US rail system not `outdated'

In the front-page article "Domestic Concerns Top US Presidential Agenda," Nov. 4, the author perpetuates a myth that the Monitor should know better than to allow. The author states, "The nation is struggling with an outdated railway system, crumbling bridges and highways, poor schools, and polluted air and water." The author may be correct in how he describes the others, but he is completely off the mark in describing our railroads as "outdated." The nation's rail system is in better physical and financi al shape than in decades, and most of the major carriers have weathered the recession well.

Our company, like the other railroads, is finding innovative, energy-efficient, and cost-effective ways to move the nation's commerce, and our industry will be a major player in the global economic tidal wave that is coming. Robert C. Fort, Norfolk, Va. Asst. Vice Pres., Norfolk Southern Corp.

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