(The following appeared at the Crain’s Chicago Business website on February 8.)
CHICAGO — U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., is taking the Union Pacific railroad to task for frequent delays on Amtrak service between Chicago and St. Louis.
In a letter to James Young, chairman and CEO of Union Pacific Corp., the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat suggests that the railroad is to blame for the fact that 53% of Amtrak trains on that route were late in fiscal 2007.
Amtrak uses UP tracks that have been improved at state expense to speed passenger rail service.
“Clearly, there is strong demand for passenger train service in Illinois,” Mr. Durbin wrote, noting that ridership on the Chicago-St. Louis route rose 56% last year. “(But) sustaining robust ridership numbers depends heavily on Amtrak trains arriving on time and avoiding unnecessary delays. Late trains cost Amtrak millions of dollars in operating costs and untold riders, who turn away from frustration with late arrivals.”
The letter, released Friday, links the delays to “poor track conditions,” a signal system that “is well beyond its useful life” and shortfalls in planning, training and oversight. “To eliminate these delays, Union Pacific must make the necessary capital investments and management decisions,” wrote Mr. Durbin.
The letter does offer a bit of a carrot along with the stick, describing the Chicago-St. Louis line as “ripe for a high-speed rail demonstration project that would move passengers . . . at speeds significantly faster than car travel.” Such demonstration projects typically are leveraged by large federal grants.
A spokesman for Omaha, Neb.-based UP said Mr. Young recently met with Mr. Durbin and assured him that the company is doing its best to resolve “unique” problems on the Chicago-St. Louis line. There is no timetable for the ongoing improvements, he said.