Partnerships With Freight Railroads
Most of the tracks used for passenger trains are owned by private railroads whose primary business is moving freight.
The railroads are crucial, underappreciated partners for successful passenger trains. Trains cannot run on-time without a strong commitment from the railroad's CEO down to the dispatchers.
Some of the railroads have worked to maintain a high level of performance for Amtrak's trains. However, current federal policies do not reward that good performance. Also, under the current policies, railroads have no incentive to build the robust infrastructure needed to make passenger trains fast and dependable.
Illinois can be the leader in creating a new partnership with the railroads. Those lessons can then be applied to passenger trains nationwide.
The new partnership should include:
1) New incentives Running fast and dependable passenger trains should be a profitable business for the railroads. Neglecting passenger trains should hit the bottom line.
2) Adding tracks to existing rights-of-way to increase capacity for both freight and passengers. Investments should be balanced between adding service to new destinations and adding capacity to existing routes.
3) Proven, off-the-shelf safety devices to raise speed limits and reduce travel times.
4) New flyovers. There are three places where busy trans-continental freight lines cross key passenger routes at grade, creating extreme delays for freight shippers nationwide and constraining passenger train expansion. New bridges should be constructed to allow passenger trains to "flyover" the freight lines at Brighton Park, CP Canal and Englewood.
Next: A New Paradigm
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