Grab the Train

The hysteria over public transit, particularly in the South hearkens back clearly to Rosa Parks and regardless of the time that has passed, this issue of integrated schools, buses and buildings will never die, unlike Rosa who is.

One of the reasons that transit is so hotly debated as it is here in Nashville is the cost. The insane reality is that we are taxed to the core here to the point of absurdity. Well other than income generating funds or investments, they have in fact dropped here, but newspapers, magazines, food are all taxed regardless and those are constant paper cuts to the poor and working class.

Public transit is just that – public.  It means you are encountering the public from a cross section of life unless of course you live in the South and then no.   The car culture is big here and from across the City both black and white residents are amazed that I rely upon the buses to get me from point A to Z.  Well I walk a lot and in turn rent cars when the weather gets to a point I need a break and it enables me to go outside my limited range that is not adequately served by buses.

And while money was the issue and in turn the problem for why the transit bill failed here it was also because people outside the service areas were largely paying for something that did not serve them and I understood that.  Here in Tennessee the rivalry and idiocy about counties and cities and being served is a major issue of debate and discussion when it comes to funding and appropriation of resources.  Hence that is why the flooding issue has never been resolved as it supposedly “favors” Nashville.  I see as that was the city that sustained the largest damage, is the largest generator of funding dollars in the State so sure let’s not ensure that it doesn’t happen again and divert precious flood dollars to the City again to build an Amphitheater, which is what they did and the houses outside the city failed to get the money they needed.  So here is the deal, protect the city core and then if and when this happens the money will help those most in need not those most connected.  Oh who are we fucking kidding, this is the South bitches!

Atlanta is often cited here as the most problematic when it comes to traffic and in turn transit. Part of it is due to the bizarre configuration of highways and the way they intersect and connect to each other, even Los Angeles has a better design of interstate highways than what I have seen and experienced here.  I go out of my way and do so when in LA as well to avoid the major roads but here it is a must in order to avoid accidents from the sheer level of bad driving that makes the situation worse.   But it all falls into the idea that cars and driving are essential in Nashville and like the concept of public transit almost everyone agrees that transit sucks so why use it.  I have heard both white and black individuals complain and be incredulous as to my advocacy and use of transit, much of it differs in why.  One is the fear factor the other convenience and that splits across the lines as well. Again my experience here in Nashville always has race as an issue beneath the surface but it is not the primary issue it is about money and class and bus riders are poor and poor is bad.  I can assure you that if home debt is not the number one in people’s credit reports, car debt is as well.  All the Black faces here in my apartment own the most expensive cars – we have Jags, BMW’s, Mercedes and high end vehicles while almost all the white people drive Nissan’s with the exceptions are the two blonde young girls who drive SUV’s and both are ironically white in color and likely paid for by parents.  The old white lady however…. and when I rent its economy.   Because in America cars are status and that is important here especially in the South as Status matters the most.  Money and class then God are the priority, know your place and thank God for it.

On the Red Line: A daily racial transformation on MARTA
April 26, 2017
ByMelton Bennett, For The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

This article is part of the AJC’s new RE: Race reporting project, which is dedicated to covering both the tensions and the opportunities created by racial and ethnic change in Atlanta and Georgia. Author Melton Bennett responded to a request to readers from the AJC to talk about a time when they felt like an outsider. His is one of four such articles we’re featuring this week.

Taking the MARTA train from the mostly white northern suburbs down to the airport captures a cross section of the racial makeup, and divide, that exists in Atlanta.

As my fellow white passengers and I pull out of North Springs station, we add more white passengers at the next few stations as we pull toward Buckhead. As we enter the heart of the city, African-Americans begin entering the train, and at Five Points, the racial makeup of the train has flipped to predominantly African-American.

I watch as the African-American passengers entering the train look for seats next to other African-Americans, and I watch white passengers seek out other white seat mates. I see the uncomfortable looks of white people who think the black kid dressed like a gang member is going to sit next them, and then the sigh of relief as he passes by.

Mostly, it is then that I notice differences between the people who joined me at my embarkation and the people who have joined in the city. It’s not uncommon for me to watch an impromptu hip hop performance as the train treks south, a performance replete with phrases about violence, sex and race.

The language changes, with poor grammar and offensive profanity being expelled by these groups of passengers, speaking loudly to be heard by everyone, almost as if they must exhibit some cultural difference to a captive audience to make sure they are seen and heard.

The behavior can seem aggressive, with the occasional comment from one of the African-Americans, “Man, we gotta chill. These crackers don’t like that [expletive].” I absolutely feel like an outsider. There is nothing I can say. There is nothing I can do.

Inside, I want to tell them that we are all alike, that sharing constructive conversations and experiences is what builds a bridge to understanding. The hard-core profanity, the unsavory references to females and the derogatory names for white people just force the bridge to be longer.

Of course, this does not represent all African-Americans, in the city or even on the train, but this is not an uncommon experience on my MARTA journey. As I trek down the city, I see the racial differences, see the divides, hear the pain in the rap songs and conversations.

As the train crosses Auburn Avenue, I often wonder what MLK Jr would like to have experienced on the MARTA train in 2017.

Now The Root responded to this and I found it equally incendiary and written to fuel fires not put them out.  One comment did resonate:

Okay, this guy is a tool AND he’s full of shit.

I lived in Alpharetta for five years, and took the MARTA out of North Springs to the airport all the damn time. Yes, black people get on the train more during the downtown bits, along with plenty of white people, Hispanic people, and Asian people. Congratulations on recognizing the obvious, I suppose.

The part that gets me though is how he characterizes that portion of the trip as though he’s entering some sort of exotic foreign land.

My own experiences? People got on and off the train, and it was a boring 45 minute ride to the airport where nothing of note ever happened… aside from that time I dropped my camera and lost it. I’m still sore about that… there were a lot of cool DragonCon photos on it!

Here’s the deal though: by reading this, any white people who decide to use the MARTA in the near future will now be looking for this shit. Even people who don’t actually care about race will suddenly have it on their mind. That’s the most insidious thing about articles like these: they plant seeds in people’s head, and they suddenly become filters for their experiences that bias their outlooks even more than they already might have been.

What we have here is a failure to communicate.  This essay by the author did not clarify how frequently if ever he took the train and during this observational period did he note ages, genders and other significant data that might offer a broader perspective about the passengers? No.  What it did provide was stereotypes and in turn realities of what it is like to ride public transport.  Depending on the time of day and the route taken buses are a reflection of those commuting to work or school versus those during the midday where the passengers are often older, very young and often unemployed.  Again this is one example of why white people here are labeled with the privilege banner and in turn dismissed when they offer their observations about issues largely reflecting their experiences and encounters with those of another race.   I truly never thought about it and became hyper vigilant about this issue until I moved South and then I began to note and categorize those whom I rode the bus with, the students I am in charge of and the times I go to the Dentist office and other service places, such as my coffee shop that has nary a black face as a server and rarely as a customer.   That bothers me on so many levels as again it makes me question the woman I am becoming living here.   The days I choose not seems to enable me to simply live and go about my day benignly content.   But I know the minute school starts all that will fall away.

And I read this comment on a local blogger and prospective school board candidate’s blog in response to his missives about the state of the schools.  And for now it is a line clearly divided by race and the card are tossed with little to say in response.  But running for public office changes that dynamic and as he wades into these stormy waters I wish him the best.  But read the comment and note that this woman is an Educator and responsible for teaching what I believe may be Students whose native language is not English.  She is angry, resentful and well barely literate either.

Nope.. ELL scores are attributed to the students and their teachers… nothing to with Kevin and Molly sitting in central office! Neither one of them can answer a question unless it’s on a PowerPoint! Are you really for the teachers or just trying to make a name for yourself?!! I am sick and tired of you singing their praises.

TC have formed my own opinions about you a long time ago. In regards to Kevin, goodbye to his silly story about how was climbing a mountain and how he feels like he needs an IEP to do so. It’s always bad taste and the whole room erupts in laughter. Or how him and Molly had district level required trainings where the trainer referred to students to as “fresh off the boat!” I guess neither one of them- when they were informed- used their white privileged to kick that trainer out. Nope we had days of her loud obnoxious, better than anyone voice. Or the insane about of personal time- they demand out of EL teachers.

Just because your kids go to school with so EL kids and you sat in some board a few years ago doesn’t make you an expert. Do you even know about the WIDA test. How kids take the test in grade bands- and literally it’s the same test in the band. There are so many “practice” test out there. Also, it’s not hard for one student to take a particular test in all three levels within a band and the teacher knows what’s going on. If you get my drift.

Oh one more item… children, especially child of color don’t have to read the damn “the classics!” You are not a teacher and you are not trained to be one.

All you do is stir the pot, I love how when you post something new… all of my “white colleagues” are jumping up and down! Taking about the “truths” you speak! For the love of all things holy, use your damn white privilege to lift someone up because 1/2 of the time you sound a bit racist!

Again this is a blog and I write basically stream of consciousness and rarely edit or revise let alone draft my thoughts which means upon occasion going back later an tweaking and revising my thoughts in which to clarify and tighten the logic and points.  But when I read this rant by the woman  I thought she must be a hell of a Teacher and by that I don’t mean one in a good way.  I want nothing to do with the schools and the bullshit that goes on here.  I am exhausted trying to explain this and have someone say:  “Go to Williamson County”  Why don’t you?  Fuck you I am not moving I need to be close to Vanderbilt and don’t have a car so how is all this going to work for a shitty job that pays garbage?  Is there a point?  I really think people think I am missing being a Teacher and am like a Nun or a Priest where it is a calling to serve.  Bad news no. I have been a Sub longer than I ever was  a Teacher for many of the reasons I have mentioned here – the politics, the bullshit games, the lack of support and the money but never the kids those I had few issues with until I moved here.  Sorry but the systemic poverty, racism, violence  and lack of support for education has finally enabled me to walk away from bothering to even care.  This is what poverty is like and The Bitter Southerner had a great piece on how poverty is a dividing rod between races and it is by intent.  Read it and realize it speaks truths.  Truths here are not welcome in the land of denial.

Grab a bus and train and try meeting or at least seeing your community and in turn learn about yourself.  I laugh all the time about the incredulous response I get when people find out I don’t own a car and ride public transport it as if they discovered a new species.    No its called being financially responsible and living within ones means.  My apartment costs enough and to have car payments and maintenance, licensing, gas and other costs associated with something that sits largely unused for most of the day is a waste.  I do rent and I miss car share services like Car2Go but it is what it is and for now I make due.  

Dear Nasvhille

In the 18 months since I relocated here I have many highs and many lows.  I have frequently written about my issues adapting and assimilating into a culture not my own and to a city of which I had no previous experience or knowledge.  I came here in search of healing – physical and emotional – the former I am ongoing and pleased with, the latter has been put on hold.  Why?  Because what I have found is a city resistant to change and resentful yet oddly co-dependent upon outsiders.

I do not own a car and yet I have rented cars more than I have done in decades as even here car sharing as I knew it via Zipcar, Car2Go and RideShare does not exist here.  I see a type of car share available thru Enterprise but that is exclusively to State employees, so I walk and ride Metro as that is my main source of transportation.  I appreciate Metro and that the system is undergoing changes and upgrades with a Mayor who is a positive about public transport, so I work with what we got and it is not bad and could and should be better.  I have risked my life crossing streets and roads with no crosswalks nor sidewalks and I have been lucky, 300 people have not been so this past year.   The anger about such change is palpable and is centers around money and in a city that is undergoing as much gentrification as Nashville has the past 5 years the divisiveness is equally palpable.  And yes race is a factor but money governs the race on issue as it does color.

I live on 4th Ave S, one way that runs across the city towards the south end of county and intersects with many highway exchanges.  The cross street, Chestnut, is adjacent to the east-west connection of the city and is equally busy on a daily basis.

Behind my home is an upcoming area of Wedgewood  Houston and the bars, apartments and other facilities that run adjacent to the train tracks are new and growing businesses that once housed artists and others who understood in exchange for low rents they would have to tolerate the noise, congestion and other delays that the CSX train exchange just akin to the area causes.

But now they are leaving and the new are arriving. I pay 1800 dollars a month rent. Again, I don’t own a car which brings the why but more importantly the how when I am a Substitute Teacher in the lowest paying professions in the lowest paying districts in the region.  I am a writer in my down time and have been fortunate to find many who support the creative arts here that are not just about music and for them I am grateful but had I not resources and a willingness to compromise I would be living in box next to the tracks.

That said when one works along tracks the endless train noise is surreal.  I wear earplugs in my home 24/7 and when I have the windows open I have to wear additional ear coverage to protect my hearing.  The trains horns often are beyond the 140 decibels as stated by law and in turn often go longer than the 4 horn range they are to do at each crossing.  So ostensibly I hear 8 per run but often to be angry, punitive or just for laughs they ring them consistently through the crossings or up to 13 rings in a 5 minute time frame.   This does not include the vibration caused by the speed of the trains which often is excessive past the legal limits.  Again nothing surprises me with CSX as their financial problems are well documented so they do what they do regardless as they run unregulated and largely ignored here. 

Additionally the trains stop often with only one to two cars blocking the pass. Irony that is always at rush hours in the am or pm.  They can block for upwards to hours (yes as in plural) at a time to only a few minutes.  In that time frame I see cars backed up to the major crossing of Lafayette and watch School buses, Public Buses, Emergency Vehicles, Police and regular cars resort to some of the most bizarre changes in routes to sheer dangerous behavior, driving in reverse, turning around on a one way, on sidewalks, thru the park across the street all to divert.  We, the residents of the sole apartment building, are either trapped in our homes or unable to access our homes due to the backup.  We are on the fourth replacement of a Turn Only sign to the point the men decided to place it behind a stone wall so now for certain the cars have a clear sidewalk in which to drive.

I have watched cars try to outrace the trains and in turn get stuck on the tracks adding more delays and confusion.  My favorite this week was a Police car that turned on its blues after sitting pushing the far left lane to turn in order for him to re-route. When I have asked other Police about this they have informed me it is not their job.  So I have taken it upon myself to direct traffic, be verbally abused, threatened and harassed as well as thanked to get cars and people moving. Frankly the endless noise, the honking of horns the angry yelling  compels me to do this and not the kindness of my heart.  The waste of energy and air quality is another as I have been recovering from the other kind of healing which was the primary reason I came here and it has led me to be housebound by choice.  As a result it has enabled me to witness to some of the most troubling incidents and traffic seen most often on major highways on a daily basis.  No traffic reporter ever covers this and it is well worth a camera to see and hear what I do. 

On days when I have to work and need to go South I cannot as the bus is stranded with me.  I have to walk, get an Uber or find some other route to get to a job that ostensibly pays me barely enough to pay said rent.   That is my choice but I need to live close to a transit center and to Vanderbilt to access my medical care.  And to move again the costs would not be offset as the rents are largely the same throughout the city in this area. 

There are many potential solutions to some of the problems that exist.  A Silent Zone mandate that could be evoked at night and could be passed via  resolution through the City Council and on to the legislature. There are the same with the 20 minute rule that stops blocking of intersections. And all of it can begin through the local officials that govern the city. But like the schools should I want respect in Nashville I need to be from Nashville.  I am an outsider and I am not worthy of respect nor attention. I see it in the schools from the Staff to the Students and they wonder why there is a crisis in them but that is for another blog at another time.

The desire to turn the Fairgrounds south of my home to a major Soccer stadium is laughable. One way out one way in when you live on 4th Ave S.  There are too other ways to resolve this but again my voice is not heard.  I am trouble, difficult, confrontational.  Live with it or should I take my degrees, my education, my training and my money and taxes with me to where they will both respect and hear me?

I see my Doctors next week and I plan on changing my course of treatment to accelerate my healing and I can write anywhere. I have me the wonderful people of Ingram and they have already inspired me to go beyond what I believe and that I can do anywhere.

I go now to the Festival of Books with the hopes to be there as a Writer but also as a Visitor.  The reality is that Nashville doesn’t want people like me here – Pro transit, sidewalks, pro education and public schools and someone who cares and who has the audacity to ask questions and expect answers.

I have taken to Twitter to air my complaints repeatedly to the Mayor’s office who told me to contact CSX directly. Been there done that and got nowhere but thanks.  I have contacted Colby Sledge’s office, my representative with regards to the problem and sent him film of what it like to live adjacent to this literally potential train wreck.    I have spoken to the neighboring business, to the Church, the Shelter and the Daycare/Schools nearby and they all feel the same way but in true Southern fashion the response is: “Its always been that way.”  That resignation permeates all my dialogues here as if change is simply for one’s pocket and any other kind means to give up something.  Be that good or bad it means giving it up and they are not having any of that now y’hear!

My most recent exchange with said Mayor’s office that if I wanted to go around the train I was told to go via Oak Street. Yes I am aware of that (I live here and all of that)  but again I don’t have a car.   I bus it and the delays to the bus is another issue and yet this is a street pegged for lite rail.  We had this in Seattle and we have light rail and trains, and buses and ferries that transport people. We have bike lanes and trolley cars and we have sidewalks and crosswalks.. gosh why would anyone leave such a nirvana.  I am asked repeatedly: “Why did you come here?”  And my answer is that very question.

Highway to Hell?

Texas is a special kind of stupid, I lived there. I lived there when George Bush was Governor and thereby provides me with a special kind of insight. Thankfully I did not when Rick “I don’t know what the Dept of Energy does but it needs be closed” Perry was.  Now this is the man with his hands on the nuclear plants of America.  I guess I will find out what special kind of stupid he is.

Texas is doing what was done for decades, how do you think the original rail lines were built? I am not against a public-private PARTNERSHIP where the stakes are of equal investiture and management.  Otherwise it can end up on the highway to hell like the private prison system or charters schools.

Being exempt from accountability and having all the assets and none of the liabilities is the issue. And this has been done and done badly when it comes to public utilities and this includes access to broadband, another heated issue.    But  that is the current model that hedge funds use when they buy businesses.  They take the assets, load the original business with excessive debt, it files bankruptcy and folds leaving employees and businesses with whom the debt incurred in the lurch.  Look to Hostess Baking as an example or well any of Romney or beloved Warren Buffett’s investments. 

But once again the haters are the loudest voices. Having heard this in our local discussion about some of the infrastructure issues here in Nashville, the who’se gonna pay for it rings loud. And pay doesn’t always mean money.  The debate in Colorado over the freeway expansion in Denver is another example of how need and demand can often overlook those most in need.

And in California a desperately needed upgrade in Northern California Amtrak is on hold pending the Trump’s Administration decision and budget plans.  This from the New York Times:

The Transportation Department is withholding $647 million in federal grants for a $1.9 billion project that would modernize and increase the capacity of Caltrain. About 65,000 people use the rail line every day to commute between San Francisco and San Jose — a traffic-clogged corridor that is home to some the country’s most valuable technology companies, including Apple, Facebook and Google. Caltrain plans to use the money to switch to modern electric trains, from old diesel locomotives that are prone to failure.

The change will also allow the transit system to serve many more people in a growing region.

Federal officials said they were delaying the grant because they need to see if the president’s forthcoming budget includes enough money for transportation projects. That explanation is perplexing because Congress has already authorized the program that would fund Caltrain improvements. The department’s decision runs counter to Mr. Trump’s campaign promises of increased infrastructure spending.

The new secretary of transportation, Elaine Chao, could be acceding to California’s 14 Republican members of Congress, who feel electrification would benefit a high-speed rail line, being built by the state, that they consider a boondoggle. While the two projects are separate, high-speed trains are expected to use Caltrain tracks in the Bay Area. California Republicans have tried everything to disrupt the high-speed rail project, but this move is particularly damaging.

Caltrain has already secured $1.3 billion in other funds and permits and approvals for the electrification. The project was so far along that the transit system had to renegotiate with its contractors to delay the start of construction. The delay will also jeopardize the 9,600 jobs Caltrain says will be created directly or indirectly in places like Utah, Texas and West Virginia, where the new equipment is manufactured.

Here in Tennessee the Volunteer State maybe we could volunteer our time or energy on how to fix the aging infrastructure.  The Governor has proposed raising gas taxes but remember we are in the red sea here and that concept is an anathema, along with the whole hospitality thing.

The real issue is that many in Government fail to have the best interests of their constituents at heart and ultimately it is about their benefit and their cronies.  That is what defines Corporate Welfare at its finest.  My personal favorite (well this week) is the story behind another idiot in Trump’s Cabinet (are there any other kind?) who is the pending Secretary of Agriculture. His entire history in Government was about just that – his needs and his business interests – the rest is collateral damage.

I would like to see this Texas model of rail work as the nation could use this to provide desperately needed mass transportation, which in turn (shh don’t tell) reduces greenhouse gases, enables more people to actually work in the jobs connected to this industry and to get to work in other jobs that may be out of their reach due to transportation issues.

There needs to be give and take and push and pull and this means transparency, open negotiations and clear guidelines on how it is to work, how it is to be managed, upkept and other essential elements that define public works.  We have long collapsed like a bridge on that last matter as it was a point made repeatedly by Trump on his trek to the White House.  And this is from a man who doesn’t drive a car, fly on public planes or use public airports, live in public or even normal housing (although now he does) and has been utterly isolated and ignorant of most realities facing real people.  So much for being a reality star, he has no idea about reality.

Texas is just one of many. We have the space program now in the hands of the private sector, we have Education emerging to become the same.  I am not sure if we can stop this but we can make this work if we are engaged and active in the debate.

Texas company hopes Dallas-to-Houston train line is bound for glory

In an age when passenger rail is severely limited across the US, Texas Central aims to succeed where public efforts have struggled – but it faces local resistance

Tom Dart in Houston\
Guardian UK
Monday 13 March 2017

The waiting room at the Amtrak station in the country’s fourth-biggest city was all but deserted on a recent weekday afternoon, but that was hardly surprising – the only train of the day had already departed.

Sepia-tinted photographs on the walls of Houston’s station depict a golden age of passenger rail that is long past in Texas, like most other parts of the US.

Now there are only six trains per week from Houston, three headed west to Los Angeles, three east to New Orleans. The service to San Antonio leaves at 6.55pm and arrives at 12.05am: a 225-mile journey that can be made more cheaply, quickly and frequently by bus.

Yet if a private company succeeds in its bold ambition, the city famous as the hub of big oil will one day be a beacon of public transportation: connected to Dallas with Japanese-style bullet trains zipping at 205mph on new track to new stations.

In a country with severely limited passenger rail service away from the crowded parts of the north-east and west coast, a state where the car is king might seem an unlikely target for a major rail project. But Texas is not alone.

The first private intercity passenger railway since 1983 is due to open in Florida later this year, with the Brightline service to run between Miami and West Palm Beach, then extending to Orlando.

Meanwhile, a new service is proposed for northern Indiana. Another business in New England hopes to connect Worcester to Providence. And a controversial, troubled, high-speed rail project between Los Angeles and San Francisco is under construction with public money, at least initially.

More schemes could follow if Donald Trump follows through on his campaign pledge for a $1tn infrastructure package likely to lean heavily on public-private partnerships, though the high-speed rail stimulus plan that Barack Obama announced in 2009 faltered amid Republican resistance.

“If private investors want to take the risks and see that there’s a business there, that’s a very good solution, idea, for our infrastructure needs,” said Rosabeth Moss Kanter, author of Move: How to Rebuild and Reinvent America’s Infrastructure. “The public sector is not going to do it. There’s an honourable role for the private sector in setting up private systems.”

Texas Central, the company behind the Dallas-to-Houston plan, is confident it can deliver without public funds. It says the project will cost about $15bn in total and be operational around 2024, linking the cities in 90 minutes. “We will not accept or pursue grants to build or operate the system. We will have a compelling economic model that will attract equity and debt to get this built,” said Tim Keith, the company’s president. “It’s perfect for high-speed rail … Texans have told us that they will leave their cars and trucks behind for a safe, predictable, comfortable and productive trip.”

Some 240 miles apart, separated by flat, sparsely populated terrain, the two fast-growing metropolitan areas have a combined population of nearly 14 million people – about half the population of Texas. Yet the only ways to travel between them are by air, car or bus.

Still, an assortment of lawmakers, landowners and sceptics are trying to knock Texas Central’s plan off the rails before a piece of track is laid. Texas politicians have introduced more than 20 bills aimed at making life difficult for the project. Critics cite the fear that people along the route will be forced to sell land by a process known as “eminent domain” – which Texas Central says it wants to avoid – and claim that the train will struggle financially and become a drain on the taxpayer.

While eminent domain is used by oil and gas pipeline companies, and Texas politicians often cite the state’s business-friendly climate, preserving individual rights and minimising government spending are leitmotifs for many in this highly conservative place.

“The people that we have supporting us are taking this fight personally. A large percentage of them are not directly affected landowners but recognise the slippery slope that this puts us on. We’re talking about a private company trying to do it for private gain,” said Kyle Workman, president of the Texans Against High Speed Rail group. “Why would we give them the authority to take people’s private property to do that?” Especially, he added, when there is “a high probability of this thing failing colossally financially”.

Kanter said American transport infrastructure has always mixed the public and private. “I wouldn’t worry about a bailout until later,” she said. “I mean, no one has said we shouldn’t have automobiles in America because we had to bail out the auto companies.”

Bob the Stoned Engineer

As I work right now to have my neighborhood declared a Silent Zone under federal law due to the endless trains that run adjacent to my home, I have many concerns regarding safety as they transport a multitude of goods across country within a stones throw of my bedroom.

The endless parade of trains 24/7, the horns blasting, barricades flashing and the lengthy traffic contribute to noise pollution, air pollution and of course mental health decline due to lack of sleep.

I have tried repeatedly to garner the attention and in turn response by CSX the operators of said trains who simply say it is under federal law for my safety. Really it is? Then perhaps they could explain how my safety is protected by horns blasting when they clearly have other significant factors that do contribute towards my safety.

The legacy of trains in Nashville is well commemorated in song, the reality is that is in the past and we don’t need to hear trains to understand that. We also need a clear a coherent pattern/schedule of train travel and transport to ensure that the are traveling at times when safety is more of concern to follow speed guidelines and in turn allow inspections of said cargo to ensure it is neither dangerous and if so what precautions are done to ensure/prevent further damage if it leaks or the train becomes disabled. It perhaps explains why trains barrel through my hood at 2 am, horns blasting to move out and on before anyone catches on. That or Bob the Engineer is high as a kite and driving large heavy metal equipment with big noises can be fun when stoned.

Number of U.S. railroad workers testing positive for drug use skyrockets

By Ashley Halsey III
The Washington Post
September 15 2016

Early this year, a railroad worker who had just been briefed on his duties for the day was discovered in a restroom, dead from an overdose of illegal prescription drugs. In the months that followed, tests conducted after three railroad accidents resulted in six employees testing positive for drugs.

Testing in 2016 has shown that nearly 8 percent of workers involved in rail accidents were positive for drug use, including marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy, benzodiazepine, OxyContin and morphine, according to internal federal documents obtained by The Washington Post.

The number of post-accident drug-positives was the highest since the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) began keeping records in 1987 and three times greater than it was 10 years ago.

Overall, the number of railway workers — including engineers, train crew and dispatchers — who tested positive for drug use in random tests soared 43 percent last year, the documents show. The number rose to 256 last year from 2014.

After rail accidents in 2014, no one tested positive for drugs, and just two people did last year. With more than three months left in this year, 16 rail workers have shown positive in post-accident tests.

Railroads transported 565 million passengers and 14.2 million carloads of freight last year. Their workers rank among the most heavily drug-tested employees in the country, faced with drug screening before they are hired, random on-the-job testing and another round of testing every time they make a significant mistake.

But after several years in which heroin and illegal opioid use has increased in the general population, there is hard evidence that the use of those and other drugs may be on the rise in the railroad industry.

Faced with the initial positive test results, federal regulators began sounding an alarm this spring. This month, the heads of all of the nation’s freight and passenger rail lines were summoned to Washington for a closed-door session to deal with a crisis that federal officials fear has put workers and train travelers at risk.

Officials from the FRA, National Transportation Safety Board and the Office of National Drug Control Policy spelled out their concerns and asked the railroads to help them address the growing problem.

This week they had a similar private session with railroad unions.

“We’ve discussed in depth the kind of data that we are seeing, the uptick in positive post-accident tests, the significant rise in positives in our random testing pool,” FRA Administrator Sarah E. Feinberg said in remarks prepared for the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee on Thursday. “We are seeing a trend going in the wrong direction, and we must address it immediately.”

The popularity of illegal prescription drugs and heroin has increased dramatically in recent years, with some analysts suggesting that efforts to crack down on illegal prescriptions have encouraged addicts to use heroin instead.

A record 28,647 people died from heroin and prescription opioid use in 2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and opioids caused more than 6 in 10 overdose fatalities. The CDC said deaths by powerful synthetic opioids such as fentanyl rose by more than 80 percent. Overall, 47,055 people died from drug overdoses in 2014, the CDC said.

Despite drug testing protocols, transportation workers are as susceptible to trends as the rest of society. The U.S. Department of Transportation drug-tests about 7 million people who hold commercial driver’s licenses, as well as railroad and transit workers, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

In the past five years, the DOT tests have shown sharp increases in use of amphetamines and natural opiates.

Among the railroad workers subject to random testing, however, the approximately 50,000 tests each year had shown no appreciable increase since 2009. Then they shot up by 43 percent last year. What’s more, the number of railroad workers found to be positive for drugs in the aftermath of rail accidents jumped dramatically this year.

“We know that the country is struggling with an opioid epidemic — and there is no reason why our industry would be immune from an epidemic affecting the entire country,” Feinberg said. “Workers who are struggling with addiction need, and deserve, our help. Workers who are intoxicated on the job are a danger to themselves, other workers, passengers, and anyone else who may cross paths with a train.”

Among the estimated 25,000 railroad workers who repair train engines and rail cars, FRA testing found that alcohol use was five times higher than among railway workers who performed other tasks.

Railroad drug testing is limited to about 120,000 workers who are considered “safety sensitive” — those whose performance puts lives at risk. The train-repair workers and about 70 percent of the 37,000 workers who maintain track beds and railroad right-of-ways are not required to undergo the same drug testing.

Alarmed by the overall increase in drug use, Feinberg in May finalized a new rule that would require “maintenance of way workers,” as the track workers are known, to undergo the same random drug testing as other workers.

The railroads, however, are resisting the proposed rule, which is scheduled to take effect April 1. They have petitioned to delay the testing for an additional 14 months, contending it will require “training supervisors on the signs and symptoms” of drug use.

The Association of American Railroads (AAR), which joined regional railroads, railroad construction and transit firms in petitioning for the extension, said the freight railroads it represents would meet the April 1 deadline for testing maintenance workers it employs.

“This is an issue that is evident throughout today’s society that requires attention, and the freight rail industry is ready to work with the FRA to further enhance the safety of the nation’s rail network,” AAR spokesman Ed Greenberg said.

“Freight railroads not only comply with federally mandated drug and alcohol testing regulations, but go beyond those measures with stringent railroad-specific programs,” Greenberg said. “That said, the freight rail industry recognizes the seriousness of this situation and will work together with the FRA to make the rail system even safer, including supporting the expansion of testing to include items such as synthetic opioids.”

Officials said Feinberg views any delay in implementing the rule as unacceptable.

The FRA and the railroads it regulates have been in the forefront of drug testing since 1987, when an Amtrak train collided with three Conrail freight locomotives linked together just north of Baltimore.

The engineer and 15 others on the Amtrak train were killed; 174 other people on the trains were injured.

Investigators determined that the engineer of the Conrail train and his brakeman had shared a marijuana joint as they made their way from the rail yard. The engineer, Ricky Lynn Gates, was convicted on state and federal charges and served four years in prison. In 1993, he told the Baltimore Sun that smoking marijuana was the cause of the crash and that it was not the first time he had done it on the job.

The FRA moved quickly in the aftermath of the crash to implement a drug-testing program for railroad workers. Less than four years later, Congress took the next step, requiring drug testing for “safety sensitive” workers in all industries regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation.