BNSF

Shipper survey “positive” for railroads: Cowen

The results of Cowen and Company’s 2Q18 Rail Shipper Survey “are positive for the railroads,” according to Managing Director and Railway Age Wall Street Contributing Editor Jason Seidl. With anticipated rate increases of 4.7% over the next 6-12 months, up from 3.8% in Cowen’s 1Q18 survey—the second-highest sequential increase in this survey’s history—market share “is moving from the highway to the rails and may pick up in the second half of the year if rail service improves.”

Commentary

Three pillars of a sustainable career

While technology is driving the new era of railroading, the need for a rock-solid foundation is paramount. The foundation of the railroad industry is training. Just like the Roman Pantheon, an ancient building with a solid foundation and large round pillars that support the stone roof, the pillars of empowerment, compensation and technology must hold up the “roof” of railroading goals that support the desired outcomes like car-count, safety and velocity.

  • PTC

BNSF PTC: We’re ready—but you’re not

BNSF announced in December 2017 that it had fully installed and was operating under Positive Train Control (PTC) on all mandated subdivisions in advance of the Dec. 31, 2018 interim federal deadline. However, on June 13, it submitted a request to the Federal Railroad Administration for an alternative schedule, a two-year extension to Dec. 31, 2020, because “full implementation status cannot be achieved until all non-BNSF trains and/or equipment operating on its PTC-equipped lines are also PTC-compliant.”

  • PTC

Amtrak marks PTC progress on BNSF lines

Amtrak, working with BNSF, will the week of June 11 implement Positive Train Control (PTC) on BNSF-owned subdivisions that host the Southwest Chief and California Zephyr, marking the first activation on host-owned territory used by Amtrak. Full PTC activation on BNSF routes that host these two long-distance trains is expected by the end of August.

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