I have always loved railroads.

Back when I was really little, my grandparents would post my high chair by the rear window of their co-op.  And, I would watch one of the busiest rail yards in America for hours.  (No, folks.  The Pennsylvania Railroad is long gone.)

And,  when we would be going to New Jersey, my treat was being allowed to run to the front of the Tubes (the nickname for the lines that are operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, formally names PATH- Port Authority Trans Hudson lines).  Watching all the lights change, see the switches move the tracks, etc.

Well, I’ve grown up.  And, watched the train systems fail to deliver.

Whether it’s the DC Metro that provided promise beyond compare- until one recognized that it only ran during the day and shut down before midnight, leaving the needs of the community behind. Not to mention all the crashes and failures it really offered the public.

 

Or, Amtrak, that failed to recognize that the Acela can’t be a high-speed transit system if it makes stops every 25 miles or so. For the Acela to truly offer an alternative, it needs to be an express- going from DC to NY without a stop.  Or, as I’ve written often, with various stops, with a local train offering to make a connection to nearby locations. (Here’s but one example.)

Reading the new Randal O’Toole book (Romance of the Rails) doesn’t change how I feel about the failure of government and our railroad systems, either.  Not because he’s a constituent of the Cato Institute (which is one of those right-wing, pseudo-Libertarian outfits).  As such, he doesn’t believe that rail transit systems, which can’t really survive without government funding, have any purpose in the US. Even though, deep down,  he may be a railroad lover like me.

His book describes rail transit of yore. From the 1800’s through the 1930’s.  (That’s the era when Ayn Rand lauded our railroad pioneers with her Atlas Shrugged tome.)  Not to mention the Pullman cars of the 1930s fame.  But,  O’Toole also includes the Bolt Bus (and Megabus) system alternatives.

Despite O’Toole’s arguments, there have been folks trying to bring rail transportation into the 21^st century.  Attempts like mine to make it possible for rail systems to really transport passengers from point A to point B in ways that can match what is afforded us by air transit system.  (A non-stop trip from Washington, DC to Manhattan can be effected by existing rail systems in 1.6 hours, which is less than the time it take to fly from DC to NY, especially if one takes into account the TSA-required inspection processes.)

But, it’s not just my ideas.  Hunter Harrison had wonderful ideas that could (and are) revolutionize freight rail transit. He proved them worthwhile at Canadian Pacific. And, wanted to prove them universal by applying them at Norfolk Southern. And, at CSX, if given half a chance. Both of those rail systems needed to essay Harrison’s concepts.

Eventually, Harrison got the chance to try his mettle as the CEO of CSX.  But, given his age and health condition (he died after less than 9 months in this new position),we only saw the potentiality.  But,  a year later, other railroads are also adopting his ideas.

It’s wrong to block those with visionary ideas from implementing change- whether they are 79 years old or 8 years old.

I’ve met the resistance at both ends of my life so far and lament the inability to make the world better because of that prejudice.  The world needs to be able to take those chances for major improvements.