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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 9h

Our friends at @publicrailnow.bsky.social have created an easy way for you to anonymously voice your opposition to the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern rail mega-merger! Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vas... Submit a comment: publicrailnow.org/merger-resou...

publicrailnow.org

Submit a Comment Opposing the UP–NS Merger

Home > Research > Merger Resources Submit a Comment: Oppose the UP–NS Merger Home > Research > Merger Resources We understand that some railroaders may need or want to submit their comment confident...

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Public Rail Now @publicrailnow.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

The quality of their service, meanwhile, has only deteriorated. They are, however, making record profits. @solutionaryrail.bsky.social

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Public Rail Now @publicrailnow.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Captive to the interests of aggressive “activist” investors intent on extracting ever-more profit through stock buybacks and price-gouging, today’s Class I railroads have failed to meaningfully grow their volumes over the past two decades.

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Public Rail Now @publicrailnow.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

The past several years have seen a level of greed, abuse, and dysfunction on the part of America’s largest railroad corporations that has many comparing them to the infamous Robber Barons of the late nineteenth century. www.solutionaryrail.org/episode6?utm...

solutionaryrail.org

Episode 6. Our Way or the Highway: The Managed Decline of U.S. Freight Rail Transport

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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

What's behind the “managed decline” of U.S. freight rail transport? Check out “Our Way or the Highway” to find out! www.solutionaryrail.org/episode6

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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Episode 5 of Reconnect America, “Profitability at Any Cost: The Price We Paid to Rescue U.S. Railroads”, explores how deregulation reshaped the U.S rail system to keep it in private hands, fueling globalization and leaving smaller shippers and communities behind. www.solutionaryrail.org/episode5

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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

Railroad deregulation was supposed to preserve reliable and competitive freight service for businesses and communities. But a poorly constructed regulatory mandate has allowed that promise to be broken. Here's how shippers are trying to fix that: solutionaryrail.org/podcastinter...

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Public Rail Now @publicrailnow.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

Ann Warner is one of the figures at the forefront of this coalition, and serves as spokesperson for the Freight Rail Customer Alliance, an “alliance of freight rail shippers impacted by continued unrestrained freight rail market dominance over rail-dependent shippers.” @solutionaryrail.bsky.social

solutionaryrail.org

Interview: Congress Must Act to Protect Rail Shippers from Wall Street Greed (w/ Ann Warner)

A people-powered campaign to electrify America's railroads and open corridors to a clean energy future

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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Our conversation with Emily Regis explores the power imbalance faced by businesses that depend on railroads to move their freight, the difficulty of getting help from regulators, and the dangers of further consolidation. Listen at: solutionaryrail.org/podcastinterviewemilyregis

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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

Our brand new fourth episode walks you through the wild consequences, for better and for worse, of the peculiar U.S. insistence on private ownership of the critical national infrastructure called railroads. Click here to listen on your favorite platform: solutionaryrail.org/podcastepiso...

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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

Trucks inflict 8x greater costs on the public than rail. Freight transportation policy must prioritize a modeshift from truck to rail. Listen to founder and CEO of Hum Industrial Technology Byron Porter at: www.solutionaryrail.org/interviewbyr...

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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

A broken rate review process reinforces Class I railroads’ monopoly power over shippers. This hinders reindustrialization, forces freight onto trucks, and raises costs for consumers and the public. Listen at: www.solutionaryrail.org/podcastinter...

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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 21/09/2025

Merging won’t make railroads competitive with trucking. Wall Street’s railroads have prioritized profit over growth for decades. The UP-NS deal only perpetuates that model. Listen to founder and CEO of Hum Industrial Technology Byron Porter at: solutionaryrail.org/podcastinter...

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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

Railroad mergers pit labor unions against each other with false promises. The only way forward is a united labor voice. Listen to Railroad Workers United Co-founder and Trustee Ron Kaminkow at: www.solutionaryrail.org/podcastinter...

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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 09/09/2025

Corporations used to be regulated to balance profits with public interests. Over the last 50 years, those regulations have been decimated, leaving the public with little recourse. Check out our full conversation with former Congressman Peter DeFazio at: www.solutionaryrail.org/podcastinter...

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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 08/09/2025

Class I railroads’ practices have boosted stock prices, at the expense of workers, safety, and service. What is working for Wall Street is a disaster for Main Street. Check out our full conversation with former Congressman Peter DeFazio at: www.solutionaryrail.org/podcastinter...

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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 04/09/2025

The proposed UP/NS merger would further concentrate the power of Wall Street railroads, opening the door to higher costs, worse service, and even greater retaliatory power over customers who speak out. Listen to former Congressman Peter DeFazio at: www.solutionaryrail.org/podcastinter...

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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

In our latest interview, AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department (@ttdaflcio.bsky.social) President Greg Regan takes on the pending UP-NS railroad mega-merger, the importance of cross-modal solidarity, public awareness about rail, and more!

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Open Markets Institute @openmarkets.bsky.social · 13/08/2025

Absolutely right! If we want effective freight rail that helps us rebuild American manufacturing, we must revitalize regulations like common carrier that once stopped Gilded Age robber barons and financiers from crushing their competition -- and quality, affordability, and access with it.

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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

Our new interview with Phil Longman of @openmarkets.bsky.social adds a foundational layer to our “Reconnect America” vision for harnessing rail transport to address 21st century problems like deindustrialization, economic inequality, and polarization.

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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 11/08/2025

In our latest interview, writer Phillip Longman takes us through the history and principles behind “the regulatory regime under which America became great”—that is, the system of common carrier obligations that once aligned U.S. rail operations with public interests. You won’t want to miss this one!

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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

In our latest interview, we explore the history of U.S. antimonopoly law with Basel Musharbash (@basel.bsky.social), author of the report “'Kings Over the Necessaries of Life': Monopolization and the Elimination of Competition in America’s Agriculture System" (farmaction.us/kings-over-t...)

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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

In our latest interview, Bill Hutchison and Ed D’Amato, co-founders of Lakeshore Rail Alliance (@lakeshorerail.bsky.social), share their bold vision to fix U.S. passenger rail!

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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

In our latest Rail Bite, veteran rail planner Tom White discusses a generational loss of railroading knowledge—its origins and its severe impacts on passenger rail service.

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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 29/05/2025

ICYMI: Episode 3 of Reconnect America is out. This episode shows that the US needs greater public investment in rail transportation, not less. And, that passenger rail delivers benefits that far outway the cost of providing service. Listen now on your favorite platform at linktr.ee/solutionary....

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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

It was great to celebrate the hard work when Gov Ferguson signed ESHB 1837 into law. Congratulations to everyone who pushed for this.

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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 11/05/2025

Good news…Episode 3 is out! In this episode of Reconnect America, we continue our deep dive into the history and future prospects of U.S. passenger rail—and the vital importance of the service it provides (or once provided) to the social and economic life of communities across the country.

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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

In our latest Rail Bite, veteran rail planner Tom White argues that decades of subpar passenger rail service have allowed commercial bullet train fantasies to usurp the public imagination—at the expense of efforts to improve the system we already have.

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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

Washingtonians—Sign in Pro on ESHB 1837 by 3:00 pm today! HB 1837 passed in the House, now we need it to pass in the Senate. ESHB 1837 is being heard Tuesday at 4:00 pm. As you may remember, this bill creates ambitious goals of faster, frequent and reliable Amtrak Cascades service.

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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

Out now! Rail Bite #6: Maddock Thomas (of @publicrailnow.bsky.social) on Why the U.S. Has So Little Amtrak Service Hear how a contradictory mandate forced the railroad to eliminate as many trains as it rescued—and what it would take to revitalize the system.

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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

Out now: Rail Bite #5 with Knox Ross! Hear Southern Rail Commission Chair Knox Ross on why most U.S. passenger rail routes do not turn a profit—and why they shouldn’t be expected to.

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Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority @bigskyrail.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

Passenger rail is more than transit—it’s a vital connection for rural & urban communities. 🎙️ Big Sky Passenger Rail’s Dave Strohmaier joins Rail Bite to discuss restoring long-distance rail in Montana & beyond. #BigSkyRail #RailBite #ReconnectAmerica tinyurl.com/27yzm4mp

Hand-colored drawing of freight trains and Amtrak passenger trains in the greater northwest with snow-covered mountains in the background

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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

Hear Dave Strohmaier, chair of @bigskyrail.bsky.social, on how deep red counties, Tribal nations, Class I railroads, and rail labor are coming together to restore Chicago–Seattle Amtrak service through southern Montana, 46 years after its discontinuation. solutionaryrail.substack.com/p/rail-bite-...

solutionaryrail.substack.com

Rail Bite #4: Dave Strohmaier on the Unlikely Coalition Reviving Passenger Rail Across Southern Montana

Listen now | How the fight to restore service 46 years after losing it is bringing people and communities together across political divides

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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

Hear author and professor David Alff discuss the inner tension of rail transport in the U.S.: that it is expected to make a profit while providing an essential public service. solutionaryrail.substack.com/p/rail-bite-... (photo credit: @ubenglish.bsky.social)

solutionaryrail.substack.com

Rail Bite #3: Professor David Alff on the expectation that trains turn a profit

The conflicting mandates at the heart of U.S. rail transport

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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

A potential game changer for rail electrification. EPA, it's not too late to do the right thing. Grant California its waiver to implement the framework for moving to zero emissions locomotives. www.movingforwardnetwork.com/2025/01/hey-...

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Solutionary Rail @solutionaryrail.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

Have you listened to our podcast yet? Click here and listen on your favorite platform: linktr.ee/solutionary.rail

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