New Orleans politicians are amazingly creative in drinking from the public trough!
Do you really want government agencies to run railroads and transit?
In Louisiana, Coruption seems to naturally be an adjunct to the Louisiana political environment. As was witnessed in the aftermath of the 2005 Hurricane Katrina ( Levee Boards, School Boards, Public Housing and the dithering of the Local and State governments) exposed deferred maintenance, misdirection of funding, and a generally incompetent management by the politicians and their political appointees.
So it would seem to be just another Ho-Hum politics as usual in the Crescent City.
I will give them one thing…They’ve got a pretty interesting web site: [8D]
(History tab) http://www.nopb.com/nopb/about-us/history.html
When don’t government agencies run rail transit in the US? In some cases the operations are contracted out to private company but the local transit authority holds the pursestrings and ultimate oversight…
Did Chicago ever try running its own belt line railroad?
Not that I’m aware of. All three of Chicago’s belt line operations within the Chicago Switching District (IHB/B&OCT, BRC and CR&I) were always railroad-owned. EJ&E is a line-haul carrier outside the Chicago Switching District.
Most if not all commuter rail operations are publicly owned. At one time commuter lines like Metra in Chicago were owned and operated by private freight roads. In the Chicago area this would be CB&Q (BN) and C&NW but, just as with long distance passenger service, ceded commuter transit over to public entities in the 1970s. Public ownership doesn’t completely end involvement with freight roads however. Though publicly owned, certain functions within Metra are contracted out to freight roads. IIRC, Metra contracts out to BNSF and UP since they use their tracks.
Just curious; Does CN through the former IC lines, have any function in the Chicago Commuter Rail Net ( METRA)???
I would guess that maybe, CP (nee Soo) is also not inflicted with commuter lines as well?
All of the commuter (or suburban) service that existed in the Chicago area continued. Metra currently operates essentially the same service that CMStP&P, CNW, CB&Q, IC, GM&O, RI, and Wabash (to use some of the old names) offered. The PRR’s service to Valparaiso has been abolished–and Metra has added service to Antioch, over the Soo, which had not had such service. I believe that the IC Electric is owned by Metra, since its operation was entirely separate from the steam road.
Metra service on the BNSF and UP lines is provided through purchase-of-service contracts. The former MILW, RI and IC electric lines are directly owned and operated by Metra. The former Alton/GM&O line is directly operated by Metra through trackage rights on the IC. I’m not sure of the status of the Southwest (Wabash) and North Central (Soo) routes.