President Joe Biden’s effort to toughen railroad safety regulations is setting up a collision with an industry used to getting its way in Washington
“I even put up a banner at one point in my [conference] room that read ‘THE DEADLINE FOR PTC IS DEC. 31, 2015. IT. IS. THE. LAW,’” said Sarah Feinberg, who led the Federal Railroad Administration at the time that the mandate was due to take effect.
Given those advantages, the railroad industry is well situated to push against proposed changes, “especially in a usually divided Congress,” said a former lawmaker, who asked for anonymity to discuss an industry that was often before Congress when he was there. It’s not only about money, though. Other industries — even large and powerful ones like agribusiness and oil that rely on railroads to transport their bulk products — haven’t been able to galvanize lawmakers to change the way the railroads do business, despite complaining about what they say amounts to railroad price-gouging for subpar service.
Former Rep. Peter DeFazio said the railroads threaten a disruption of service if their customers or politicians complain too loudly about their practices. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo DeFazio said that in the past he repeatedly pressed shippers tired of railroad practices to “‘get me a Republican’” to support a bill to empower regulators to hold the railroads accountable for high fees and poor service — but that none would.
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