April 2014
| Business World Magazine | 47
ity support in the Senate.
They say that the tax credit is amongst the
most widely supported of all of the tax credit
legislations that are out there.
BW: If we were to revisit this conversation
five years down the road, do you have spe-
cific goals for the organization? Do you have
a membership number? Are there any other
things in terms of the association that you
want to see happen in that intervening time?
MEARS:
I think that we just want to contin-
ue going onward and upward, try to make it
possible for all railroads to become members,
make sure we serve them with a great variety
of tools and helpfulness for their needs, and
I think as well, see to it that the interests we
have on the national level are reflected in good
policy and that we continue to do everything
that we can to help railroads provide the basis
for continuing to help prosper the American
economy.
BW: Is there anything about the industry
that you see changing? Will it just be what it
is now five years down the road, or are there
drastic game-changers on the way?
MEARS:
Now, that’s a good question. The
bigger railroads are dealing with positive train
control, or when the trains would be automati-
cally stopped or started. That is a bigger issue
for the bigger railroads than it is for us. That’s a
$20 billion unfunded mandate that they’re all
having to go through to meet a requirement,
even to the point of having to develop new
technologies. That has probably been the big-
gest challenge for the big railroads. In terms of
going five years down the road from now, we’ll
probably continue to see the movement of
these holding companies to acquire more rail-
roads, because the short lines and regionals are
turning out to be a good investment for them.
But I see a continued strength and I think we’ll
be in good stead having this conversation.
I think we’ll also see continued results from
the renewal of that short line tax credit, which
means better infrastructure, more repairs and
just everybody healthier.
