CSX Corp. wants to upgrade its railroad lines into a “corridor of the future” between Washington and Miami, a move that would permit freight trains to operate at speeds of 50 mph to 70 mph and passenger trains up to 110 mph. That would fall far short of a bullet train, but it would significantly improve speeds of existing Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express Service.
According to Steve Dunham, chairman of the Virginia Association of Railway Patrons, writing in the Free Lance-Star:
The line would be “sealed to prevent motor vehicle intrusion.” Some 1,700 “at-grade highway rail crossings” would be closed and, where necessary, replaced with bridges. There would be three tracks between Richmond and Miami and four tracks between Richmond and Washington.
Of course, all those improvements would cost a lot of money, and CSX doesn’t want to pay it. But money could be available under the federal “Corridors of the Future” program. The project sounds cool. But lots of projects sound cool in the absence of Return on Investment analysis. As always, one must ask: What’s the cost, what’s the pay-off and what are the risks?