ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, April 18, 1997 TAG: 9704180054
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-14 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NORFOLK
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Trucks typically provide faster, more time-sensitive delivery than railroads along congested routes. Under the proposal, Norfolk Southern wants to speed up its own service by running high-speed freight trains on the 457 miles of the Northeast Corridor, between Boston and Washington.
The Northeast Corridor is one of the nation's busiest rail lines, annually serving more than 110 million commuters and passengers on about 1,750 trains. It is owned mostly by Amtrak, the nation's passenger rail carrier.
Norfolk Southern and Amtrak are negotiating schedules, rates and the number of trains that NS could run, said Thomas Finkbiner, NS' vice president of intermodal, a term for transportation that involves more than one form of carrier.
Most of the Amtrak and commuter trains run during the day, peaking at rush hours. So, by running freight trains at night, NS could offer next-day freight service between the major Northeastern cities and quickly move intermodal cargo and cars. Because of congestion in the Northeast, regular freight rail service may take days.
Such a deal also could provide much-needed cash for Amtrak. Congress has demanded that Amtrak become self-sufficient by 2002 but seems reluctant to give the passenger railroad the $750 million capital funding it says that would require.
``We can confirm we are talking to Norfolk Southern and a number of other freight railroads as far as whatever opportunities might be out there for us,'' Rick Remington, a spokesman in Amtrak's Northeast Corridor office, said Thursday. ``But we don't intend to comment on the substance of those talks right now.''
NS expects to gain rights to use the Northeast Corridor as part of the $10.2 billion breakup of Conrail that it negotiated this month with CSX Corp. of Richmond. Conrail is the major freight railroad in the Northeast. Its sale and division as proposed by NS and CSX still needs government approval.
Philadelphia-based Conrail all but stopped using the corridor after a 1987 accident at Silver Spring, Md. A freight train collided head-on with an Amtrak passenger train, killing 16 people.
Under the Conrail deal, NS also would assume control of Triple Crown Service, a joint venture NS had with Conrail involving combination truck-trailer/rail cars. The RoadRailers have both tires and train wheels so they can shift quickly between road and rail.
``We have the ability to run a RoadRailer at 110 mph,'' Finkbiner said. ``We can rock and roll up and down the Northeast Corridor.''
At that speed, Triple Crown would be a truly truck-competitive rail service, he said.
A freight deal with NS that involved just one train hauling 80 RoadRailers each way could generate $2.5 million a year for Amtrak, Finkbiner said.
``It would not be inconceivable to run 15 to 20 trains a day,'' he said.
NS also wants to run conventional intermodal trains, which piggyback containers and truck trailers, and automotive carriers along the corridor, Finkbiner said.
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE. Under the Conrail deal, NS wouldby CNBassume control of Triple Crown Service, a joint venture involving
truck-trailer/rail cars that have both tires and train wheels so
they can shift quickly between road and rail.