(Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va. posted the following column by Chip Jones on its website on March 31.)
RICHMOND, Va. — Peace is at hand — at least in the long-running skirmish between the Virginia Railway Express and rail giant CSX Corp.
VRE is the publicly owned commuter railroad in Northern Virginia. It operates on the tracks of two privately owned railroads — CSX and Norfolk Southern Corp.
But its biggest operating problems usually come in its dealings with CSX. The latest flap occurred after CSX slowed trains on March 20 because of flash-flood warnings in the South.
The delays drew Amtrak, the intercity passenger rail company, into the fray. Amtrak provides engineers for the VRE trains.
Got it?
Let’s put it this way: If you ride the VRE, you know the feeling of being backed up behind CSX trains, or wondering why you’re doing a slow crawl alongside the choked traffic on Interstate 95. Amtrak passengers have experienced the same thing, especially during foul weather.
Things may be changing, though, according to Pete Sklannik Jr., VRE’s vocal chief operating officer.
In a press release, Sklannik said CSX Transportation, the operating division of Jacksonville-based CSX, has agreed to begin a new set of operating procedures, including train speeds and weather forecasting.
“CSXT has agreed to allow passenger trains to operate at ‘controlled speed’ up to 50 mph,” Sklannik said. This means that trains must “be prepared to stop if there are any visible deficiencies” on the train track.
Other changes are in store, Sklannik said. CSX has said it would provide more up-to-date weather information, which should make it easier to avoid “slow orders” for trains.
CSX has been criticized by commuter and Amtrak passengers and officials. But the rhetoric turned gentle last week, as Sklannik expressed satisfaction that “CSXT took the initiative” to address his concerns.
The railroad agreement came on the heels of a sharply written letter by Amtrak President and CEO David L. Gunn.
“I want to personally apologize to you for the disruption in homebound service last night,” Gunn wrote March 21 to VRE riders. “Many of you were seriously inconvenienced.”
Gunn said that “as a result of heavy rains,” CSX had imposed a 15 mph speed restriction on passenger trains — a slow order that led to the backup. Gunn noted that freight trains were allowed to go 40 mph, or more than double the speed of passenger trains.
“There is no engineering basis for this difference,” he wrote. “The rush hour was a shambles.”
Gunn added that he contacted “a senior CSX official and expressed my outrage.”
But a CSX spokesman denied the letter led to last week’s peace agreement.
“The letter from David Gunn did not drive this in any way shape or form,” spokesman Dan Murphy said. “The review of the policy was already under way.”
Murphy said CSX was glad to come up with some solutions for the operating problems.
“I think for the commuters, it’s a pretty good story for them,” he said.