schlimm tree68 If it means that my jerkwater town is going to start seeing (more) hazmat coming through, I'm agin it. Let them big city folks who actually use those hazmats put up with them. So that makes it at least one railroader who is one of those NIMBY's they love to ridicule.
tree68 If it means that my jerkwater town is going to start seeing (more) hazmat coming through, I'm agin it. Let them big city folks who actually use those hazmats put up with them.
If it means that my jerkwater town is going to start seeing (more) hazmat coming through, I'm agin it. Let them big city folks who actually use those hazmats put up with them.
So that makes it at least one railroader who is one of those NIMBY's they love to ridicule.
Oops - forgot the [sarcasm] tags.
Really, though - you don't think that there will be opposition to such routings? There aren't any rail lines that go through "nowhere." They were built to go through/past towns, if the towns didn't grow up alongside them.
So while you might come up with routings that touch less of the population, in reality, you're just moving the risk around. And it could be argued that the risk is minimal, anyhow. Most people are at greater danger of risk or injury from a trip to the corner store for milk than they are a rail catastrophe.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
daveklepper ... Operations impossible with the present factured operations include determining the safest practical route and handling between each hazmat origin and destination, managing the overall car supply so the most haadous freight gets the safest equipment practical, and providing a second layer of supervision to insure operations are as safe as possible with specific knowledge about the risks associated with each shipment.
...
Operations impossible with the present factured operations include determining the safest practical route and handling between each hazmat origin and destination, managing the overall car supply so the most haadous freight gets the safest equipment practical, and providing a second layer of supervision to insure operations are as safe as possible with specific knowledge about the risks associated with each shipment.
Paul_D_North_JrOne CEO (Rose or Moorman) said that as a result, they are essentially risking bankrupting the company with each carload shipment of toxic haz-mats - a cold and sobering thought.
Earlier I suggested that this is part of the considerations the railroad execs must be making, but some on the relevant threads prefer to think time will solve the problem, if any.
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
There was an excellent article by a Betsy Morris starting on page A-1 and continuing on page A-12 (IIRC) of yesterday's (Thursday, 09 Jan. 2014) print edition of the Wall Street Journal titled "Fiery Oil-Train Accidents Raise Railroad Insurance Worries", which also discussed haz-mat liability issues. Unfortunately, the article does not seem to be available on-line without being a subscriber.
I thought it was pretty fairly balanced. It quoted Hunter Harrison quite a bit. One key point (pun not intended !) is that present insurance coverage is limited to about $1.5 Billion, but the "worst-case scenario" is much higher than that. However, higher insurance limits are said to be uneconomical as a practical matter.
One CEO (Rose or Moorman) said that as a result, they are essentially risking bankrupting the company with each carload shipment of toxic haz-mats - a cold and sobering thought.
Another well-made point is that the railroads usually own and operate only a part of the risk - the tracks, locomotives, and crews. The cars are owned or leased by the shippers (or buyers, or a leasing company), and the cargo is owned by a similar party, and produced and labeled by yet another 'stakeholder'.
I probably haven't done the article justice with this summary. If you're interested in the subject, go look it up at a local library, etc.
- Paul North.
daveklepperMatthew K. Rose should head up this new company,
I think Matt Rose might have a better gig in his future. He's the heir apparent for Berkshire Hathaway.
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
daveklepperA very good argument for Key Transportation Co. to sort out the routes where this will not interfere with general traffic.
I should also point out that Pullman and Trailertrain are far from the only "monopolies" in railroad history. All the terminal switchiing railroads, Conrail Shared assetts, are other examples. Railroads really don' t wish to compete for hazmat traffic, and many would just as soon have it go away. And I am sure the varous safety people are all taking to each other and pooling ideas, giving any thoughts of competing for success in this important safety effort to the ashcan, any more than competing in highway gradecrossing safety.
Fred's blog suggests limiting hazmat trains to 40 mph abd to insure that either the hazmat train is stopped or the opposing train is stopped at meets. A very good argument for Key Transportation Co. to sort out the routes where this will not interfere with general traffic.
Are you insisting on reciprocal switching? Lots of people believe that phone service was more economical and far better, overall, when AT&T was a monopoly. AT&T was then able to fund important research of the type that now requires taxpayer support. Power companies in each area effectively have monopolies. In the days when railroads were the only real practical long-distance travel provider, Pullman effectively had a monopoly on first-class service and did a good job. The monopoly I am proposing is not really a monopoly anyway, because trucks and pipelines and even water transport can provide alternatives. The monopoly is required because piecing low-danger routes together requires the cooperation of all seven class-I's as well regionals and shortlines.
daveklepper Matthew K. Rose should head up this new company, and it should be set up to handle all Hamat freight transportation on Candadian and USA railroads. Ownership and revenue shares would be base on some formula such as hazmat orgine and destination revenue figures for the bqst year. Car ownership would largely be by the shippers and railroads, leased to Key Transportation, much as lightweight sleepers with Pullman. There may be a pool fleet owned by Key in addition. Routes would minimize danger in all cases. When possible dedicated trains would be operated Public would know that the railroads take the problem seriously and aren't waiting around to tackle the problem. The railroads would decide what is hasmat that should be handled by this company and what is regular freight, and this division would be the same for all seven Class I's.
Matthew K. Rose should head up this new company, and it should be set up to handle all Hamat freight transportation on Candadian and USA railroads.
Ownership and revenue shares would be base on some formula such as hazmat orgine and destination revenue figures for the bqst year.
Car ownership would largely be by the shippers and railroads, leased to Key Transportation, much as lightweight sleepers with Pullman. There may be a pool fleet owned by Key in addition.
Routes would minimize danger in all cases. When possible dedicated trains would be operated
Public would know that the railroads take the problem seriously and aren't waiting around to tackle the problem. The railroads would decide what is hasmat that should be handled by this company and what is regular freight, and this division would be the same for all seven Class I's.
A monopoly is never the best solution. It's rarely even a decent idea.
There is an apparent problem. It will be worked through and a solution found. But it's never good to concentrate all solution finding in a monopoly. You need competing concepts to move forward.
The plan seems to specialize the handling of hazmet trains. However, the public may see it as the RRs trying to isolate themselves; injury lawyers may see it as the ultimate deep pocket encompassing the assets of all 7 railroads; and environmental agencies may hold all 7 RRs jointly and severally libel in hazmet releases/fires.
Matt Rose is head of BNSF...noted in many articles in business and trade and Trains magazines.
TTX was formed by the railroads to maintain flats for trailers and has since expanded to include platforms for stacks and other cars. A co-op owned by the rails to provide cars for shippers.
RIDEWITHMEHENRY is the name for our almost monthly day of riding trains and transit in either the NYCity or Philadelphia areas including all commuter lines, Amtrak, subways, light rail and trolleys, bus and ferries when warranted. No fees, just let us know you want to join the ride and pay your fares. Ask to be on our email list or find us on FB as RIDEWITHMEHENRY (all caps) to get descriptions of each outing.
Dave,
What would this accomplish?
Mac McCulloch
Thanks for the two comments, Corrections made.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.