NS Greencastle, PA Project

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Hi Guys :
This news item in the Hagerstown, MD,  Herald-Mail Sunday newspaper.
Terry Marshall
Pennsylvania
Norfolk Southern’s Greencastle  project on track
By KATE S. ALEXANDER
March 13,  2010
_kate.alexander at herald-mail.com_ (mailto:kate.alexander at herald-mail.com)  
 
GREENCASTLE, PA. — Norfolk Southern will break ground on its  Greencastle 
intermodal rail facility this summer despite news coming from  Capitol Hill, 
a spokesman said.  
The mix of proposed legislation and _funding_ 
(http://www.herald-mail.com/?cmd=displaystory&story_id=241481&format=html#)  denials that is troubling 
company  executives and local legislators has yet to slow the Greencastle 
project, said  Rudy Husband, director of public relations for Norfolk Southern.  
In February, the U.S. Department of Transportation denied  stimulus money 
to Pennsylvania facilities proposed along the company’s Crescent  Corridor. 
Only intermodal facilities in Tennessee and Alabama received  Transportation 
Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) _funds_ 
(http://www.herald-mail.com/?cmd=displaystory&story_id=241481&format=html#) .  
While, in general, the company was satisfied with the grant  award, Husband 
said it had hoped that Pennsylvania, which took the lead in  applying for 
TIGER money, would reap a similar reward.  
As the company seeks other streams of public revenue and  pushes forward 
with the Greencastle project, U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa.,  warned that 
Congress could derail its efforts.  
Shuster, who is a major supporter of the Greencastle  facility, said in a 
opinion column in “The Hill” that the rail industry is “in  Congress’ cross 
hairs” for re-regulation.  
Legislation introduced by House and Senate Democrats in 2009  would allow 
rail customers to more easily challenge transportation rates and  would 
subject the railroad industry to stiffer antitrust scrutiny.  
Calling the legislation “re-regulation,” Shuster said if  Congress 
re-regulates rail, “it will be a matter of time before our once  self-reliant 
railroads are forced to rely on taxpayer dollars to _invest_ 
(http://www.herald-mail.com/?cmd=displaystory&story_id=241481&format=html#)  in infrastructure 
and safety  improvements as federal mandates mount.”  
Because the legislation is pending, it is unclear what  effects it could 
have on existing rail projects, Husband said.  
“The proposed re-regulation of the rail industry could have a  disastrous 
effect on investment in railroad infrastructure,” he said. “But since  the 
bill has not been passed, it is impossible to say how projects currently  
under way, such as Greencastle, could be affected.”  
Shuster said the legislation could “erase 30 years of  positive growth and 
threaten to reduce the railroads to ruinous decreases in  services and 
disinvestment not seen since the 1970s.”  
However, Jeff Urbanchuck, a spokesman for Shuster, said  Friday that 
neither of the two bills have been re-introduced in the current  session.  
U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., introduced the bills in  the Senate in 
December. U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., sponsored the bill in  the House.  
Both bills revise the objectives of U.S. rail transportation  policy, 
including the protection of rail shippers and workers on the tracks.  
Rockefeller’s office did not respond when contacted for  comment.  
In addition to proposed legislation, Shuster said federal  mandates are 
taking a toll on the rail companies as they seek to expand  services.  
Positive Train Control (PTC) was a mandate in the Rail Safety  Improvement 
Act, which was signed into law Oct. 16, 2008, by President George  Bush.  
Enforced by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), PTC  measures are 
capable of preventing train-to-train collisions, overspeed  derailments and 
injuries or casualties to workers, according to the FRA Web  site.  
While no train-to-train collisions have occurred in Franklin  County’s 
recent history, Norfolk Southern trains were involved in recent  accidents that 
claimed multiple lives in the Tri-State area.  
Wick Moorman, Norfolk Southern’s chairman, president and CEO,  referred to 
the proposed legislation and PTC mandate as “the biggest black cloud  on the 
horizon for Norfolk Southern and the industry.”  
Despite challenges, Norfolk Southern has invested $41 million  to date in 
the Greencaslte project, Husband said.  
Comparatively, the company plans to spend $40 million in 2010  addressing 
required changes under the PTC mandate, Moorman said.  
“The upshot of this ill-conceived, if well intentioned,  unfunded mandate 
and its associated rule making, is that we will be forced to  forgo major 
capital expenditures for other critical areas of our property,” he  said. “And 
the result may well be less capacity than is required to handle  traffic 
volumes, a diminished ability to provide good service and even possibly  a 
less safe working environment than we might have had otherwise.”  
Urbanchuck said his office has received word that both bills  soon will be 
reintroduced in the current session of Congress.
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