Coal has always been extremely important to the rail industry, as highlighted by its well-earned moniker “King Coal.” Indeed, the marriage between coal and the railroads was a natural one, with railroads being the best at bulk land shipping and coal being a widely abundant natural resource.
A Railway Age editorial I posted on line last in June 2011 about the most recent legislative attempt to break up Amtrak and privatize the pieces drew a 99% favorable response. Here’s an excerpt:
How Union Pacific achieved a record 8.6-day car cycle time. For many years, freight car shortages plagued the railroad industry.
Most global passenger rail suppliers accept a basic schism in their marketplace: Europe and most of Asia seek passenger designs based on crash avoidance. U.S. counterparts had to meet crash survivability priorities.
The economic downturn brought a great deal of hardship to carriers across the supply chain. Many shippers took the opportunity to re-bid their trucking contracts out of cycle, placing even more pressure on companies in the trucking sector.
NS discovers that managing the wheel/rail dynamic in a heavy haul environment comes down to finding equilibrium among several factors.
Creating a culture that promotes individual safety and eliminates injuries is not an easy thing to do in the railroad industry.
Despite a higher average age, the revenue-earning fleet comprises mostly “young” freight car sub-fleets, based on a 50-year life span.
The proverbial ounce of prevention is worth more than any cure when it comes to keeping heavy tonnage on track.
In June 2009, Amtrak called for proposals for up to 70 new electric locomotives. The key requirements were conformity to all FRA regulations, Buy America compliance, acceleration capability to avoid impacting Acela Express high speed train schedules, and the capability to haul 18 single level Amfleet coaches at a sustained speed of 125 mph.