Ernesto vs. Amtrak Options

[CNJRoss]

From CSX service advisory posted here.

Amtrak passenger trains will depart as scheduled from South Florida early Tuesday morning, and then service will be discontinued from the Miami area. Southbound Amtrak trains will terminate in Orlando on Wednesday.

[ICGsteve]

This idea that they had to close the railroad because it might flood sounds iffy to me. The forcast was for up to ten inches of rain, but over a three day period. If the railroad, in Florida where tropical storms are a normal part of life, is not built to stand up to ten inches of rain in three days then we've got a problem folks. In the last hundred years has it been normal sop to shut things down when a weak tropical storm rolls in? I don't think so.

In any case none of Florida has had more than 4 inches or rain in the last 48 hours, none has had more than an inch today, and the railroad is still shut down?? NY state has had more rain over the last 48hours, is NY shut down? That would be a NO.

Knowing CSX as we do, I think it fair to assume that the legal guys started running on about probabilities of liability problems and the number crunchers started in about the inefficiencies to be expected in operating during hostile weather, which was quickly followed by management putting out the shut-down order. I doubt very much that management thought for two seconds about their fiduciary responsibility to the American people to keep the railroad operating, or their obligations as a stockholder in Amtrak to run Amtrak when possible. CSX management has a decade long history of taking the easy way out of problems, of not making the attempt when things get tough. It shan't be long before we see them shutting down in snow storms I think.