The union problem ends at the Potomac River at this end.
That may be so. I believe you. It just boggles the mind when, as somewhere in the article mentions that estimated costs are ~$260 million per mile.
And as you say, automation in track maintenance, repair and re-laying is highly automated and few people are needed, at least out on the tracks to do it. I’ve sat and watched them for years - amazing, replacing ties, rails and grinding and leveling in one pass of a couple-three ‘machine trains’. But, somebody has to ‘load the magazine’ so to speak.
I’d say a good portion of the $260 million will be going somewhere it doesn’t need to be.