U.S. ASKS END TO AID FOR CONRAIL (Published 1981)
- ️Wed Mar 25 1981
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- March 25, 1981
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The Reagan Administration today urged Congress to withdraw Federal support from Conrail, the troubled railroad that spans the Northeast and reaches into the Middle West, and to transfer its main freight and passenger lines to private railroads or local authorities.
The Administration is proposing to sell the profitable segments of Conrail and its useful facilities to private railroads, and to abandon or leave to states and local authorities the burden of subsidizing unprofitable lines.
To make the Conrail lines more financially appealing, the Department of Transportation plans to submit legislation to do away with thousands of jobs guaranteed with the formation of Conrail, more formally known as the Consolidated Rail Corporation. Because it was created by Congress, only Congress can authorize the Administration's sweeping reorganization plans.
Responsibility for Policy
The plan was disclosed today before the Senate Surface Transportation Subcommittee by Robert W. Blanchette, the head of the Federal Railroad Administration, a Transportation Department agency that has responsibility for railroad policy.
There has been much discussion about scaling down Conrail, but no approach has been so sweeping as the one disclosed today by Mr. Blanchette.
Transportation Secretary Drew Lewis, at a luncheon meeting with reporters and editors of The New York Times, warned that the labor protection provisions enacted by Congress could cost up to $6 billion if the maximum number of Conrail employees were put out of work. Cut of 10,000 to 20,000