750 million dollar Sunset

[bretton88]

So, in deeply soul-crushing news, Frank Fraily has obtained the demands UP is wanting for a daily Sunset Limited. 400 million for track upgrades LAX -SAS. And probably 350 million for upgrades SAS-NOL. That's rediculous! It probably stops any hope of a daily Sunset in my lifetime, and I'm 22! Here's the article:

750 million $ sunset

 

[George Harris]

Consider this the starting point for negotiations. West of El Paso, the line was well on the way to full double track before the traffic dropped. As it is, there is full double track between Tucson adn El Paso, over Beaumont Hill and frequent passing track for the resto of it. Between El Paso and Sierra Blanca, double track would be needed if traffic rebounds, with or without a daily Sunset. As to $350 million mostly in the Houston area, if you believe that I have soem Golden Gate Bridge stock you would probably be interested in buying.

 

[Donctor]

So, in deeply soul-crushing news, Frank Fraily has obtained the demands UP is wanting for a daily Sunset Limited. 400 million for track upgrades LAX -SAS. And probably 350 million for upgrades SAS-NOL. That's rediculous! It probably stops any hope of a daily Sunset in my lifetime, and I'm 22! Here's the article:

750 million $ sunset

I do believe this has been the case, and Amtrak has been attempting to negotiate. The daily Eagle will likely get implemented only after this goes to some form of litigation, assuming it does. Again, no one knows for certain.

 

[bretton88]

Does Amtrak has any legal authority to just force a daily sunset onto the UP? I know the STB is fairly Amtrak friendly and is probably where this will end up. UP may not like it, but how much worse is an always late daily sunset versus an always late tri-weekly sunset?

 

[Trogdor]

The train is not "always late." For the current fiscal year, the Sunset Limited has the second-best on-time performance of any long-distance train (behind the Coast Starlight). Granted, that's with the massive amounts of fat in the schedule (some of which was recently removed on the westbound train). Double-tracking should help tremendously when the train returns to a leaner schedule.

 

[bretton88]

I know, I was just saying if Amtrak forces the issue, UP will probably make it late again. Techically, Amtrak has the power to sieze the line, but can't afford it/ won't do it. But there is a nuclear option.

 

[Trogdor]

Amtrak does not have the power to seize the line.

 

[AlanB]

Amtrak does not have the power to seize the line.

Amtrak's got thousands of volts flying through its wires. :lol: Of course that won't help much in this case.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Wonder if Joe Boardman will tell UP "Send us the bill" like they did for BNSF on the SWC Raton route! This is outrageous, :angry2: Joe Biden needs to call up UP and tell them that Amtrak is not CHASE Bank or BP!!! :help:

 

[had8ley]

SICK !!! :help: :help: :help:Kinda had the feeling that it would never come to pass. This just pours two tons of concrete on a daily Eagle.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

The railroad that had Bush in their back pocket and hosted Dick Cheney as a board member is setting up impossible barriers to Amtrak? Are any of you actually surprised by this? None of this is by accident and nothing will ever change until we stop voting for macho idiots and spineless intellectuals.

 

[Karl1459]

Seems to me the critical parameter UP used to find the 750M figure was "NO DELAYS TO AMTRAK OR FREIGHT" using the high point 2007 freight traffic data. UP seems to be saying that with the 750M they will more or less be able to "guarantee" on time service, barring derailments, weather related etc.

This sets the ground rules for negotiations... More capital $$ = less delays. Less capital = more delays. Amtrak and UP can now sit down and determine what level of delay is cost effective (by not spending capital) Capital cost vs Avoided Capital cost + freight delay costs (UP) + passenger delay costs (Amtrak) to arrive at the optimal achievable level of service vs cost. Is UP considering the operating cost savings from having no freight delays and paying their portion or asking Amtrak to do it all.

Or increment this... What is needed to prevent delays at the average between 2007 and 2010 traffic levels. Do this now. What is a part reasonable UP business plan to have in place in the next 30 years anyway and find a way for Amtrak to help fund those improvements now but recapture some of the investment, an UP cost saving (if any) later.

Ask ourselves how many posts have decried the policies of Congress which basically asked the early Amtrak administration the question of how much will it cost to run an effective passenger railroad, then gave Amtrak "half" that. UP sounds like they are giving an honest (though likely worst case, highest cost) estimate of what it will take to do the job. Do we really want to advocate to only give them "half"?

 

[henryj]

So, in deeply soul-crushing news, Frank Fraily has obtained the demands UP is wanting for a daily Sunset Limited. 400 million for track upgrades LAX -SAS. And probably 350 million for upgrades SAS-NOL. That's rediculous! It probably stops any hope of a daily Sunset in my lifetime, and I'm 22! Here's the article:

750 million $ sunset

Well the 'government' is getting involved increasingly on many routes such as the Crescent corridor on NS and the East Coast corridor to Florida on the CSX and a lot of other routes as well. UP just wants in on the action. Amtrak and California are looking at having to pick up the tab for the Coast Starlight route also as UP no longer uses it. Also, Houston to New Orleans is identified as a future high speed corridor and as such it would need lots of work. Having said all that, I think this kills a daily Sunset for the forseable future. Not said in the article is that this route once had four passenger trains a day between El Paso and LA and was mostly single track. There were two between El Paso and New Orleans.

 

[bretton88]

I guess it is a valid point that nowhere has it been said Amtrak has to pay for ALL of it. UP has said what the total cost of upgrades to the line will need to be. Maybe Amtrak only has to pay a smaller portion if that and they're negotiating what that is.

 

[MikeM]

Wonder if Joe Boardman will tell UP "Send us the bill" like they did for BNSF on the SWC Raton route! This is outrageous, :angry2: Joe Biden needs to call up UP and tell them that Amtrak is not CHASE Bank or BP!!! :help:

From what I can see, if Amtrak said to send them the bill for SWC trackwork, apparently the bill hasn't cleared. I haven't seen anything to indicate there's any work underway to replace the worn rail on the BNSF Kansas lines that were recently downgraded from 79 to 60 mph. Unless there's something buried in the new infrastructure bill (hard to imagine, particularly with Kansas being deep Republican), I really am betting that we'll see a SWC reroute in the next few years.

Anyhow, how much does new welded rail cost per mile? Not to mention rebuilding grade crossings, tie replacement, surfacing, and ballast? Can't be too cheap, if the railroad doesn't want you on the line, then Amtrak really has to pay up or shut up under the current rules. The only real leverage Amtrak could indirectly effect is to shunt funds from projects railroads want (like traffic relief spending in major terminals like Chicago and LA) into Amtrak routes. That'd be fun, but improbable to watch.

 

[AlanB]

This sets the ground rules for negotiations... More capital $$ = less delays. Less capital = more delays. Amtrak and UP can now sit down and determine what level of delay is cost effective (by not spending capital) Capital cost vs Avoided Capital cost + freight delay costs (UP) + passenger delay costs (Amtrak) to arrive at the optimal achievable level of service vs cost. Is UP considering the operating cost savings from having no freight delays and paying their portion or asking Amtrak to do it all.

Only this story is new, along with in theory the release of the amount of money that UP is demanding. They've been "negotiating" for months and from what I've heard, they aren't getting anywhere. UP at least so far isn't budging off the idea that Amtrak will pay to complete all the double tracking not already done. And frankly, based upon the amount now being talked about, I have to wonder if they didn't add is something to help cover the double tracking that UP has already done.

 

[George Harris]

When we look at the upgrades that NS and KCS have done on the Meridian - Shreveport line, NS put in something like $300 million and KCS put in the line plus work already done. The line is 313 miles from end to end. Thus we have somewhere above one million per mile just to get the line in good condition for freight. There were some sidings added, but very little in teh way of second main. When youlook at tehse numbers, this suggests that about one million per mile would be reasonable to get the ex Santa Fe line across Kansas back up to 90 mph service, assuming the ATS is still in place. If not, 79 mph. Considering that it is truly likely that UP is wanting the double tracking finished through all the gaps between Sierra Blanca, Texas and Los Angeles, the amount is not unreasonable. If you want to go back through Phoenix, add about another $400 million, given that about all that is reusable on that section is the right of way.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Considering that it is truly likely that UP is wanting the double tracking finished through all the gaps between Sierra Blanca, Texas and Los Angeles, the amount is not unreasonable.

You could say that defunding and disbanding Amtrak is a perfectly reasonable position as well. But I don't understand why anyone at this forum would defend it or agree with it. Unless it was being replaced with a new mandate. Maybe you can enlighten me as to what you think Amtrak should be doing here. Should they attempt to pay a "reasonable" but likely impossible fee or should they just keep downgrading and rerouting until the network has been shrunk to the point that it can be funded at levels that don't make them a target of politicians looking to score points with freight carriers?

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

750 million just to run one train daily in each direction. The train is allready running on these tracks three times a week. 750 million just to run it the other four days an week.

Some congress member should call them out on this one. What an joke.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

750 million just to run it the other four days an week. Some congress member should call them out on this one.

Agreed, but which member would that be? Here's a list of members of congress who have been paid during the 2010 cycle to help ensure they see things UP's way. The amounts may not seem huge at first but they're often in the form of regular contributions that are combined with those of many other like-minded companies in order to reach sums that individuals like us could never hope to counter. Over the last couple decades UP contributed $130,000 to John McCain alone. And we all know how much McCain loves Amtrak by his voting record and his attacks.

Akin, Todd (R-MO) House $1,000

Altmire, Jason (D-PA) House $7,000

Arcuri, Michael (D-NY) House $3,000

Baca, Joe (D-CA) House $4,000

Bachmann, Michele (R-MN) House $2,000

Bachus, Spencer (R-AL) House $4,000

Baird, Brian (D-WA) House $2,000

Barrasso, John A (R-WY) Senate $1,000

Barrow, John (D-GA) House $2,000

Barton, Joe (R-TX) House $2,500

Bass, Karen (D-CA) House $2,000

Becerra, Xavier (D-CA) House $7,000

Begich, Mark (D-AK) Senate $5,000

Bennet, Michael F (D-CO) Senate $38,000

Bennett, Robert F (R-UT) Senate $3,000

Berkley, Shelley (D-NV) House $4,500

Berman, Howard L (D-CA) House $2,500

Biggert, Judy (R-IL) House $1,000

Bilbray, Brian P (R-CA) House $1,000

Bishop, Rob (R-UT) House $1,000

Bishop, Timothy H (D-NY) House $2,000

Blumenauer, Earl (D-OR) House $10,000

Blunt, Roy (R-MO) House $5,000

Boccieri, John A (D-OH) House $4,000

Boehner, John (R-OH) House $5,000

Bono Mack, Mary (R-CA) House $3,000

Boozman, John (R-AR) House $5,000

Boswell, Leonard L (D-IA) House $3,500

Boxer, Barbara (D-CA) Senate $2,500

Boyd, Allen (D-FL) House $2,000

Brady, Kevin (R-TX) House $9,000

Brown, Corrine (D-FL) House $19,200

Brown, Henry (R-SC) House $2,000

Brown-Waite, Ginny (R-FL) House $1,000

Burns, Tim (R-PA) House $500

Burr, Richard (R-NC) Senate $6,000

Buyer, Steve (R-IN) House $5,000

Calvert, Ken (R-CA) House $2,000

Camp, Dave (R-MI) House $9,000

Cantor, Eric (R-VA) House $10,000

Cao, Joseph (R-LA) House $2,000

Capito, Shelley Moore (R-WV) House $4,500

Capuano, Michael E (D-MA) House $3,500

Carnahan, Russ (D-MO) House $10,000

Carney, Chris (D-PA) House $5,000

Carper, Tom (D-DE) Senate $5,000

Carter, John (R-TX) House $2,000

Cassidy, Bill (R-LA) House $1,000

Castle, Michael N (R-DE) House $2,500

Cedillo, Gilbert (D-CA) House $1,000

Chaffetz, Jason (R-UT) House $1,000

Chandler, Ben (D-KY) House $2,000

Chu, Judy (D-CA) House $2,000

Cleaver, Emanuel (D-MO) House $2,000

Clyburn, James E (D-SC) House $7,000

Coble, Howard (R-NC) House $4,000

Coburn, Tom (R-OK) Senate $10,000

Coffman, Mike (R-CO) House $2,000

Cohen, Stephen Ira (D-TN) House $5,000

Cole, Tom (R-OK) House $2,000

Conaway, Mike (R-TX) House $1,000

Conrad, Kent (D-ND) Senate $5,000

Cooper, Jim (D-TN) House $2,500

Corker, Bob (R-TN) Senate $5,000

Costa, Jim (D-CA) House $2,000

Costello, Jerry F (D-IL) House $10,000

Crapo, Mike (R-ID) Senate $10,000

Crowley, Joseph (D-NY) House $2,000

Cuellar, Henry (D-TX) House $3,000

Culberson, John (R-TX) House $3,000

Cummings, Elijah E (D-MD) House $5,000

Davis, Danny K (D-IL) House $2,000

Davis, Geoff (R-KY) House $1,000

DeFazio, Peter (D-OR) House $10,000

DeMint, James W (R-SC) Senate $4,000

Denham, Jeff (R-CA) House $1,000

Dent, Charlie (R-PA) House $4,000

Diaz-Balart, Mario (R-FL) House $7,000

Dreier, David (R-CA) House $2,400

Duncan, John J (Jimmy) Jr (R-TN) House $5,000

Edwards, Chet (D-TX) House $5,000

Ehlers, Vernon J (R-MI) House $1,000

Ellsworth, Brad (D-IN) House $2,000

Emerson, Jo Ann (R-MO) House $3,000

Ensign, John (R-NV) Senate $1,000

Feingold, Russ (D-WI) Senate $250

Filner, Bob (D-CA) House $3,000

Fiorina, Carly (R-CA) Senate $250

Fortenberry, Jeffrey Lane (R-NE) House $4,250

Fritchey, John A (D-IL) House $2,500

Geoghegan, Thomas Howard (D-IL) House $1,500

Gerlach, Jim (R-PA) House $2,000

Gohmert, Louis B Jr (R-TX) House $1,000

Gonzalez, Charlie A (D-TX) House $2,500

Goodlatte, Bob (R-VA) House $1,000

Granger, Kay (R-TX) House $4,000

Grassley, Chuck (R-IA) Senate $6,000

Graves, Sam (R-MO) House $10,000

Grayson, Trey (R-KY) Senate $5,000

Green, Gene (D-TX) House $5,500

Griffith, Parker (R-AL) House $2,000

Guthrie, Steven Brett (R-KY) House $4,000

Hall, Ralph M (R-TX) House $1,000

Halvorson, Deborah (D-IL) House $5,000

Hare, Phil (D-IL) House $3,000

Harper, Gregg (R-MS) House $1,000

Hastings, Doc (R-WA) House $2,000

Hatch, Orrin G (R-UT) Senate $5,000

Heinrich, Martin (D-NM) House $3,000

Heller, Dean (R-NV) House $5,500

Hensarling, Jeb (R-TX) House $1,000

Herger, Wally (R-CA) House $3,000

Hoeven, John (R-ND) Senate $2,500

Holden, Tim (D-PA) House $3,000

Hoyer, Steny H (D-MD) House $7,500

Issa, Darrell (R-CA) House $1,000

Jackson Lee, Sheila (D-TX) House $1,000

Jenkins, Lynn (R-KS) House $1,000

Johnson, Eddie Bernice (D-TX) House $5,000

Johnson, Hank (D-GA) House $3,000

Johnson, Sam (R-TX) House $3,000

Johnson, Timothy V (R-IL) House $3,000

King, Pete (R-NY) House $1,000

King, Steven A (R-IA) House $4,000

Kirk, Mark (R-IL) House $5,000

Kirkpatrick, Ann (D-AZ) House $1,000

Kyl, Jon (R-AZ) Senate $1,000

Larsen, Rick (D-WA) House $10,000

Latham, Tom (R-IA) House $3,000

LaTourette, Steven C (R-OH) House $9,000

Latta, Robert E (R-OH) House $3,000

Lautenberg, Frank R (D-NJ) Senate $5,000

Leahy, Patrick (D-VT) Senate $2,000

Lee, Barbara (D-CA) House $1,500

Lewis, Jerry (R-CA) House $1,000

Lincoln, Blanche (D-AR) Senate $13,000

Lipinski, Daniel (D-IL) House $5,000

Lofgren, Zoe (D-CA) House $1,000

Lucas, Frank D (R-OK) House $3,000

Luetkemeyer, Blaine (R-MO) House $2,000

Lujan, Ben R (D-NM) House $3,000

Lummis, Cynthia Marie (R-WY) House $3,000

Lungren, Dan (R-CA) House $10,000

Mack, Connie (R-FL) House $1,000

Manzullo, Don (R-IL) House $2,500

Marchant, Kenny (R-TX) House $3,000

Markey, Betsy (D-CO) House $6,000

Matheson, Jim (D-UT) House $7,500

Matsui, Doris O (D-CA) House $5,000

McCain, John (R-AZ) Senate $11,000

McCarthy, Kevin (R-CA) House $5,500

McCaul, Michael (R-TX) House $2,000

McClintock, Tom (R-CA) House $1,000

McGovern, James P (D-MA) House $7,000

McHenry, Patrick (R-NC) House $1,000

McKeon, Howard P (Buck) (R-CA) House $2,000

McMahon, Michael E (D-NY) House $4,000

McMorris Rodgers, Cathy (R-WA) House $3,000

McNerney, Jerry (D-CA) House $3,000

Meek, Kendrick B (D-FL) House $11,000

Merkley, Jeff (D-OR) Senate $8,500

Mica, John L (R-FL) House $10,000

Mikulski, Barbara A (D-MD) Senate $6,000

Miller, Candice S (R-MI) House $7,000

Miller, Gary (R-CA) House $2,500

Minnick, Walt (D-ID) House $4,000

Mitchell, Harry E (D-AZ) House $4,500

Moise, Rudolph (D-FL) House $250

Moore, Dennis (D-KS) House $1,000

Moran, Jerry (R-KS) House $7,000

Murkowski, Lisa (R-AK) Senate $5,000

Murray, Patty (D-WA) Senate $8,000

Myrick, Sue (R-NC) House $1,200

Nadler, Jerrold (D-NY) House $3,000

Napolitano, Grace (D-CA) House $4,000

Neal, Richard E (D-MA) House $10,000

Nelson, Ben (D-NE) Senate $1,000

Nelson, Bill (D-FL) Senate $3,000

Neugebauer, Randy (R-TX) House $2,000

Norton, Jane (R-CO) Senate $1,000

Nunes, Devin Gerald (R-CA) House $1,000

Nye, Glenn (D-VA) House $2,000

Oberstar, James L (D-MN) House $2,000

Olson, Pete (R-TX) House $10,500

Ortiz, Solomon P (D-TX) House $3,500

Pastor, Ed (D-AZ) House $3,000

Pelosi, Nancy (D-CA) House $10,000

Petri, Tom (R-WI) House $10,000

Poe, Ted (R-TX) House $1,000

Portman, Rob (R-OH) Senate $2,100

Quigley, Mike (D-IL) House $3,000

Radanovich, George (R-CA) House $2,000

Rahall, Nick (D-WV) House $10,000

Rangel, Charles B (D-NY) House $2,500

Reichert, Dave (R-WA) House $3,000

Reid, Harry (D-NV) Senate $6,000

Reyes, Silvestre (D-TX) House $1,000

Richardson, Laura (D-CA) House $5,000

Risch, James E (R-ID) Senate $1,000

Rodriguez, Ciro D (D-TX) House $2,000

Rogers, Hal (R-KY) House $4,500

Rooney, Tom (R-FL) House $1,000

Roskam, Peter (R-IL) House $5,000

Ross, Mike (D-AR) House $2,000

Roybal-Allard, Lucille (D-CA) House $4,250

Rush, Bobby L (D-IL) House $2,000

Ryan, Paul (R-WI) House $2,500

Salazar, John (D-CO) House $6,000

Salazar, Ken (D-CO) Senate $250

Sanchez, Linda (D-CA) House $4,500

Sanchez, Loretta (D-CA) House $2,000

Scalise, Steve (R-LA) House $4,400

Schauer, Mark (D-MI) House $4,000

Schiff, Adam (D-CA) House $2,500

Schmidt, Jean (R-OH) House $1,000

Schock, Aaron (R-IL) House $8,000

Schrader, Kurt (D-OR) House $3,000

Schultz, Debbie Wasserman (D-FL) House $3,000

Schumer, Charles E (D-NY) Senate $10,000

Scott, Robert C (D-VA) House $2,500

Sensenbrenner, F James Jr (R-WI) House $1,000

Sessions, Pete (R-TX) House $2,500

Shadegg, John (R-AZ) House $3,000

Shelby, Richard C (R-AL) Senate $3,500

Sherman, Brad (D-CA) House $1,000

Shimkus, John M (R-IL) House $4,000

Shuler, Heath (D-NC) House $5,000

Shuster, Bill (R-PA) House $10,000

Simpson, Mike (R-ID) House $4,500

Sires, Albio (D-NJ) House $4,000

Smith, Adam (D-WA) House $2,000

Smith, Adrian (R-NE) House $8,000

Smith, Lamar (R-TX) House $2,000

Snowe, Olympia J (R-ME) Senate $5,000

Specter, Arlen (D-PA) Senate $5,000

Speier, Jackie (D-CA) House $2,500

Sullivan, John (R-OK) House $2,000

Teague, Harry (D-NM) House $5,500

Terry, Lee (R-NE) House $11,200

Thompson, Bennie G (D-MS) House $9,000

Thompson, Mike (D-CA) House $1,500

Thune, John (R-SD) Senate $8,000

Tiahrt, Todd (R-KS) House $750

Tiberi, Patrick J (R-OH) House $5,400

Titus, Dina (D-NV) House $5,500

Udall, Tom (D-NM) Senate $5,000

Walden, Greg (R-OR) House $2,500

Watt, Melvin L (D-NC) House $5,000

Webb, James (D-VA) Senate $5,000

Westmoreland, Lynn A (R-GA) House $3,000

Wexler, Robert (D-FL) House $3,000

White, Thomas M (D-NE) House $500

Whitfield, Ed (R-KY) House $4,000

Wicker, Roger (R-MS) Senate $2,000

Wills, Robbie (D-AR) House $2,000

Wu, David (D-OR) House $2,000

Wyden, Ron (D-OR) Senate $10,000

Yarmuth, John A (D-KY) House $3,000

 

[City of Miami]

In the book Waiting for the Train which I read this summer, the UP representative said in his interview that UP simply doesn't care about Amtrak. Then he repeated "You people are not listening..... WE DON'T CARE!!"

 

[AlanB]

In the book Waiting for the Train which I read this summer, the UP representative said in his interview that UP simply doesn't care about Amtrak. Then he repeated "You people are not listening..... WE DON'T CARE!!"

They're caring a bit more about Amtrak these days, after nearly getting hauled into court over the CS & CZ delays and now the new laws that will let the FRA punish them if they delay Amtrak too much.

 

[Trogdor]

...and now the new laws that will let the FRA punish them if they delay Amtrak too much.

Ironically, these new regulations regarding on-time performance are likely to make Amtrak's life more difficult, as host railroads become more reluctant to allow Amtrak to add service or remove schedule padding without boatloads of extra cash to build more infrastructure. Not to say that they would welcome said changes with open arms in the absence of such regulations. However, these new rules give them a very convenient excuse to say no to everything.

 

[George Harris]

Considering that it is truly likely that UP is wanting the double tracking finished through all the gaps between Sierra Blanca, Texas and Los Angeles, the amount is not unreasonable.

You could say that defunding and disbanding Amtrak is a perfectly reasonable position as well. But I don't understand why anyone at this forum would defend it or agree with it. Unless it was being replaced with a new mandate. Maybe you can enlighten me as to what you think Amtrak should be doing here. Should they attempt to pay a "reasonable" but likely impossible fee or should they just keep downgrading and rerouting until the network has been shrunk to the point that it can be funded at levels that don't make them a target of politicians looking to score points with freight carriers?

Try re-reading what I said. I did not say that it was reasonable for UP to try to squeeze the whole thing out of Amtrak. What I said, is that when you look at what UP is wanting to do, the amount is reasonaable. How the cost is divied up between the two is a whole nother issue. If this work were being done with the entire bundle of processes and procedures that go into the feds doing anything, it would cost 5 to 10 times as much.

The $40 billion number being bounced around for the California High Speed is not because it would cost $100 million per mile to build a double track railroad if it were being doen by UP ro BNSF, even electrified, over the SF to LA distance, but because of all the processes and procedures you have to go through to satisfy all the bureauracies that get themselves involved anytime they smell Feddy bucks or even Cali bucks.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

They're caring a bit more about Amtrak these days, after nearly getting hauled into court over the CS & CZ delays and now the new laws that will let the FRA punish them if they delay Amtrak too much.

Maybe UP should care, but to the best of my understanding those new legal remedies have yet to be tested and until UP is taken to court and loses or is otherwise fined or penalized in a substantially painful manner we must accept that these potential legal remedies remain unproven instruments at this time. Perhaps the threat of a fine is enough to push UP into permanent compliance, but I sincerely doubt it. Indeed if I were a board member at UP I'd be ready and willing to challenge Amtrak's legal status at each and every opportunity. UP staff are not fond of Amtrak as it is and any proposed expansion will be greeted with ever more resistance. If you don't believe me all you have to do is ask them. They don't exactly hide how they feel about Amtrak or the regulations that allow them to keep operating.

If this work were being done with the entire bundle of processes and procedures that go into the feds doing anything, it would cost 5 to 10 times as much.

The exorbitant prices involved in any large government project can't be entirely explained by bureaucracy alone. Much of what increases the costs for our government and for us are the businesses and individuals who willingly fleece our public coffers. Again, this isn't any sort of secret. This is what government contractors will gleefully tell you over lunch, even those with security clearance. It's a big joke and everyone's in on it. Well, except for our perpetually naive voters I guess.