Mr. Swidergal:  I don't know whether I agree with you or not on Joe Szabo.  I might agree, but you have provided only buzz-words and no substance.  I don't think CSX, for example, would agree with you that FRA fails to look at carriers when it comes to safety enforcement.  And, when it comes to PTC, within days of the legislation mandating its installation the Class 1 carriers reached agreement on protocols for interoperability which will make PTC usable on all railroads.  I, too, wish Joe Szabo success.  But remember, please, that as FRA Administrator who only can enforce the laws and regulations that exist.  And, as FRA Administrator, he is charged with serving all Americans, not with being labor's FRA Administrator.

Mr. Swidergal:  As I believe it is the obligation of the communicator to in fact communicate, this exchange is my fault.  I didn't mean my post to be as hostile as you apparently saw it.  As I said, my failure, not yours.  Taking last things first, all of my writing is done under my by-line, including use of my name at this blogsite.  I write regularly in Argus Media's Rail Business report, The Journal of Commerce, and Progressive Railroading's principal competitor.  In short, I write for money, none but a blockhead ever did otherwise.  

I realize you don't care whether I agree with you or not, nor should you.  I simply was saying I don't know from your original post whether I agree or not - no value judgment.  When I want to be hostile, I think I write well enough that readers will know that was my intent.  I'm not nearly as cynical as you (although my friends would dispute that) and do not see the "corruption" that you do.  I have written in one of my columns pretty much what I posted here.  I do not expect Joe Szabo to be a blatantly pro-labor FRA administrator, just as I would hope that an administrator from the management side would not be blatantly pro-carrier.  Neither philosophy really serves FRA or the railroad industry well.  I assume until proven otherwise that Joe Szabo will be an honorable public servant.  If he turns out not to be then that will be on Congress as much as it will be on him, as Congress confirmed his appointment.

Joe Szabo may be everything you say he is (I hope so, for the sake of all involved in railroading), but he only can deal with those things where federal law give him authority to do so.  Perhaps it would be good to tie all C&S together along with PTC and RCO.  I do not claim to be a C&S expert.  I also am not persuaded that there is a problem that calls for all that tying together.  Again, the Administrator will deal with those things that he can and not necessarily all the things that the rail constituency might like him to.  I haven't noticed the unions being bashful when it comes to seeking safety legislation from Congress.

The rest of your comment appears to be an attempt to be insulting.  So be it.  You now come across like every malcontent railroader who is convinced that no one in management deserves to be.  Sorry, but my belief system says otherwise.  That includes your comments about CSX, by the way.

A thought or two about FRA Administrators of the past.  I go back to A. Scheffer Lang, who was the first FRA Administrator when FRA was created.  Schef, who died a few years ago, had a very varied background.  He was on the faculty at MIT, at one time was the youngest division engineer of a Class 1, and was FRA Administrator.  He did time at AAR and at the U. of Minnesota.  A truth teller at all times, I don't think even James Swidergal would accuse him of having been a hack or corrupt or a management toady (my word, not James').

Then came Reg Whitman, John Ingram, Asaph Hall, John Reilly, John Sullivan, Jolene Molitoris, and a few who even I cannot recall.  Ingram and Whitman came from management backgrounds in the industry.  The others came off Capital Hill where they had been staff members to various members of Congress, or from a state agency.  All had some political connection, just as Joe Szabo does - you don't get presidential appointments in Washington just on your brains or good looks.  Some were reasonably successfull, depending on how you define the term.  Others were eminently forgettable.  James is right; Szabo is the first Administrator to come from the ranks of organized labor.  I hope no one holds that against him.

Gee, James, did I say something that offended you?  I thought I made it clear that any miscommunications was mine, not yours.  Your inability to accept that with any grace whatsoever says far more about you than about me.  

Let's deal with Joe Szabo first.  I don't know the gentleman.  I have run across him professionally in his role with UTU.  To the best of my knowledge he always has represented the interests of his union's membership.  I know nothing negative about him, and I'm fully prepared to have him be the most successful FRA Administrator in the 42 years the FRA has existed.  I'm not sure anyone can achieve that status because the position has relatively little real authority.  The Administrator, whomever he, she, or it may be, spends a lot of time with the FRA General Counsel who helps by clarifying what authority the Administrator has under the law.  You seem not to understand the process.  I've been there and I do, so no apology to you for this brief lesson in pragmatism and civics.  Believe it or not, I do wish Joe Szabo all success because the railroads, companies and employees, will benefit  if he is successful.  Not to hard to figure, is it?

As for my role on this site, perhaps you are the one who should chill.  I've never made any claims to any status here, either in public or privately to the PR editors and site monitors.  Yes, I am highly opinionated.  You and others are free to "play in the game" if you choose or simply to ignore me.  I assure you, James, my feelings won't be hurt either way.  If I wanted to be insulting, I might even point out that you need a new dictionary; your spelling and grammar leave something to be desired.  But that would be churlish of me, so I won't.  

You say you have an opinion.  Great.  Next time, try to have an opinion based on facts.  Your opinion might be worth more then.  One thing you don't seem to understand is that FRA is little more than an agency charged with enforcing the several safety laws passed by Congress over the years.  FRA also administers the RIFF program and channels the money that Amtrak gets.  All worthwhile activities, but not particularly significant when it comes to making national policy.

Finally, and I'm sure you and everyone else will be glad I've reached that point, you will just have to take my word for it that I've never written anything in any way just for a paycheck.  My name is on my work.  I find your comments to be insulting, but then I consider the source.  Have a nice day.