United States Railway Association

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United States Railway Association
legal form Non-profit association
founding 1st February 1974
resolution April 1, 1987
Seat Washington, DC
Branch Public administration

The United States Railway Association (USRA) was an independent not-for-profit government organization of the United States between 1974 and 1987. The company served to save rail traffic in the Northeast and Midwest. The United States Railway Association served as a buffer between politics and the economically managed railway company Conrail .

history

In 1970 the then largest rail company in the United States, Penn Central Transportation , and in a short period of time, other rail companies in the northeastern United States, had to file for bankruptcy. The bankruptcy administrator's attempts at reorganization failed. There was thus a risk that the northeastern United States could lose its rail network and, with it, the industry that relied on transport infrastructure. To prevent this collapse, the Regional Rail Reorganization Act (3-R Act) was passed in 1973 .

With the law the establishment of the United States Railway Association was licensed. The company was incorporated on February 1, 1974 in Washington DC. The form of a non-profit company was chosen, on the one hand to enable economic activity and to have the necessary flexibility in the organization, and on the other hand to counteract the idea of ​​nationalizing the rail network. During a brief period in the bankruptcy phase of the companies, USRA was given the right to approve rail mergers and line closures. Until then, this right rests exclusively with the regulatory authority Interstate Commerce Commission . The rights granted by law to the organization and the restrictions on bankrupt companies were confirmed as constitutional by the Supreme Court and a separate court in late 1974.

The organization was given the primary task of drafting a plan to reorganize the bankrupt railway companies in the Northeast and Midwest. This included, among other things, the determination of the rail network necessary for the economic development of the region. In order to take into account all legitimate interests as far as possible, a board of directors made up of various representatives was created. On July 26, 1975, the final network plan (Final System Plan) was sent to the Congress . The plan was to transfer part of the routes to the neighboring railway companies Norfolk & Western Railway and Chessie System and to form a separate railway company (Three Systems East) from the rest. However, this plan failed and so the second preferred variant "Big Conrail" came into play.

With the resolution of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act (4-R Act), which came into force on February 5, 1976 , the necessary legal changes were made to implement the plan. The 3-R Act already contained the concession to found a for-profit railway company, called Consolidated Rail Corporation ( Conrail ), which was to implement the USRA proposal. According to the submitted plan, Conrail finally took over the necessary fixed assets (40,000 kilometers of railway line including the necessary equipment, 4,000 locomotives, 200,000 freight cars) from the bankrupt railway companies and began operations on April 1, 1976.

The USRA was given the task of monitoring the inflow of loans and guarantees from the federal government to Conrail, monitoring the performance of the railway company and ensuring fair compensation for the business assets transferred between the railway companies and Conrail. The United States Railway Association appointed six of the eleven members of Conrail's board of directors.

The transfer of business assets, including all necessary rights, obligations and unbundling, were one of the biggest tasks in the early days. A total of over 86 subsidiaries of the seven bankrupt railway companies included in the reorganization were involved. In November 1980 the first agreement with Penn Central was concluded. The last agreement was upheld by the Supreme Court in January 1985.

In addition, the organization was responsible for corresponding bridging loans to the bankrupt railway companies to secure operations, loans to the Delaware and Hudson Railroad , the MKT Railroad , the rejection of a loan to the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad , studies and analyzes on rail traffic in the northeast general and the Conrail in particular, as well as the study of the economics of the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad .

The Reagan administration in 1981 increased the pressure to improve the economy and accelerate the reprivatisation of Conrail. In a report submitted to Congress in April 1981, USRA showed ways to improve profitability. This led, among other things, to the resolution of the Northeast Rail Service Act (NERSA) 1981. This exempted Conrail from local passenger transport services, and updated the tasks and the governing body of the United States Railway Association.

In 1982, Congress passed the Alaska Railroad Transfer Act to transfer the Alaska Railroad from federal administration to the state of Alaska . The United States Railway Association was tasked with determining the market value. The corresponding report was delivered in September 1983.

The sale of Conrail also remained on the government's agenda. USRA prepared studies regarding the further development of the sale of the company or an independent continued operation. In 1986, Congress decided to go public for Conrail. With the law of October 21, 1986 ( Conrail Privatization Act ), the end of the United States Railway Association was decided on April 1, 1987.

Head of USRA

Stephen Berger, Chairman of USRA from 1980 to 1986

A board of directors was created to oversee USRA . This was led by a chairman who was appointed by the president . Members were the Minister of Transportation , the Head of the Interstate Commerce Commission, and the Secretary of the Treasury or equivalent. Additional members were the Association of American Railroads (for the rail industry), the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (for the workers), the National Governors Conference (for the states), the National League of Cities and Conference of Mayors (for the local administrations), two members from the railway customers (one for large customers and one for smaller consignors) and one from the financial sector.

It was intended that the chairman's term of office would last six years. The term of office of non-government members should also last six years, with two members having an initial two-year term, two members having an initial four-year term, and three members having a six-year term after the association was founded. If the office was given up prematurely, the successor was appointed for the rest of the term of office.

The president was appointed by the chairman. From 1981 this function was taken over by the chairman. Initially, the Chairman was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the President was the Chief Operating Officer . From 1978 the President was also CEO. From 1982 the Chairman took over the function of CEO again. The Chief Operation Officer was no longer listed as President.

With the Northeast Rail Service Act 1981 a new Board of Directors was formed, consisting of the Chairman, the Secretary of Transportation, the Head of the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Comptroller General of the United States (President of the Court of Auditors) and the Chairman of Conrail. The other members of the previously existing board became members of an advisory board.

Chairman

Non-governmental members of the board of directors or advisory boards

president

Seat

Initially, the company moved into rooms in the Transpoint Building (2100 Second Street SW, Washington DC ). Later offices were used at 955 L'Enfant Plaza North.

Web links

  • Reginald Stuart: WASHINGTON TALK: United States Railway Association; A Bureaucratic Caboose, as It Were . In: The New York Times . 1987, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed September 12, 2017]).
  • United States Railway Association publications
  • United States Railway Association: The revitalization of rail service in the Northeast: the final report of the United States Railway Association . United States Railway Association, Washington, DC 1986 ( hathitrust.org [accessed September 13, 2017]).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Public Law 93-236
  2. ↑ Public Law 97-35 95 Stat 673ff
  3. ^ United States Railway Association: Valuation of the Alaska Railroad . United States Railway Association, Washington, DC 1983 ( hathitrust.org [accessed September 13, 2017]).
  4. ↑ Public Law 99-509, 100 Stat. 1892ff
  5. ^ Jimmy Carter: United States Railway Association Nomination of William K. Smith To Be Chairman of the Board of Directors. Retrieved September 12, 2017 .
  6. ^ Robert E. Bedingfield: Jordan Named the President of Conrail . In: The New York Times . June 21, 1975, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed September 12, 2017]).