Hmmmm........I think I see what Bell, Behrens and the rest of the CHS heirarchy are planning! Railstar is the convenient "face" that the CHS had to use in their little farce about bids in order for them to push the GTL Inc. out!
It's no secret that Behrens wanted to run the Loop and that the Ashby's beat him out! This has been the goal of the CHS all along! They just went about it in their usual incompetent way and totally screwed it up! The CHS probably thought that the Ashby's would sell their equipment rather than accept the totally ridiculous "demands" that the CHS tried to impose. They were caught flat-footed when the GTL Inc. pulled out!
I don't think that Railstar ever had any intentions of running the Loop as a profitable business! There had to be some back room under-the-table planning where it was acknowledged that the ultimate goal was for the CHS to take complete control of the Loop! It's the only thing that makes sense!!
If so, this brings me right back to my original concern: SAFETY!!! Bell and Behrens have demonstrated a remarkably naive attitude toward railroad operations considering they are tasked with overseeing the Loop's operations for the CHS! If these two plan to take over operations and run the Loop for the CHS then look out cause it ain't gonna be pretty!!!
Of course this is only a worst-case scenario. Until the season starts we won't really know what is going on. Whatever happens it won't be boring!