Credit: Stephan Bisaha/ Gulf States Newsroom
Rail Lines Vs. Budget Lines Amtrak commissioned an outside group to assess how many state and federal dollars should be invested to avoid serious delays. Experts said those studies usually take about seven months, but when a year passed without an end in sight, Amtrak decided to move forward without the study. Amtrak points its finger at railroad owners, Norfolk Southern and CSX, for refusing to share detailed data about their businesses. Those companies say the information is confidential, but without it, Amtrak said the study is useless.
“It does actually look like there hasn’t been a clear desire on the part of the freight railroads to actually meet with Amtrak,” said Nick Little, director of the Center for Railway Research and Education at Michigan State University.