(The following story by Jeff Bounds appeared on the Dallas Business Journal website on October 1, 2010.)
North Line bridge rebuilding suspended until spring; schedule returns to normal Sunday after complaints
DALLAS — Railroads like Fort Worth’s Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. are watching with trepidation as events in Washington, D.C., could lead to some of the first new regulations on the prices that carriers charge since the industry was de-regulated in 1980.
Though the impact of possible pricing actions on Burlington Northern’s North Texas operation isn’t yet clear, railroads are warning that they may have to reduce their investment in infrastructure if regulations squeeze their finances.
Burlington Northern, which earlier this year was acquired by investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, has about 32,000 route-miles of track in the United States and Canada, and should spend a total of around $2.4 billion as part of its capital investment program in 2010, down roughly $240 million from 2009, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
At issue in the so-called “re-regulation” debate is whether railroads are overcharging for their services, especially to “captive” shippers, who have no other economical way to move freight and are limited to one long-haul railroad to carry their goods.