CSX asks shippers to 'express concerns' about Amtrak Gulf Coast plan

CSX President and Chief Executive Officer James Foote is asking shippers to sign a petition expressing concerns to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) about Amtrak’s proposed Gulf Coast service.

In a letter to shippers, Foote wrote that Amtrak is trying to force the new service — which would operate on CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway track between New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama — "without consideration of the negative impact on freight service" or rail infrastructure.

The letter cites a rail traffic control study completed last year that said the proposal "showed significant impairment to freight service if no infrastructure improvements are made. Yet Amtrak proposes to begin this service without implementing those improvements."

Amtrak has asked the STB to require CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway to allow passenger trains to run on the Gulf Coast route. Under the federal law that created Amtrak over 50 years ago, freight-rail carriers have an obligation to host Amtrak trains on freight-rail tracks, Amtrak officials say.

An STB hearing on the matter is set for Feb. 15.

Foote’s letter asks shippers to sign the petition prior to the hearing.

"If this [Amtrak service] is allowed to happen on the Gulf Coast, Amtrak could deploy this strategy wherever you ship your goods," the letter states.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari described Foote’s letter as a scare tactic.

"Desperate attempts by CSX to scare their already-dissatisfied customer base is the same tactic they’ve used before: misleading their shippers, shareholders and the public," Magliari said in an email. "It is the kind of tactic used when the facts and the law are not on their side. The upcoming STB hearing will show that Amtrak has the right to use these tracks and the Gulf Coast community deserves to have passenger rail."

Amtrak hasn’t run trains along the Gulf Coast since Hurricane Katrina damaged rail infrastructure there in 2005.

Meanwhile, the Rail Passengers Association is asking passenger-rail supporters to petition the STB in support of Amtrak’s Gulf Coast service plan.

"There is little compelling evidence that the new service would 'unreasonably impair' freight operations in the region, and we therefore ask the [STB] not only to order restoration of this critical transportation corridor — an economic engine for the Gulf Coast region — but to set an important precedent vindicating Congress' intent in creating and continually reauthorizing the legislation governing Amtrak."