Bureaucratic B.S.

Oct 11, 2004, Richmond, VA. When Bob Bryant heard about the visitor to his short-line railroad in Buckingham County, Virginia, he knew it wasn't a social call. It happened in August as Bryant was working on a major deal for his 17.3-mile-long Buckingham Branch Railroad: leasing nearly 200 miles of track from CSX Corp. from Richmond to Clifton Forge. Bryant, a respected railroad veteran, knew the deal was a stretch for his family-owned rail enterprise, which employs 14 people in a converted train station in Dillwyn and serves local industries.

Taking on CSX's rail operation would mark a giant step for the business he started in 1989 to keep a rail line in Buckingham, south of Charlottesville. "Relative to our size, it's a tremendous risk for Buckingham Branch," he said. He could accept the business risks, but what Bryant never anticipated was the flurry of criticism from unexpected quarters - from the Amtrak passenger railroad to the state of Virginia to rail maintenance workers. The unannounced visit two months ago set the tone for things to come. A union official from the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees walked 2 miles before he was spotted and asked to leave the premises.

"He was looking for deficiencies on our railroad to prove we weren’t fit," Bryant said. Though a deputy sheriff was called, Bryant, a soft-spoken businessman, chose not to press charges for trespassing. "We're trying to avoid any controversial issues with anyone," he said. "We're so small."

Like it or not, his alliance with CSX keeps complicating the simple life of Bob Bryant. First, the federal Surface Transportation Board, which monitors economic issues of the nation's railroads, must approve the deal. A decision is expected by early next month. The regulatory process has provided a forum for the legion of CSX critics, who often cite poor planning and maintenance of its 23,000 mile rail system. Amtrak led the charge. It pays CSX a fee to run passenger trains from Orange to Gordonsville to Charlottesville. From there, Amtrak trains run down to Clifton Forge.

"The condition of the line has deteriorated in recent years," Amtrak said in its federal filing. Trains often have to slow to 30 mph or less near Charlottesville. Any more decline in track conditions would threaten the continued operation of Amtrak's Cardinal over the line, "which could result in discontinuance of that train." Drew Galloway, a senior director in Amtrak's strategic-planning department, said the passenger railroad wanted to send a strong message to the government.

CSX wants to sell or lease 1,200 miles of its 23,000-mile system by the end of this year to short-line operators such as Bryant. CSX and Bryant have presented a detailed rationale and defense of the deal, one of the largest shifts in Virginia railroading in years. The rail line serves rock quarries, building suppliers and printing plants that rely on regular rail service. But they don't generate good rates of return for a large railroad. Rather than abandon its customers, CSX wants to turn over operation and maintenance of the 199.7-mile line to a short-line operator, an approach it has used for nearly 20 years. It doesn't want to give up ownership of the line because it provides a convenient route for empty coal cars coming from Hampton Roads.

CSX will pay Buckingham Branch more than $2 million a year for the right to keep operating on the tracks. In return, Buckingham Branch will sign a 20-year lease, with a five-year extension option, and pay CSX annual rent of $140,000. Bryant's plan calls for four round-trip trains per day, five days per week, between Richmond and Clifton Forge - ”providing more frequent service than the line's shippers receive  today." The promise of customized service has excited CSX customers across the state.

Marc Weiss, Hanover County's economic-development director, said a Virginia-based railroad makes all the difference. "This is going from a large corporate owner who has a variety of facilities up and down the East Coast to a more local short-line owner, where we have direct access to the president of the company," he said. While taking pains not to criticize CSX, Weiss said Hanover's industries, including the Richmond Times-Dispatch printing plant at Atlee Station, should benefit from Bryant's hands-on business strategy. Buckingham Branch plans to open offices in Dowell, Charlottesville and Staunton.

In all, 18 shippers, communities and public officials have written letters of support. But like Amtrak, the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees is speaking out. It has attacked the deal in its filing with the Surface Transportation Board. Roy Griffith, vice chairman for its Eastern Federation, was the union official walking the Buckingham Branch last summer. "I was just researching, basically," Griffith said. Griffith, a former track inspector for CSX, said he found defects on Bryant's line as well as faults along the track used for Amtrak passenger trains.

However, a spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration said the track meets federal safety standards. "There have been no critical safety issues on the track," said spokesman Warren Flatau. Bryant responded to the union's allegations in his written comments to the government. "We are proud that we have never been cited for a violation by the FRA." He said he plans "to maintain that record" after he takes on the CSX project. Bryant has promised to use CSX's annual $2 million payment to cover the costs of improving and inspecting the track, some of which runs through rugged mountain terrain.

Karen J. Rae, director of the state Department of Rail and Public Transportation, echoed Amtrak's concerns about track conditions and CSX's "degradation of customer service to its shippers and passenger-rail customers." "I'm not against the transaction," Rae said. "But we are concerned about the overall state of passenger rail and freight service in the Commonwealth."

Despite all of the sidetracks, the deal appears to be moving full steam ahead. "December 20 remains the target date for closing," CSX spokeswoman Misty Skipper said last week. Bryant was busy buying used locomotives and meeting with his new stable of shippers. "The exciting part of this whole thing is to visit with the customers and hear their needs, and how excited they are about this change," he said. (From the Richmond, VA Times-Dispatch)

Posted: 10/13/04