(The Associated Press circulated the following on June 16, 2011.)
EL PASO, Texas — A border security program to X-ray every train rolling into the US has prompted as much as $400 million in fines against US railroads, which are held responsible for bales of marijuana, bundles of cocaine, and anything else criminals cram into the boxcars as they roll through Mexico.
Union Pacific, the largest rail shipper on the US-Mexico border and the largest recipient of fines, refuses to pay more than $388 million in fines, up from $37.5 million three years ago when the screening began. In federal litigation the railroad argues that it is being punished for something it cannot control: criminals stashing illegal drugs in railcars in Mexico.
Full story: Boston Globe