Word: railings
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...Government bought itself a lot of headaches during the 1970s when it created Conrail, the freight rail system in the East, and Amtrak, the national passenger railroad. At the time, the entire rail business was chugging toward the scrap pile. More than a decade of refurbishing and streamlining, however, has given railroading a shiny new look. Amtrak and Conrail, stoked by $18 billion in subsidies, have rebuilt their equipment and images...
...unite two of the three dominant eastern railroads and forge the largest U.S. freight line, with 34,000 miles of track. The third big railroad, CSX, which runs the Chessie and Seaboard lines, complained that the merger would create a giant that would flatten rivals like pennies on a rail. Some companies who ship by train agreed, contending that fewer railroads would mean higher rates. Railroad unions declared that the consolidation would cost thousands of jobs...
While the Administration admits that long-haul service may end, it believes that the most vital sections of the rail line would survive. Says Dole: "There may be a considerable amount of interest on the part of local and state authorities to pick up the service." The most likely region to keep its trains rolling would be the 455-mile Northeast corridor between Boston and Washington, where 120-m.p.h. Metroliners and other trains carry more than half of all Amtrak riders...
...comparison, Conrail has made a full-throttle recovery. Formed in 1976 from the bankrupt Penn Central and six other failed lines, the Consolidated Rail Corporation cost the Government about $7 billion before it began turning a profit in 1981. The line earned an estimated $500 million in 1984, up from $313 million in 1983. To reach that goal, Conrail cut its work force from 100,000 to 39,000, trimmed track mileage from 17,500 to 14,000 and turned over passenger lines to state authorities in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. The company won major concessions from...
With their born-again efficiency, U.S. freight railroads no doubt will be profitably hauling goods into the 21st century. But the day of judgment for the passenger train has arrived. Unless Congress decides to help keep Amtrak rolling, the only long-haul rail passengers left in America may be the hobos who ride the boxcars...