If California’s politically influential labor unions get their way, the state’s freight trains would get shorter and potentially safer under a pending legislative proposal.
But some Democratic lawmakers fear the measure could raise the price of goods in high-cost California, running counter to legislative leaders’ pledge to bring down the cost of living. They also worry that the need to run freight trains more frequently could cause delays for struggling passenger trains that rely on the same tracks and are frequently delayed by freight trains.
To top it off, independent experts, including those who work for the Legislature, say the measure almost certainly isn’t legal…