Oh! The Pain!

While the mainstream media concentrate on the hurt caused to so-called ordinary people by the limited (and it is limited) federal government shutdowns (past and impending), I just want to briefly examine the possible hurt to railroads, if any.

Let's start with Amtrak, that oh so government-like, quasi-publicly-corporate passenger railroad that everybody loves to hate. Amtrak is not currently dependent on the continuing resolution that will have to be signed by the president in order to avoid rekindling the current shutdown status. It already has the money it will need to continue operations throughout a shutdown of any foreseeable length. It will, however, eventually need congressional appropriations to continue operations into its next fiscal year.

Amtrak employees will continue to receive their paychecks and can go right on giving the mediocre service they are required to provide by current Amtrak management. To those who step up and give excellent service, a hearty thanks. You know it wasn't management's idea! They do it on their own, and receive no additional benefit. Those travelers who have otherwise been challenged by longer lines at airports and anywhere else that government employees actually do have to work without pay will probably make the Amtrak employees' jobs harder because of passengers' already compromised attitudes.

Other passenger railroads shouldn't be harmed by any shutdowns, either. Local transit agencies and short-distance routes get most of their operating subsidies from the states in which they operate. So, hallelujah there.

What about freight railroads? Though still somewhat regulated by the federal government, freight railroads are, for the most part, privately held entities that get their money the old fashioned way and don't depend on government funding to pay their workers. The federal Surface Transportation Board keeps watch on the railroads, but it is largely to see to it that commerce isn't adversely impacted by something one of the larger railroads did or did not do. Were the STB to shut down, it wouldn't impact the freight rail business. The exceptions to this rule would be where railroads are jointly seeking relief or grant money for relief from implementation of rules or government mandated projects. If the STB were waiting to rule on said relief, the rulings might be delayed by a shutdown.

Unlike airlines, where control towers are federally staffed, railroad towermen and dispatchers are private employees not subject to layoffs or withheld pay in a shutdown situation. On the other hand, there's nothing to stop those government employees who complain about not working but stand on picket lines instead of finding a temp job from throwing a picket line across a railroad just to spread the "misery."

With all of the above said, I want to be fair. The salaries of government employees do inject a substantial sum into the private economy, as do the payments to private government contractors. Both the employees and contractors ship and travel by rail. So, eventually, any government shutdown of any length is going to have a negative impact on the bottom line of both passenger rail and freight rail.

Oh! The pain!