NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern’s new TOP21 operating plan, which went into effect systemwide on July 1, has overhauled the way the railroad moves nearly all of its merchandise and automotive traffic. The operational changes mean traffic is moving faster and more dependably, all while reducing costs by permitting NS to use fewer locomotives and […]
MONTREAL — Canadian National reported record second quarter financial results on Tuesday and reaffirmed its positive volume outlook for the rest of the year thanks to expected growth in crude oil, coal, grain, propane, and intermodal traffic. “Looking to the balance of this year and next, we are cautiously optimistic,” CEO Jean-Jacques Ruest said on […]
NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern today reported record quarterly financial results as more efficient operations, cost control, and price increases were enough to offset broad volume declines. Despite signs of slowing economic growth, NS maintained its volume and financial outlooks for the year. The railroad is banking on landing more intermodal, automotive, crude oil, sand, […]
Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending July 20. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 526,010 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.9% compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending July 20 were 254,434 […]
CHICAGO — Some portions of the North American railcar fleet of transportation leasing company GATX are being idled due to Precision Scheduled Railroading. PSR, which most Class I systems and certain short lines are using to maximize productivity of assets, is among the reasons utilization of GATX boxcars dropped in the second quarter of 2019 […]
Railroad Performance Measures website home page WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads pulled the plug on the Railroad Performance Measures website this month, saying it has outlived its usefulness. The railroadpm.org website — which reported weekly Class I figures for terminal dwell, average train speed, and cars online — was an outgrowth of the […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has ordered Canadian National and Canadian Pacific to participate in oral arguments next month to settle their simmering dispute over the location of their interchange in Chicago. In a decision late Friday, the board directed CN and CP to participate in an Aug. 6 oral argument in Washington. The […]
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Southern reported record second quarter financial results today but reduced its volume outlook for the year and said it would trim capital spending as Precision Scheduled Railroading was freeing up capacity on its network. The railroad’s adjusted operating income rose 5%, to $259 million, as revenue rose 5%, to […]
On West Virginia’s Cass Scenic Railroad, engine crews with three Shay locomotives signal each other with whistles for moves and stops. TRAINS: Steve Sweeney Q: When you have two steam engines together, how does the second engineer know how much throttle to give? — Dennis E. Schardt, Sr., Summerdale, Pa. A: We get asked this […]
Q: Do you know if any publications, or any web pages, blogs, or any Internet resource that maintains a U.S. map that shows frequency of train service? — Frank Norris, Santa Fe, N.M. A: Simply put, no such resource exists as railroads hold traffic data as proprietary. The best way to learn about railroad operations, […]
LOWELL, Ark. — Executives of trucking giant J.B. Hunt are moderately optimistic about intermodal for the second half of 2019 and about the effects of Precision Scheduled Railroading on Hunt operations. Intermodal, which makes up more than 50 percent of Hunt revenues, had a difficult first half of 2019, due to PSR-driven lane closures in […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Cost-cutting, efficiency gains, and higher revenue per carload helped Union Pacific post record second quarter financial results despite declines in traffic and revenue and the impact of flooding that shut down key routes in the Midwest. The railroad’s operating income rose 8%, to $2.2 billion, even as revenue declined 1%, to $5.5 […]
