Author: William C. Vantuono

With Railway Age since 1992, William C. Vantuono has broadened and deepened the magazine's coverage of the technological revolution that is so swiftly changing the industry. He has also strengthened Railway Age’s leadership position in industry affairs with the conferences he conducts, among them Next-Generation Train Control, Light Rail, and Rail Insights. He is the author or co-author or editor of several books, among them All About Railroading; John Armstrong’s The Railroad: What It Is, What It Does; Railway Age’s Comprehensive Railroad Dictionary; and Planning, Engineering, and Operating Light Rail, With Applications in New Jersey.

CN to TCI: We’ve Had Enough of Your ‘Chest Beating,’ ‘Empty Posturing’ and ‘Obvious Conflict of Interest’

The battle for control of CN’s boardroom and C Suite has heated up, morphing from light artillery to nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles. On Oct. 1—the day after Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation—CN issued a searing statement accusing TCI Fund Management of, in simple language, lying through its teeth in its quest to chew up and spit out the current management and board. The rhetoric flying back and forth mimics the histrionics between CSX and Norfolk Southern when both railroads were headquartered in Virginia—observers quipping how the two were figuratively in hand grenade throwing range of each other, especially during their battle for control of Conrail.

CP Supports ‘Orange Shirt Day’ With ‘Every Child Matters’ Locomotive

Sept. 30, 2021 is Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, also called “Orange Shirt Day,” an opportunity for Canadians to learn about and reflect on a dark chapter in the country’s history involving now-infamous Residential Schools, and to commemorate the victims and honor the survivors, their families and their communities, as called for by Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Indigenous Peoples (First Nations) leaders. Canadian Pacific is participating by placing into service its “Every Child Matters” ES44AC 8757, painted in a bright orange livery with unique graphics.

For NYAB, a Major Manufacturing Shift

New York Air Brake LLC (NYAB) on Sept. 29 announced what it is calling a “realignment strategy” for its North American manufacturing operations that involves launching production in Ciudad Acuña, Mexico; “shifting capacity and production scope” at three U.S. facilities—Salisbury, N.C.; and Nixa and Kansas City, Mo.—“completing a substantial manufacturing refocus” at its Watertown, N.Y., facility to a machining operation. The company broke the news to employees on Sept. 29.

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Glasgow OLI Champion Award Recipient

Operation Lifesaver Inc. (OLI) has named Georgia Operation Lifesaver State Coordinator Jennie Glasgow recipient of its 2021 Champion Award “in recognition of more than 40 years advancing rail safety education.” OLI announced Glasgow’s award during the 2021 Operation Lifesaver State Coordinator Summit in Omaha, Neb.

Cowen at NEARS: Key Takeaways

Cowen and Company Managing Director and Railway Age Wall Street Contributing Editor Jason Seidl attended and participated in the North East Association of Rail Shippers (NEARS) Fall 2021 Conference in Portland, Me.,

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Eno Study: ‘Safety Trends Moving in the Wrong Direction’

A new report from the Eno Center for Transportation, “Safer Railroading: A Guide Toward Targeted Safety Policy,” points out that, although freight and passenger railroads “are among the safest modes of transportation for workers, riders, and the public,” and “strong federal standards for railroad track and operations, technological investments like PTC, and communities’ infrastructure improvements have yielded significant gains,” most of the gains “have plateaued and, in some cases, safety trends are moving in the wrong direction.”

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L.B. Foster Divests Piling Products Division

L.B. Foster Company on Sept. 24 completed the sale of its steel Piling Products division to J.D. Fields & Company, Inc. for approximately $24 million in total proceeds., and is retaining all pre-closing receivables and liabilities associated with the line of business.

STB Seeks ‘FMLM’ Service Comments (Updated)

The Surface Transportation Board has added another entry to the “Railroad Industry Dictionary of Obscure Acronyms”: FMLM, which stands for First-Mile/Last-Mile—what Class II and III railroads do best.