Harsh winter weather — from extreme cold in the Midwest and Canada to record-breaking snowfall in the Pacific Northwest and flooding along the Mississippi River — is a major culprit in the decline of rail traffic this year, executives said this week. Rail traffic in North America had a strong final three months of 2018, […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
AAR: Petroleum and lumber are lone stand-outs in a sea of declining carload traffic NEWSWIRE
Association of American Railroads Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Feb. 16. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 523,915 carloads and intermodal units, down 3 percent compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week […]
For Norfolk Southern, a 180-degree turn on Precision Scheduled Railroading NEWSWIRE
Jim Squires, NS CEO Norfolk Southern NORFOLK, Va. — It would be an understatement to say that Norfolk Southern’s views on Precision Scheduled Railroading have evolved. In November 2015, Jim Squires had been chief executive for barely six months when the wolf — dressed as Canadian Pacific CEO E. Hunter Harrison — came banging on […]
FRA issues national trespass prevention strategy NEWSWIRE
WASHINGTON – The Federal Railroad Administration has issued to Congress the first National Strategy to Prevent Trespassing on Railroad Property. The report examines the causal factors that contribute to trespassing incidents on railroad property, and responds to a U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations request. “Almost every trespasser death or injury is preventable and […]
KCS sees service as key to growth and shift to Precision Scheduled Railroading NEWSWIRE
Kansas City Southern MIAMI — Kansas City Southern will stay true to its roots amid implementation of Precision Scheduled Railroading, a term that CEO Patrick Ottensmeyer says often raises concerns among employees, customers, and regulators alike. “There’s nothing about the way we’re going to move forward that is inconsistent with our values and culture,” Ottensmeyer […]
Low-level platforms
A track-level platform at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport station near Baltimore enables the use of the middle track, at bottom, for passenger boarding and detraining. Note the yellow step box behind the railing, for use with the lower platforms. Brian Schmidt Q I live near Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor and see short track-level platform extensions at […]
AAR: Crude oil ascends while other commodities level off NEWSWIRE
Association of American Railroads Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads on Wednesday reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Feb. 9. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 519,779 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.1 percent compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the […]
Utility to shutter rail-served, coal-fired power plants in Tennessee and Kentucky NEWSWIRE
The Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors approved closing the Bull Run Fossil Plant at Oak Ridge, Tenn., and the Paradise Fossil Plant Unit 3 in Western Kentucky on Feb. 14, 2019. Chattanooga, TENN. — A major Tennessee utility provider has approved closing two rail-served, coal-fired power plants, alluding to a changing landscape in electricity […]
BNSF Railway announces billion-dollar capital spending plan for 2019 NEWSWIRE
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway today announced its 2019 capital investment plan of $3.57 billion. The emphasis of this year’s capital plan continues to be on maintaining and expanding its network with an unwavering focus on operating a safe railroad that meets customers’ demands. “Our rail network is in excellent shape and its condition […]
Local service and terminal operations underpin new NS operating plan NEWSWIRE
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern is taking a two-pronged approach to operational changes as it adopts Precision Scheduled Railroading. First, it’s redesigning local service from scratch using a process that it has dubbed clean-sheeting. Second, NS will begin making systemwide operating changes that affect road trains once the first round of clean-sheeting is completed in June. […]
New Norfolk Southern operating plan to blend traffic and build longer trains NEWSWIRE
Norfolk Southern CEO Jim Squires Norfolk Southern ATLANTA — Expect to see big changes on Norfolk Southern as the railroad launches its new Precision Scheduled Railroading operating plan, TOP21, over the summer. The most visible differences will include longer trains with distributed power, the increased use of general purpose trains that combine different types of […]
Norfolk Southern shoots for 60 percent operating ratio target under PSR NEWSWIRE
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern’s embrace of Precision Scheduled Railroading will put the railroad’s operational house in order and improve financial results, including a 60-percent operating ratio by 2021. “We decided to adopt Precision Scheduled Railroading because it works,” Norfolk Southern CEO Jim Squires said in kicking off the railroad’s investor day presentations on Monday. NS […]
