Amtrak May Continue to Haul Some Freight

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congressional measure awaiting President Bush's signature would keep Amtrak hauling freight cars, which it wants to stop, the New York Times reported.

The railroad’s $1.31 billion subsidy, approved earlier this month, is part of a bill that covers the Department of Transportation and unrelated departments, the paper reported.

A now-bankrupt Detroit company, ExpressTrak, had been shipping refrigerated produce on cars at the back of Amtrak trains. Early in this decade, Amtrak sought to raise its revenues by carrying mail and express freight but later said it was giving up the idea as unprofitable, the Times said.

But because ExpressTrak is bankrupt, a bankruptcy judge ordered Amtrak to keep hauling the cars, though the railroad hauled fewer than 1,500 cars in the last year, the Times reported.