Amtrak's filing with the STB in the CSX attempt to buy Pan Am Southern

[neroden]

They outright prove that CSX has been lying to either Amtrak or the STB, which proves that they're not acting in good faith. CSX claimed they needed a capacity study to run a seasonal twice-a-week train from Albany to Pittsfield, then claimed to the STB that there was "excess capacity" and they could run two daily doublestacks without doing a capacity study.

STB is not going to like that.

https://dcms-external.s3.amazonaws.com/DCMS_External_PROD/1630334237300/302943.pdf
Worth reading the Verified Statement of Kyle Montgomery in addition to the main filing.

 

[neroden]

Kyle Montgomery writes:

"In my experience, CSXT is one of the most challenging host railroad partners for Amtrak to work with. Often, it is only after protracted negotiations, threats of litigation, or internal and external escalations, that issues are resolved (and many issues remain unresolved). These behaviors are inconsistent with the conduct of most other Amtrak host railroads. In addition to the protracted Gulf Coast dispute, for which we recently have sought the Board’s intervention,1the following are selected examples where CSXT has taken positions which seem unreasonable or inconsistent with CSXT’s statutory and contractual obligations to Amtrak."

 

[neroden]

CSX is being so arrogant that I actually expect their merger plan to be rejected outright. They're refusing to cooperate with the most basic requests for information, including a particularly arrogant and illegal set of responses to Amtrak's interrogatories.

The question is now whether CSX will come out of this with the lines it had before they tried to buy Pan Am, or whether they will see some of their lines seized by STB order.

Because I don't think the merger stands a chance in hell with CSX management openly lying to and stonewalling the STB.

 

[PaTrainFan]

Related, I think: What exactly is the arrangement Amtrak has with CSX on the Empire Service line? Does Amtrak lease, maintain and dispatch it? If they do, I would like to believe Amtrak is fair in its treatment of CSX and its trains. I know I put this in purely human terms which do not translate to the cold, hard reality of the corporate world, but CSX ought to treat Amtrak well if Amtrak is fair with CSX. But my assumptions here may be way off.

 

[neroden]

South of Albany? Long-term lease, maintain, dispatch, yes. I've read of no complaints from freight operators on any Amtrak-dispatched lines.

 

[Cal]

but CSX ought to treat Amtrak well if Amtrak is fair with CSX.

I would think that Amtrak would treat CSX poorly because of how poor they treat Amtrak!

 

[zephyr17]

Related, I think: What exactly is the arrangement Amtrak has with CSX on the Empire Service line? Does Amtrak lease, maintain and dispatch it? If they do, I would like to believe Amtrak is fair in its treatment of CSX and its trains. I know I put this in purely human terms which do not translate to the cold, hard reality of the corporate world, but CSX ought to treat Amtrak well if Amtrak is fair with CSX. But my assumptions here may be way off.

Amtrak only dispatches CSX lines that have relatively little CSX freight traffic east of Hoffmans, NY (outside Schenectady) where the main freight line to Selkirk Yard splits off. East of Hoffmans it is CSX owned but Amtrak dispatched, west of Hoffmans, it is purely CSX's show.

I don't think how Amtrak handles CSX traffic on the Empire Service line factors into anything, because Amtrak doesn't dispatch anywhere in upstate New York that CSX has enough traffic to care about. Where CSX cares, CSX owns and dispatches. They do not have to worry about Amtrak being "fair" to them, since where it matters, they are in control.

 

[jis]

South of Albany? Long-term lease, maintain, dispatch, yes. I've read of no complaints from freight operators on any Amtrak-dispatched lines.

Actually it is Hoffmans (West of Schenectady) to Poughkeepsie that is Leased and dispatched by Amtrak. I don't quite remember the detail of whether the lease from CSX is to Amtrak or to NYSDOT, but bottom line is same difference. CSX does not really have much freight traffic on that segment any more. It is all on the River Line on the other bank of the river.

 

[neroden]

CSX does run some freight trains on the east side of the river, to Oak Point Yard. They start in Selkirk Yard near Albany, cross on the freight-only bridge near Schodack, and join the Empire Corridor around Schodack, south of Albany. They then run on the same tracks as Amtrak and Metro North until they're on the Metro North tracks paralleling the Harlem River, where they separate onto the Oak Point Link to Oak Point Yard.

I have never heard any complaints by CSX about the treatment of their freight trains along this route by either Metro-North or Amtrak. They mostly run at night.

 

[jiml]

They start in Selkirk Yard near Albany, cross on the freight-only bridge near Schodack, and join the Empire Corridor around Schodack, south of Albany.

I had completely forgotten about that bridge. Looking back to the AU discussion within the past year regarding why the Albany station wasn't in Albany, I don't recall it being mentioned.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_H._Smith_Memorial_Bridge

 

[NS VIA Fan]

I had a ride out onto that bridge once on the Lakeshore. This was back in the late '70s before Amtrak reconstructed the Post Road Branch that allows the Lakeshore to go directly from Rensselaer to the Berkshire Sub and onto Boston.

Post Road Branch - Wikipedia

Back then.....the Lakeshore stayed on the Hudson Sub south of Rensselaer. Passed under the bridge to a connecting track near Schodack Landing......then backed up onto the bridge before heading east to Boston on the Berkshire Sub.

https://goo.gl/maps/GfzJZwiDvAn2FfHV9