Sixty Minutes and CSX (hardly sixty seconds of sex)

Kudos to "60 Minutes" for their informative program this evening on the volatility of America's rail transportation systems.  It is nothing new to me.  I have been railing against rail, ever since I moved to Columbus, OH and discovered the labyrinth of track work in the city's infrastructure.  It is everywhere, both Norfolk/Southern and CSX-T's track throughout Columbus.  The old ConRail yard still exists as well.  I have a box of photographs in my closet taken on my Minolta 35mm SLR camera of all of it.  I became a "railfan," because I quickly deduced you could not beat their system, the rail industry that is.  We had a meeting of Federal Railroad Administration officials with local neighborhood organizations to air grievances over insensitive freight activity.  Locomotives were left idling for twelve hours at a time in close proximity to homes leaving black microdust residue for homeowners with which to contend.  They were not happy.  Neither was I.  I asked one official if he knew about the invasive nature of AC Traction.  He had no idea about what I was asking.  Tonight "60 Minutes" received refusals from three contenders in the rail debacle, CSX-T (who did send a letter), Amtrack (who refused to consent to an interview,) and the FRA, a taxpayer funded commission who according to our Constitution should be protecting the health and well being of American citizens.  They also refused an interview.  The consensus was the FRA is bought and paid for by the rail lobby.  They, like Trump's EPA and its new coal lobbyist leader, are not for the people.  They are for the corporations they are meant to watchdog and regulate.  America cannot compete with Europe's modern bullet trains, new trackage, and innovative outlook.  America is a spaghetti bowl of old track which is not capable of handling high speed passenger rail service.  The entities responsible for passenger deaths often has been Amtrack engineers.  Where is their oversight.  Most infuriatingly was the discovery that Amtrack is responsible for all damages incurred in their service, even if it was caused by the negligence of employees or track of their host rail company, that being CSX-T.  Although Amtrack is a for profit corporation run privately, it is subsidized by American tax dollars through Washington.  That is a sweet deal.  Americans are liable monetarily for damages incurred during Amtrack operation.  This is the taxpayers.  "Snap!"  Wake up and smell the roses.  CSX-T has been operating with no oversight since past Secretary of the Treasury John Snow consolidated it from Chessie and Seaboard Coastline.  He built the company into a profitable entity and then got out.  Only last year Hunter Harrison's name was used to bolster CSX-T stock.  Unfortunately for them he died a few months after become their CEO.  His emergence into CSX-T was enough to raise stock prices for a brief period.  The major interest in CSX-T is held by a hedge fund owner.  Certainly the most ruthless and wreckless financial instrument has qualifications to manage one of America's largest freight railroads.  Accidents continue, because Washington is not doing its job.  What a surprise.