Conrail

Conrail ( Consolidated Rail Corporation short form of CR) is an American railroad company, headquartered in Philadelphia. It was created in 1976 by ​​the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act (4 -R Act ) as a state-owned railway company as Consolidated Rail Corporation. Following the acquisition of Conrail by CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway in 1999, the joint activities of the two companies under the name " Conrail Shared Assets Operations " ( CSAO ) are bundled in the Conrail Inc..

History

1976-1999

With the bankruptcy of the Penn Central in 1970 and a number of other railway companies in the Northeastern United States was a danger that the whole region is cut off from the rail network. They finally agreed on the creation of a government entity, which takes over from the bankrupt company's railway infrastructure ( rolling stock, railway lines ) and operates on its own.

The infrastructure and the traffic following a bankrupt railroad companies has been accepted:

• Central Railroad of New Jersey
• Erie Lackawanna Railroad
• Lehigh and Hudson River Railway
• Lehigh Valley Railroad
• Penn Central
• Reading Company

The start of operation was April 1, 1976. Subsequently, the network was optimized through closures and sales. In addition, the locomotive stock was renewed. The ownership and operating rights to the Northeast Corridor route Washington - Boston were the semi-state long-distance operator Amtrak transferred in 1983 to the section New York - New Haven on Metro North handed. Similarly, the electrified line came Philadelphia - Harrisburg Amtrak.

In 1981, the company wrote for the first time in the black. End of 1982, Conrail was allowed to separate from their transport services. In the Washington, DC / Baltimore this was taken over by MARC. Amtrak, the U.S. long-distance partnership, was charged with the traffic. In Greater Philadelphia, the regional traffic operation SEPTA took over the tasks of urban transport. In New Jersey, the not yet served by the Department of Transportation NJ Transit Conrail services NJ Transit was assumed. In the states of New York and Connecticut Metro North Railroad took over, a subsidiary of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA ), which operates the subways and buses, and since 1966 the S-Bahn trains of Long Iceland Rail Road ( LIRR ), the Conrail commuter. In Boston the MBTA now responsible, the Amtrak entrusted with the operational mode to 2003. Since then, Veolia is the operator of the railway transport there.

The mid-1980s wanted CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Conrail buying. But the unions and some of the shareholders of both companies were not in agreement. The Congress decided to bring Conrail public. The IPO in 1987 was 1.9 billion U.S. dollars, the largest ever in the United States.

Due to the economic success of Conrail was in the 1990s, again the target of a takeover battle between Norfolk Southern and CSX. In 1997, the two companies Conrail 52 percent agreed in relation to split to 48 percent. This acquisition was completed on June 6, 1998. Definitive operation at the end of Conrail as an independent company was 31 May 1999.

Since 1999

The Company is, however, beyond this date still active. It is used under the name of Conrail Inc. or Conrail Shared Assets Operation ( CSAO ) Norfolk Southern and CSX Transportation as operating and infrastructure company for freight traffic in the operated jointly by CSX and Norfolk Southern areas of Detroit and Philadelphia / Camden and Newark / Northern New jersey in the north -east corridor.