(The following story by Jonathan D. Jones appeared on the Staunton News Leader website on August 31.)
STAUNTON, Va. — Amtrak and a railroad workers’ union are expressing concern about a short-line railroad operator’s ability to maintain 200 miles of track it wants to lease from CSX.
The federal Surface Transportation Board is considering a CSX Transportation plan to transfer control of its main line between Richmond and Clifton Forge while retaining the right to run most of its current trains along the route.
Amtrak’s primary concern is that a small, family owned rail company operating 17 miles of track isn’t equipped to take over maintenance and operation of a 200-mile stretch of CSX lines, according to a filing Amtrak made with the transportation board last week.
Under CSX’s agreement, Dillwyn-based Buckingham Branch Railroad would take over the tracks that run through Waynesboro and Staunton. Amtrak called it a “formidable task” for Buckingham Branch to operate the line well enough to maintain passenger service.
Citing an expected reduction in the number of workers along the line, already deteriorating track conditions, and Buckingham Branch’s ability to make capital improvements, Amtrak and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees took issue with proposed agreement.
Amtrak’s Cardinal, which connects New York, Washington, D.C., Staunton, Cincinnati and Chicago, runs across 125 miles of the track that would be leased. For many residents in the rural stretches between Charlottesville and Indianapolis, there are few options other than the Cardinal for transportation, according to the filing.
Amtrak is concerned that Buckingham Branch has not found any sources of funding to make improvements on the tracks, and the company plans to reduce the number of maintenance-of-way employees along the line, according to the filing.
CSX has had 14 employees working on maintenance of the 200-mile stretch, and Buckingham Branch plans to have eight. The employees’ union also was concerned about the reduction in workers and the overall safety of the line.
The lease agreement is part of a company-wide review of CSX’s 23,000 miles of track, said Misty Skipper, a spokeswoman for the mid-Atlantic region. The company has identified about 1,200 miles of track that could be better served by short-line operators and the Buckingham Branch agreement is the result of that review.
“Short-line operators can provide more localized service, one-on-one service with clients,” Skipper said. We feel customers will be better served. When asked about the union’s and Amtrak’s concerns with the lease, Skipper re-iterated that point. She also said the filings would be reviewed and that she couldn’t comment on what CSX’s arrangements for maintenance with Buckingham Branch would be.
Buckingham Branch employees declined to comment. Since the lease agreement first became public, the company has deferred all questions to CSX.
In an additional filing, Norfolk Southern raised concerns about a 9.1-mile section of track between Gordonsville and Orange that is included in the lease agreement. Norfolk Southern owns the line but has a lease dating to 1890 with CSX. That 1890 lease expired over a decade ago, and Norfolk Southern does not have any records indicating it was renewed, but CSX has continued to operate the line under the agreement. Norfolk Southern asked that a new lease be worked out between Norfolk Southern and CSX before CSX sub-leases the track to Buckingham Branch.
CSX and Buckingham Branch have asked the Surface Transportation Board to make its final ruling by Nov. 8. The lease agreement is set to take effect Dec. 20.