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Exactly. Things are not going his way - that's why I think he will resign. That is my best guess but not a prediction. Who knows at this point. Regards, FMC

It's my best guess that Anderson simply did not realize and, in fact, had no idea how much vehement opposition his plans for the Chief would get. Now, he has to try and find a way to back down and still somehow "save face". If he cannot do that, I suspect that he might resign by the end of the...

Alright, JIS, I'm going go out and expose my ignorance here. What is the "SMS analysis"? Regards, FMC

Oh, probably not but at the very least it could well make Anderson's life politically more difficult. I'm not sure Congress can fire Anderson (we've discussed that here before) but what they COULD do is make things miserable enough for him that he might just resign. Regards, Fred M. Cain

Well, yes, Congress did come up with the PTC mandate after the devastating wreck on the UP near Ventura a number of years ago. But, I guess what I meant by Anderson making the mandate is that he is INTERPRETING the mandate in such a way as to fit his own agenda. Regards, FMC

Kinda seems to me - in at least a few cases - that it is actually *ANDERSON* who is making some of the PTC mandates, not Congress or the FRA. Several people on this group have already pointed out some puzzling inconsistencies. -FMC

I dunno. I get the idea that, after reading through that "leaked" article again, that the whole concept of a "bus bridge" is probably dead. But they did not say what they intend to do other than "all options". They did say that they are willing to continue working with the states to find a...

Well, yes, of course. The current pending legislation provides $50 million (if I understood that right) and taken together with state monies that should bring us closer to the $100 million figure that was thrown out in the "leak". *BUT* this legislation has NOT passed the House yet! The house...

The status quo *IS* an option if Congress mandates it. So far they have just passed a resolution but I would be surprised if they back down. Regards, FMC

First of all, my main question on this so-called "update" from Amtrak is, when exactly was it generated? Was this prior to the action that was recently taken in the Senate or after the fact? That would make a big difference 'cause if it was prior, it is also dated and Amtrak's intentions may...

Yeah, I hear this a lot. “It didn’t work before, therefore…..” But I just find it hard to believe that we can’t do better than this. We are approaching 5½ BILLION dollars a year for Amtrak (taxpayer $ + ticket revenue) and what are we getting? Where the heck is all that money going? Can’t...

Here is a rather interesting blog that I stumbled across while searching for news on the Southwest Chief. The guys makes some good points whether we fully agree with them or not. Who knows? The intercity passenger train might turn out to have a different future in America than what we think...

JIS, Well, I guess I have to add that if your hunch (and your source) is correct and there is no chance that BNSF would make more use of the Raton line if it were rebuilt, then I guess I have to begin questioning the wisdom of rebuilding it at all. I mean, as a rail advocate I’d really HATE to...

Actually, if traffic levels rise, capacity will start to get tight on the Abo Canyon line again in spite of the DT. So, it might happen one day. But not if the Ration Line doesn't see improvements. Another possibility is also the Denver-El Paso corridor. I know that BNSF has another route...

Well, at the risk of repeating myself here, I still believe the Raton Pass line COULD be used for very "hot" and relatively short intermodal trains. Indeed the old AT&SF Ry used it for just that in the past. The so-called Super C was routed over this line, I believe. Also at least one and...

e You know, one thing that I'm concerned about, this PTC stuff might compel or at least encourage the railroads to downgrade some secondary mains or even one-time primary mains in order to avoid the expense of installing PTC on them. This could lead to the loss of service in some sectors and...

The Moffat Route and Raton pass line have something in common: They were both important due to coal traffic. The three or four mines on the Raton Pass line were closed years ago. I think they might've been rather expensive to operate underground mines. The coal traffic on the old DRG&W...

And another thing - does this have to pass the House yet? If so, it's far from a "done deal". -FMC

Well, I don't view it as a "crime". It's just one of my theories as to why Anderson might be doing what he's doing. I'll say this. If he pulls that off successfully, I will give him high marks. But we'll have to wait and see 'cause none of us really know at this point what his real...

JIS, Another thing that makes me wonder about possibility #four is that I thought I saw where Anderson stated that to get the line up to snuff would take at LEAST $300 million. That'd be "a start". So, he might be pushing for more money since the current deal with Amtrak providing the $3...