Not Enough Money

Norfolk Southern railroad has settled the lawsuit over the East Palestine derailment for $600 million dollars. 

That is not enough money.

I'm not sure if there is enough money in the world to punish them for the damage that they did, but bankrupting the company, and going after its executives bonuses for being unsafe would be a good start.

Another Reason to Hate Bill Clinton

One of the biggest scams ever promulgated onto the American public was their reinventing government initiative.

The stated purpose was that by privatizing core government functions, we would get better services and save the taxpayers money.

The reality was that core government competencies were gutted, and it became a looting spree by contractors and consultants.

One of the biggest causes of transit cost bloat is the decimation of "state capacity" and the outsourcing of everything from design to procurement to engineering to manufacturing to consultants and other grifters.

BART bringing this in house is a huge win. https://t.co/XwDkUBC2sh

— (((Matthew Lewis))) progressive federalism SOS (@mateosfo) January 18, 2024

Of course, the reality was the goal.  It was the PMC generating profit opportunities for the PMC, and the rest of us could, and did, just get fucked.

Governor Rat F%$# is Officially Gone

Baltimore's new Governor, Wes Moore, has revived the Red Line transit project, reversing two core policies of Larry Hogan, opposing mass transit and hating on Black people Baltimore City.

As in many cities, east-west transit is very weak, and the Red Line would significantly improve transit and traffic:

Gov. Wes Moore said Thursday that his administration was resurrecting the once-canceled Red Line transit project in Baltimore, breathing new life into what he and others described as a generational opportunity to bring extensive and overdue benefits to city residents.

“We’ll be working together to seize this moment in our nation’s history when the stars are aligned to invest in public transit,” Moore said at the West Baltimore MARC Station.

A couple of hundred gathered at the station, including a long list of local, state and federal officials who both expressed gratitude for the renewed plans and took frequent shots at former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan for abruptly canceling the original Red Line plans after he took office in 2015.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, wearing one of the red “Red Line” T-shirts that were handed out to guests along with other branded items like fans and cookies, referred to Hogan only as “he who shall not be named” while saying that the decision was a “deliberate and catastrophic disinvestment” in the city.

Hogan (I love the "He who shall not be named," bit.) ran against black people as a part of his politicval aspirations, he was just subtle enough that juxtaposed with the more mainstream Republican, he looked moderate in comparison.

………

Moore, questioned by reporters after the event, declined to say whether he would prefer light rail, heavy rail — like a subway — or bus service.

As a result, the project’s total cost is too difficult to estimate at the moment, Moore said.

Still, officials expect it could take billions more than the original $2.9 billion Red Line proposal. When Hogan canceled it, the state already had spent $300 million during the initial planning process. He gave up $900 million in promised federal funds and redirected $736 million in state money to road projects primarily in suburban, largely white areas.

Like I said, running against black folk.

Just because he hated Donald Trump, it does not make him a good person.  (Applies to Liz Cheney as well)

What a Surprise

In response to the rail disaster New York Governor Kathy Hochul has come out strongly in favor of tighter railroad regulations.  

Less than 2 months before the accident, The Honorable Kathy Hochul vetoed rail safety legislation at the behest of the rail industry.

Now there's a surprised:

In the wake of the recent train derailment and toxic chemical release in East Palestine, Ohio, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) called on the federal government to enact stricter regulations on hazmat trains and said that safety is her top priority. Her transportation commissioner said that under Hochul’s leadership, the state is “laser focused on safety in all modes of transportation, especially rail safety.”

Less than three months ago, Hochul struck a different tone with her veto pen. The proposed two-person crew bill — which the governor rejected on December 9, 2022 — would have required most freight trains to be operated by at least a conductor and an engineer, a safety measure that both rail unions and bipartisan lawmakers supported. Railroad companies and business groups opposed it.

Two-person crew laws have passed in states around the country, and the federal government is currently considering its own, as rail companies have slashed their workforces by nearly 30 percent in recent years and are operating longer and heavier trains with smaller crews. Rail unions, federal regulators, and lawmakers have argued that the minimum staffing laws are essential for maintaining safety.

………

Hochul had said in her veto memo that federal laws and pending rulemaking preempt state two-person crew legislation — an argument the railroads and their lobbying groups have used to oppose state staffing bills. But two-person crew laws have been enacted in other states without legal challenges, and legal experts disagree with Hochul’s assessment of the preemption. 

Hochul may be the most contemptible Democrat in New York state politics.

Hell, she may be the most contemptible politician in New York state politics, and that ain't a low bar.

A Pleasant Surprise

It turns out that despite the Biden administration and Congress conspiring to take away railroad workers' right to strike, some of the unions are still getting sick days, with the 2,100 Union Pacific workers, along with 3,000 Norfolk Southern workers and 5,000 workers at CSX have gotten paid sick days anyway.

For NS, it was clearly to put a lid on bad press, and a possible orgy of whistleblower complaints following the chemical spill in Palestine, Ohio, and for the other two, I guess they figured out that having critical employees actively hating their employer is a poor business practice.

So Much for the Deal

After a "Deal" was cut to stop a potential nationwide rail strike, we now have a second railroad union rejecting the contract.

I'm not sure if this qualifies as a failure, in any case it means that any rail strike is pushed beyond the mid-terms, and the cynic in me believes that was the real goal of the Biden Administration's intervention in the strike:

A second railroad union voted on Wednesday against ratifying the tentative agreement brokered between the railroad managers, unions and members of President Joe Biden's administration. The move increases the possibility of a strike in November that would endanger the national supply chain if a deal is not reached.

The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, which represents over 6,000 workers in the United States, announced that its members voted to reject the tentative agreement, sending the union back to the bargaining table with management.

In a statement, union president Michael Baldwin notes that it's the first time the union has voted against ratifying an agreement.

Sick leave policies continue to be at the center of talks. Unions argue current policies don't allow workers to take personal or sick time off. While the presidential emergency board (PEB) appointed by President Biden negotiated increases in wages, it did not address the leave policies.

………

BRS, which represents workers who install and maintain signal systems, is not the only one. The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees, the third largest railroad union, voted earlier this month to also reject the agreement. All 12 unions would need to independently accept a deal in order to avoid a potential strike.

The railroads will not negotiate in good faith unless Joe Biden explicitly states that he will veto any legislation, whether under Taft-Hartley or any other law, to force the railroad employees back to work. 

The Railroads, and the increased power that they wield through regional monopolies, are the source of this problem, and turning the antitrust cannon on them would help as well.

Quote of the Day

“There were so many things that went wrong,” Mr. McNamara said. “SNCF was very angry. They told the state they were leaving for North Africa, which was less politically dysfunctional. They went to Morocco and helped them build a rail system.”

—The New York Times on California's likely terminally dysfunctional high speed rail project.

Basically, the French state owned railway, which developed what was then the fasted train in the world, found California's political environment too toxic and too corrupt for them to do business there, so they went to that paragon of good governance ……… Morocco.  ("Morocco," needs to be said with the same mania as the punchline for that (in)famous joke, "The Aristocrats.")

As you read the article it becomes clear that the problem is not bribery, but rather extortion by political bad actors to throw bones to their supporters and their constituents, so the route went out of its way to go through a LA County Commissioner's district, is being forced to tunnel through a mountain because the tech bros in San Jose wanted it in order to bring in cheap labor, etc.

A mass transit project should be about mass benefits, but the American polity is so morally bankrupt, even in "Socialist" California, that the idea of doing something simply for the public good

The Swedes are the Greatest People on the Face of the Earth

Swedish passenger operator MTR Express opened up a new line between Stockholm and Gothenburg, and they held an online contest to name it, the obvious happened, but unlike the killjoys at the Natural Environment Research Council, they decided to name the line Trainy McTrainface:

A Swedish rail operator has vowed to name one of its trains Trainy McTrainface after a public vote, saying it would bring joy to people disappointed when Britain rejected the name Boaty McBoatface for a polar research ship following a similar poll.

Trainy McTrainface won 49% of the votes in the naming competition, conducted online by train operator MTR Express and Swedish newspaper Metro, beating choices such as Hakan, Miriam and Poseidon.

“[This is] news that will be received with joy by many, not just in Sweden,” MTR wrote in a statement.

The train will run between the Swedish capital Stockholm and Gothenburg, the country’s second-biggest city.
………

MTR said another train had been voted to be named “Glenn”, an apparent tribute to an IFK Gothenburg soccer team of the 1980s that featured four players of that name – uncommon in Sweden – including Glenn Hysen, who later captained Liverpool.

This is so cool.

Wrong Lesson Learned

Adopting Delta Seating?

Amtrak is looking at making train travel more like flying Delta, because, much like the major airlines, they hate their passengers.

Amtrak is missing a key fact about their situation:  Unlike the airlines sitting in their fortress hubs, they have a lot of competitors.

A bus is cheaper and only slightly slower than passenger rail:+

If there’s one thing that riding the rails has over flying, perhaps it’s comfort: Train passengers have a bit more legroom than on planes, and can get up and walk around at any time. We all may need to stretch our legs a bit more if Amtrak decides to pack in more seats.

The outgoing co-chief executive of Amtrak says the rail system — which is in need of a major financial boost — is thinking about possibly making it less comfortable in economy class by adding additional seats, Reuters reports.

He didn’t just say that Amtrak is considering adding more seats; he outright admitted that tightening up seat pitch — the distance between the seatback and the seat in front of it — is just one “creative” change under consideration that could make things worse for passengers.

“There will be some other things that just don’t make it quite as comfortable,” Wick Moorman told reporters at a National Press Club talk this week.

Cramped seating is likely nothing new for Amtrak’s recent hire, former Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson. He joined the company as president and co-CEO on Wednesday, and will be sharing the top spot until Moorman steps down on Dec. 31.

When I first read this, I hadn't realized that the new HMFIC at Amtrak was actually from Delta, I just defaulted to Delta as a standard avatar as agony in air travel.

Delta has long been the standard for poor quality in customer service in airlines, well, it was until United Airlines said, "Hold my beer."

FWIW, here is John Mulaney on Delta Airlines: