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Do Railroad Managers Secretly Favor PTC?

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On the surface, PTC is just a way to prevent crashes by taking the human element out of part of the decisions making process.  But when you think about it, there is really no reason to limit automation to just that part of the process.  Automation can drive the train and switch the cars.  Further technology of the same sophistication as PTC will be able to analyze the entire train consist including individual car weight, car type, and arrangement of cars in the consist.   It will compare these train factors to route geometry and weather conditions, and control the power and braking for the best economy and performance.  That will save money.  Reducing or eliminating crews will save money.  Automation will save money.    But no railroad manager can come out in favor of this brave new world because it will trigger union and labor resistance and animosity.   And no single railroad would dare to move ahead because the cost would put them at a disadvantage with their competition.  Nobody can afford to go first.  So, enter the government mandate for PTC.  On the surface, there is good reason to complain about it just because it is a mandate and nobody wants to be told how to run their business.  But are the complaints just for show?  Is it possible that managers actually welcome the opportunity to enter the road to full automation while escaping blame from the unions by saying that the government has forced them into it?  Do they welcome the fact that the government mandate keeps the playing field level by forcing their competition into simultaneously bearing the same expense for the upgrade? This theory might help explain why railroad managers have been so tepid in their criticism of the mandate.  They might actually support it, and their mild protests may be only a show for labor and the unions.
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