(The Associated Press circulated the following story on August 28.)
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Sen. Jay Rockefeller is appealing to CSX Transportation to reconsider plans to lease tracks to smaller railroads in the state.
CSX has received bids from nine “short-line” railroads to lease a 182-mile east-west route that runs from the New Martinsville area to Cumberland, Md., and a 116-mile north-south route between Grafton and Cowen.
“I share the concern of longtime CSX employees that the policies and business decisions of a successor railroad might adversely affect their hard-earned and fairly bargained-for pension and medical benefits,” Rockefeller, D-W.Va., wrote to executives of the Jacksonville, Fla.-based company on Thursday.
Including second main lines, branch lines, yard tracks and industrial tracks, the company is looking to lease more than 530 miles of track.
The smaller companies would operate on CSX tracks, but CSX would also retain ownership and control of the market for goods shipped on those lines, according to proposed lease agreements.
“The average worker on these lines is now in his 50s,” Rockefeller wrote. “A decision by CSX to sell or lease these lines jeopardizes their seniority and their jobs.”
The rail company has said it hopes to have the bids evaluated by mid-September before the finalists are selected.