Railroads fined when cartels hide drugs on trains

[BNSF650]

Feed: National Railroad News
Posted on: Wednesday, June 15, 2011 2:59 PM
Author: falmanac
Subject: Railroads fined when cartels hide drugs on trains

EL PASO, Texas (AP) A border security program to X-ray every train rolling into the country has prompted as much as $400 million in fines against U.S. railroads, which are held responsible for the pungent bales of marijuana, tight bundles of cocaine, and anything else criminals cram into the boxcars and tankers as they clickety-clack through Mexico.

Union Pacific, the largest rail shipper on the U.S.-Mexico border and the largest recipient of fines, refuses to pay what now amounts to more than $388 million in fines, up from $37.5 million three years ago when the screening began. In federal litigation the railroad argues that it's being punished for something it cannot control: criminals stashing illegal drugs in rail cars in Mexico.

Full article at http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/art ... dd3d8ade06

Or

http://tinyurl.com/rr-fine

[micaelcorleone]

Well, if someone puts drugs into your car and you drive over the border even if you don't know anything about it, your will be punished because you are responsible.

Although this seems unjust, it's so. The RRs should make their contribution to the fight agains drugs and control the trains before they pass the border or pay the border patrol to do a join-venture scanning at the border.

[BNSF650]

Yes i agree with you on that.

[Hawk]

Better yet, they should just keep their trains out of Mexico.
Mexico has trains. They should bring the cargo to a yard and have them looked over there before being picked up by the US trains, at least until the Mexican authorities get off their duff and starts fighting the drug cartels, but I guess they make too much money from them.

Of course, that would increase the cost of handling that freight, and would ultimately increase the cost to the consumer, but so would UP having to pay those fines, or pay for their own screening procedure.

Face it folks! Any additional costs and/or taxes that a manufacturer and/or transportation company has to pay is passed on to consumers.
That's just life in the business world.