(The following appeared on the Times-Picayune website on March 22, 2011.)
NEW ORLEANS — A proposal to hand over management of the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad to a consortium of five of the six Class I railroads that use the city-owned railway got a cool reception Tuesday from members of the agency’s board of commissioners, who pressed for more details about how the city would benefit from the arrangement.
According to railroad executives, granting their companies oversight of daily operations would allow for increased coordination, reducing congestion along the tracks, fostering greater efficiency and ultimately boosting freight business in New Orleans — and the local economy.
Also under the arrangement, employees of the Class I railroads would assume responsibility for all traffic across Public Belt lines, a task that for decades has been handled by Public Belt conductors and engineers.
Railroad companies on board with the plan include the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, CSX Transportation, the Illinois Central Railroad, the Norfolk Southern Railway and the Union Pacific Railroad.
The other Class I company that uses the Public Belt, the Kansas City Southern, has asked Public Belt managers to allow it to present its own management proposal on April 25.
The full story appears on the Times-Picayune website.