Hurricane Katrina Updates

Last Updated: 28-Apr-2006 5:56 PM

CSX Rail Project Wins 49-48 Fight
Cochran beats back move in Senate
By Andrew Taylor | The Associated Press http://www.ap.org
Posted Thurs., April 27, 2006

WASHINGTON—In a nail-biting 49-48 vote that tested lawmakers' loyalties Wednesday, senators voted with Mississippi's powerful GOP delegation to keep alive a controversial $700 million project to relocate a rail line along the Mississippi Coast so the state can build a new east-west highway.

The project has become a cause celebre among conservative activists, who say it's a boondoggle. Lawmakers were clearly torn between voting for it or offending Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran, R-Miss.

"I just don't think it's an emergency and I don't think taxpayers ought to be paying for it," said Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who led the effort to kill the project. Generally speaking, more senior senators supported Cochran, regardless of party loyalties.

Cochran, the key architect of the bill, is unhappy with a veto threat and easily beat back a move by Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., to kill $12 billion in add-ons, such as $4 billion in farm aid, $1.1 billion for Gulf Coast fisheries and the much-criticized Mississippi rail line relocation.

Gov. Haley Barbour came to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to lobby for the rail relocation project. The rail line, owned by CSX Transportation, has been rebuilt with insurance proceeds at a cost of nearly $300 million.

The Senate voted to divert some of the money President Bush requested for the war in Iraq to instead increase security on the nation's borders and give the Coast Guard new boats and helicopters.

Senators also ignored a White House veto threat and overwhelmingly voted against cutting a $106.5 billion measure funding Iraq, further hurricane relief for the Gulf Coast and a slew of add-ons opposed by fiscal conservatives and Bush.

Bush insists that total spending in the bill be capped at his $92.2 billion request for Iraq and hurricane relief, though he is willing to accept $2.3 billion in the bill to prevent an outbreak of avian flu.

The underlying bill contains $67.6 billion for Pentagon war operations and $27.1 billion for hurricane relief, including grants to states to build and repair housing and $2.1 billion for levees and flood control projects. The funding for hurricane relief exceeds Bush's request by $7.4 billion.

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from RailForum.com

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From RailForum.com

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Citizens' Watchdog Group Criticizes CSX Plan
WLOX-TV | http://www.wlox.com
Origionally aired on Thurs., April 13, 2006

BILOXI, Miss.—Americans for Prosperity says the $700 million that would buy the CSX rail right of way is an earmark. That's an addition attached to budgets with little discussion or debate. The money is part of the Iraq/Katrina emergency appropriations bill.

AFP's president says the railroad money is not an emergency.

"We believe that $700 million to rip up a perfectly functioning railroad to move it, when it's in a bill that's supposed to be for emergency purposes for Katrina recovery, it's not the right way to go."

Tim Phillips says damaged and destroyed businesses and homes should be more of a spending concern than the tracks.

Let's take the money that's for Katrina recovery and make sure we're using it for the most emergency oriented projects and the things that are most important to helping people get back on their feet."

But the man who chairs the transportation committee of the governor's post-Katrina commission says the rail issue is important to hurricane recovery. In a recent interview on WLOX News This Week, Anthony Topazi said moving the trains would move Highway 90 to higher ground.

"So what we're proposing with the help of federal funds is to relocate Highway 90 out of harm's way. The best place to put Highway 90 happens to be the CSX railroad right of way. We couldn't go buy another right of way for anywhere near what CSX is talking about. So the issue is protecting Highway 90 and the needs for Highway 90, especially during disasters."

Hancock Bank President George Schloegel, a long time supporter of the CSX relocation, says the $700 million is a wise investment because there will be another hurricane that will damage or destroy Highway 90, and a safer east-west roadway in Harrison County is badly needed.

Schloegel says, "FEMA has spent one point two billion dollars of our tax money on temporary repairs to re-open Highway 90. The least expensive route for a new roadway is the CSX right of way."

Congress is expected to take up the appropriations bill the week of April 24th.

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Editorial: Moving the tracks isn't an issue of dollars; it's an issue of sense
By Senator Trent Lott
Published by the Sun-Herald on Mon., April 17, 2006

Transportation is the lifeblood of our economy, and making it safer should be a priority.

Despite deaths and injuries along our transportation byways, some in Washington contend that safer transportation just costs too much money - often reducing this issue to a case of dollars over what makes sense.

I'm an unabashed advocate of safer roads, bridges and, yes, railroads - most recently lending my support to a $700 million plan to move the Mississippi Coast's CSX railroad line north to higher ground, away from storm surges and, more importantly, people.

Along the Coast, we too often see motorists and pedestrians killed on the rails that have run parallel to our shores for more than a century. Today the rails intersect the heart of each growing coastal community, causing people, trains and cars to frequently collide at dangerous crossroads.

Always mindful that my father was killed on a narrow, two-lane road south of Laurel, I've supported surface transportation safety initiatives impacting our highways and rails by funding more four-lane highways for our state and supporting rail relocation plans.

With long-term safety as our primary goal, and to protect Mississippi's Coast tracks from another crippling storm, Senator Thad Cochran and I included funds to move the CSX tracks in a Hurricane Katrina legislative relief package which the full Senate will soon consider.

In the aftermath of arguably the worst natural disaster in American history, any good post-Katrina reconstruction plan should consider moving these tracks. Given the tracks' proximity to the Gulf of Mexico and to motor traffic and flood waters, Gulf Coast residents and leaders would be irresponsible if we didn't consider a safer place for the railroad. At some point we must move these tracks from the middle of busy, growing communities like Biloxi, Gulfport and Pascagoula, just as we're considering moving tracks from places like downtown Jackson, Tupelo and Greenwood.

Predictably, a few folks in Washington don't like this idea. They're not considering the many deaths along these tracks. They say moving them costs too much money. They're oblivious to the fact that this strategic railroad - which they outrageously have dubbed "the railroad to nowhere" - actually spans the length of our nation between California and Florida, handling vital cargo and passengers, serving our nation's second-largest refinery and our second-largest naval shipbuilder, too.

This project's critics wouldn't exchange the railroad tunnels, overpasses, elevated tracks, crossing signals and other safety enhancements in their hometowns for the outdated and almost bare railroad crossings that are still too frequently found along the Gulf Coast. I invite them to see this situation for themselves before passing judgment on the expendability of Mississippi lives.

These objectors aside, Mississippians and their elected congressional delegation have been talking about moving these tracks for almost a decade, well before Hurricane Katrina came and changed our lives forever.

Our goal has always been safety, not necessarily cost. What's good for the railroad's bottom line or for some bureaucrat's budget in Washington isn't the priority when lives are at stake. We're thinking about trying to prevent future collisions. And, yes, we're thinking about putting a modern, multi-lane, well-controlled east-west road where the tracks are right now.

The critics can say what they want but, like me, I'm sure many of them regularly champion using American railroads more wisely - modernizing our rail system to save energy and to one day move people along clean, electrified, high-speed tracks without pollution.

This can't happen until we discard old rail beds throughout America that were cut for steam engines of the 1840s and 1850s, twisting around the smallest hills, and running straight through the middle of what are now very busy intersections.

When we consider the future of America's transportation system and ponder where it should be, it's clear that rail relocation isn't an issue of dollars. It's an issue of sense.

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Railroad Relocation Project Gaining Steam
By Steve Phillips | WLOX-TV http://www.wlox.com
Origionally Aired on Wed., April 5, 2006

BILOXI, Miss.—A much discussed plan to relocate the CSX railroad tracks is picking up steam. And Hurricane Katrina seems to be the "window of opportunity" for moving ahead with the project.

A hurricane relief bill now pending in Congress includes $700 million for purchasing railroad right of way.

Moving the CSX tracks has been talked about for years. But the hurricane has pushed it closer to reality. And while some critics are calling it a "pork barrel" project, supporters say it's an incredible opportunity.

CSX trains that roll through the heart of the coast could be a memory within two years. Seven hundred million dollars to relocate the trains is being pushed in Congress by Mississippi leaders.

"It's the perfect time. I mean there's an emphasis being put on recovery here. This is "the" time to do it. It's something that's needed doing forever," said Long Beach Mayor Billy Skellie.

He says building a new east-west highway along the existing CSX right of way has long been a good idea and makes perfect sense in Katrina's wake.

"If the railroad was out of the mix in this, and those right of ways were to be used for traffic, for roads, naturally it's going to be a safer community. And also move traffic," he says.

"Of course they've been talking about it for many years," said longtime resident, Robert Little.

Little and his wife Pauline built their house near the rail tracks just after the 1947 hurricane. He recalls an earlier time when an electric trolley ran alongside the tracks. The 88 year old says he's "ambivalent" about plans to move the rail line.

"Of course the railroad has been a good neighbor, and a bad neighbor. This crossing here, we've had lots of deaths here. But since they put the gates up, we haven't had one since," he said.

One of the most vocal critics of the railroad funding is Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, who said, "It would be ludicrous for the Senate to spend 700 million dollars to destroy and relocate a rail line that's in perfect working order."

With some critics calling the railroad relocation a "pork barrel project", Sen. Trent Lott doesn't appreciate such talk.

"I'll just say this about the so-called "pork busters". I'm getting damn tired of hearing from them. They have been nothing but trouble ever since Katrina," said Sen. Lott.

The trains may still be rolling, but leaders say their days on this rail may be limited.

"I feel like this could possibly really happen. Because it's continuing. It's gathering support. And I see a window of opportunity that this could happen now," said Skellie.

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Imagine A Park Instead of Rails
By DAVID TORTORANO | dtortorano@sunherald.com
Posted on Sun, Oct. 16, 2005

BILOXI, Miss.—That rail line that annoys you so much because it cuts through the heart of the Coast's cities and causes some traffic problems?

Picture it transformed, perhaps used by buses, or a commuter train that will zip through crossings in less than a minute. Then picture it landscaped, serving a secondary purpose as a linear park.

A new use for the CSX line is just one of the ideas being developed by the transportation team at the Mississippi Renewal Forum at the Isle of Capri.

Norman Garrick, a professor at the University of Connecticut's school of engineering, understands that local residents for years have been discussing moving the CSX rail line.

"One thing I think that's emerging is a parkway through the cities," he said. The transportation options include using it for buses or a commuter rail.

One plan is for Gulfport and Biloxi to have a trolley system that would travel along the shoreline. It would loop around East Biloxi. There would be a streetcar terminal that would allow passengers to board a high-speed rail to take them north to a proposed east-west high-speed rail corridor. That would allow them to go between Pass Christian and, perhaps, Pascagoula.

But the ultimate aim would be a high-speed rail transportation corridor linking South Mississippi to neighboring states and beyond. The high-speed transportation envisioned is not the bullet train type, but rather the 150-mph type that makes long-distance commuting in the Northeast common.

"To make it work really well, there would be one stop in Mississippi, north of I-10," Garrick said.

Shelley Poticha, president of the Oakland, Calif.-based Reconnecting America, said the focus of the transportation team has been to find ways to better connect South Mississippi to the rest of the nation.

"This storm, however disastrous it's been," she said, "is an opportunity to create a region that takes advantage of the latest thinking in transportation."

Poticha said one way to attract people to South Mississippi is if you can get them from Gulfport to New Orleans in 45 minutes, or to Jackson in the same time.

She also sees many other benefits of that kind of transportation ease, including expanding the region where businesses can draw a work force.

"There are all sorts of stars that could align," she said.

It's possible that this region could become a model for how to do transportation the right way, in part through the interconnectivity, she said.

The nonprofit Reconnecting America has as one of its goals encouraging neighborhoods to spring up around transportation options.

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New Orleans trolleys KO'd by Katrina
By MARY FOSTER / Associated Press
WWL-TV CBS Channel 4 | http://www.wwltv.com/
Posted on Saturday, November 19, 2005

The clackety old streetcars that have traveled up and down St. Charles Avenue for the past 170 years and their shiny new red counterparts on Canal Street will be out of service for months, maybe a year or more.

All 24 of the new cars for the recently completed Canal Street line and six of seven of the River Front cars were destroyed by the flooding that followed Hurricane Katrina. The antique St. Charles cars were safe, but the power system that propels them past the famous mansions, universities and parks was wrecked and must be totally rebuilt.

"We took a major hit," said Regional Transit Authority spokeswoman Rosalind Blanco Cook. "We don't really have an estimate for bringing the lines back."

The St. Charles streetcar line — the oldest continuously operating streetcar line in the world — is on the National Register of Historic Places and one of the icons of the city. Streetcars traveling past the mansions, universities and parks offer tourist a taste of the city's past and residents a reliable commute for $1.25.

The Riverfront line was added in 1988 and last spring the Canal Street line, which was abandoned 40 years ago, was restored.

The St. Charles cars, built in 1923-24, are carefully maintained by the RTA. The new cars were built by the agency under the supervision of Elmer von Dullen, an expert in streetcar construction and maintenance.

The old streetcars were parked in the Uptown barn and escaped unscathed. The new cars were taken to the Canal Street barn.

"That's where we all evacuated to as well," Cook said. "We thought it was safe, and it was until the flood."

The building took five feet or water which stayed for more than two weeks.

"It was really sad," von Dullen said. "It was very corrosive. All the metal rusted. Even the plastic had white bubbles. If you had a shiny piece of plastic, it blistered the surface."

Unlike the St. Charles cars, which von Dullen describes as Model A's in their simplicity, the new cars are operated by a computer, air conditioned and handicapped accessible. It took 142 days to build each car, von Dullen said. It will probably take that long to rebuild them.

"We're going to have to have all the undercarriages replaced," von Dullen said. "We'll have to go in there and tear out all the old wiring, rip out the paneling, rip floor out, treat for corrosion. Then we have to put the wiring and flooring back. then the seats and interior paneling. It's almost like building new ones."

The bill for repairs is estimated at $1 million per car, Cook said. It's hoped that federal aid will pick up some of the tab. Restoring the power lines for the St. Charles line will be less expensive, but since much of the city is still without electricity, it's not a high priority.

The St. Charles cars could run on the other lines, Cook said. But because of their historic designation, they are not allowed to.

"We're going to appeal that because of the special circumstances," Cook said. "We're hopeful we can use them to get the lines going again."

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On the Net: http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/111905cckkWWLTVtrolleys.fb398e6.html

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Coast Deal Still Possible
By Michael Newsom / Sun Heriald
http://www.sunherald.com/
Posted on Saturday, January 07, 2006

The whistle might blow again for CSX trains on the Coast by early March if a deal isn't struck to sell the railway's land to the state government, which has plans to turn the tracks into an east-west connector road.

And even if a deal is struck, where or if CSX relocates its lines has not been determined.

Anthony Topazi, vice chairman for the Governor's Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal, said he would like to see a deal reached by early March. A spokesperson from CSX acknowledged talks and studies were ongoing, but also said trains could roll across the South Mississippi by that same date.

"We are still willing to consider it, but right now our goal is to re-establish the rail line," said Meg Scheu, a spokesperson for CSX. "We have employees at CSX who are working at the state and local level. Relocating the lines would take lots of time, so it is not something that could be done quickly."

For more of this story, read Sunday's Sun Herald or by clicking here.

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On the Net: http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/breaking_news/13575169.htm

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Train Deal On Track? CSX, states seeking innovative solution.
By Michael Newsom / Sun Herald
http://www.sunherald.com/
Posted on Sunday, January 08, 2006

The whistle might blow again for CSX trains on the Coast by early March if a deal isn't struck to sell the railway's land to the state government, which has plans to turn the tracks into an east-west connector road.

And even if a deal is struck, where or if CSX relocates its lines has not been determined.

Anthony Topazi, vice chairman for the Governor's Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal, said he would like to see a deal reached by early March. A spokesperson from CSX acknowledged talks and studies were ongoing, but also said trains could roll across South Mississippi by that same date.

"We are still willing to consider it, but right now our goal is to re-establish the rail line," said Meg Scheu, a spokesperson for CSX. "We have employees at CSX who are working at the state and local level. Relocating the lines would take lots of time, so it is not something that could be done quickly."

Topazi, who headed up the transportation committee on the Governor's Commission, said the purchase of the right of way would pave the way for a new east-west connector road, which is key to the rebuilding process. He said the road would make it possible to clear some traffic from U.S. 90 and allow municipalities to designate that road as a scenic boulevard.

Plans designed by Topazi's commission have included rail transportation along the existing path of the tracks, in addition to the proposed connector road.

The plans also would call for a new bridge for the proposed connector road across the bay from Biloxi to Ocean Springs, where the CSX rail lines cross, instead of the bridge's current path along U.S. 90.

Topazi spoke in optimistic tones about the possible purchase.

"They (CSX) have done an outstanding job in trying to come up with a creative solution," he said. "They have been working hard at that for a number of months. I am really enthused."
But Topazi's comments were laced with a dose of realism.

"We've got to be realistic about this," he said. "CSX has responsibilities to its shareholders to operate a railroad that they have got to meet. They are trying to find a win-win situation for their being able to convey that right of way to the state."

Scheu said she couldn't venture a guess.

The railroad is being repaired. Large piles of wooden crossties were stacked along the tracks for most of Harrison County, a sign that the work is ongoing.

Scheu said one of the main hurdles for the railroad is repairing the bridge across the Bay of St. Louis, which is about two miles long. She said the work started in September and most bridges have tracks on them.

CSX trains have been routed through Nashville, Memphis and St. Louis on the east-west route and through Birmingham on north-south routes. Scheu said the company has operations in Mobile and Pensacola, but no trains have been running from Pascagoula to New Orleans.

She said the company has made it a priority to restore rail lines because the CSX freight trains carry building supplies and other provisions necessary to the rebuilding process.

The process to sell the right of way is a long one, with environmental impact studies to be conducted, as well as property that would have to be bought from its owners to build a new track, Scheu said.

She also said the process would be a costly one, but could not specify a price. Topazi was equally guarded about the cost of the project, but said an early ballpark estimate for the project came in at $2 billion.

"What is being discussed would be significantly less than that," he said.

He said state leaders were pondering the purchase before Katrina. If the railroad is sold, the new road would be state-run with possible federal funding. If the deal falls through, Topazi said the commission must look for another route.

"If we are not able to accomplish it, we will seek another east-west route," he said. "This is a great opportunity for us. If we are able to accomplish it, I think our ability to come back bigger and better will be enhanced substantially."

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On the Net: http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/13576701.htm

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CSX Transportation to Re-Open Vital Gulf Coast Rail Line
Released by CSX Transportation
http://www.csx.com
Released: Jan 18, 2006

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.—January 18, 2006 - CSX Transportation announced today that it is resuming local freight rail service on its Gulf Coast line, a vital transportation artery to New Orleans. Service through the entire area is expected to be restored beginning in early February.

CSXT Chief Operating Officer Tony Ingram urged citizens to be alert at rail crossings, which have been largely inactive since Hurricane Katrina made landfall August 29. The company, along with Operation Lifesaver, Inc., has launched an awareness campaign in targeted locations.

"We are incredibly proud of our employees and contractors for their tireless efforts to help bring the railroad and its economic benefits back to the region," Ingram said. "Many of them contributed to the rebuild straight through the holidays while dealing with their own storm-related issues at home."

Over the past five months, the company has been working to restore six major bridges, more than 40 miles of track, and its major rail yard in New Orleans. The largest engineering challenge was the nearly two-mile bridge at Bay St. Louis, Miss.

During construction, CSXT employed several solutions to continue rail service to its customers. These include re-routing trains on other railroads, where possible, and the construction of temporary transload facilities.

In New Orleans and the broader Gulf region, CSXT handles or interchanges with western railroads more than 1,000 freight cars per day. The company also serves more than 20 industries and ports, delivering products ranging from plastics and resins to building supplies and apparel.

"Industries and communities throughout the Gulf region depend on free-flowing rail service," Ingram said. "It was critically important that we get the railroad back up and running as soon as possible."

CSXT, like other companies, is participating with public and private groups to identify ways to best serve the Gulf Coast region's economy in the future.

"We are open to ideas that are in the best interests of CSXT, its customers, and its communities," Ingram said. "We have been a proud citizen of this region for generations. Our recent rebuild of the Gulf Coast line restores vital service and underscores our commitment, but does not foreclose other long-term alternatives for the rail line."

More than 300 CSXT employees in the Gulf region were affected by Hurricane Katrina, and many took advantage of assistance offered by the company that included disaster relief payments and temporary jobs in other regions. Many transferred employees will be returning to the area as operations resume.

CSX Corporation, based in Jacksonville, Fla., is one of the leading transportation companies, providing rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck transload services. The company's transportation network spans 22,000 miles, serves 22 eastern states and the District of Columbia, and connects to more than 70 ocean, river and lake ports. More information about CSX Corporation and its subsidiaries is available at the company's web site, www.csx.com.

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