in this forum could probably address the safety thing better than I can) I don't think OA is a magic bullet as some in this forum would like to suggest. It can't be, there is nothing that is a "magic bullet" for anything. Logic would dictate that if OA were implemented, it would lead to a potential mess. While the system we have now works for some, and not really for others, would we be doing rail transportation in this country any favors by going OA?[/quote]</P> <P>Did you notice how you framed it all in your last sentence? E.g. "doing rail transportation.....any favors" rather than "doing US rail shippers any favors". Just a thought, but why is it that US politicos are supposed to prioritize railroads over rail shippers? </P> <P>But to answer your question, yes OA is meant to benefit rail shipping in the US, not necessarily the current rail industry. Obviously, an unhealthy rail line sector is bad for rail shipping. But what we are witnessing today is that a strong and powerful rail industry is not necessarily good for rail shipping interests. So somewhere between having a healthy but abusive rail line sector and an advantageous rail shipping sector but struggling railroad industry is where we're trying to find the utilitarian optimum.</P> <P>BTW - for the record, I see OA as just one option for bringing comprehensive intramodal rail competition to bear. Another option I'd favor is keeping the integrated model but making sure all regions of the country have at least three rail service providers, e.g. triopoly or better. The latter would probably involve a lot of track sharing to prevent overcapitalization.</P> <P>As for anyone with some bucks buying their own locos and railcars and offering their services (just like many trucking outfits), I'd say the dispensers of scarce capacity would laugh you out of the office, while the overseers of ample capacity would probably consider your bids. You'd be better off just forming a 3rd party intermodal company like Pacer, then subletting your rail transport needs to one of the presumed established rail service providers - BNSF, UP, KCS, DME, et al. Other than the largest trucking outfits like JBHunt or UPS, I can't see too much of non rail outfits deciding to run their own trains with an advent of OA.</P>
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