Management

Dispatcher’s delight

Dispatching, says Norfolk Southern Manager-Dispatch Planning Systems Charlie Turnipseed, “is like a game of chess.” Like chess players, train dispatchers are constantly thinking ahead, planning movements, moving “pieces”—trains—across the “board”—the railroad’s 22-state, 11-operating-division, 20,000-mile system—and dealing with “opponents”—the numerous types of events that can impact a train’s movement between origin and destination.

Rail freight traffic relatively flat

Gains in intermodal helped offset a downturn in carload traffic during the month of March 2015, the week ended March 28 and the year’s first quarter, the Association of American Railroads reported.
Commentary

Uncertainty clouds key rail bills in Senate

Two bills of substantial importance to railroads—Staggers Rail Act revisions as part of reauthorization of the Surface Transportation Board (STB), and extension of the deadline to implement Positive Train Control (PTC)—took meaningful steps forward March 25, gaining the imprimatur of the Senate Commerce Committee.

AAR, API collaborate on CBR first-responder safety course

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) and American Petroleum Institute (API) have collaborated on a new crude-by-rail (CBR) introductory safety course for first responders. This course is available free of charge to emergency response organizations and fire departments via the Transportation Community Awareness and Emergency Response (TRANSCAER®) program, of which railroads and oil companies are members.

NS annual report reflects “outstanding year”

Norfolk Southern’s 2014 Annual Report, titled “Behind Every Train,” highlights “record-setting net income, revenues, operating income, earnings per share, and operating ratio.” “2014 was an outstanding year,” said CEO Wick Moorman. “Our performance during the year demonstrated the increasing demand for our services, the growing value of freight rail transportation in the marketplace, and Norfolk Southern’s progress in enhancing service to meet the needs of customers and create long-term value for shareholders.”
  • M/W

Lowenthal proposes infrastructure trust fund

Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.) has introduced legislation he says “will provide a dedicated revenue source to invest in rebuilding crumbling freight infrastructure.”

Rail stocks slide following KCS outlook downgrade

Railroad stocks slid precipitously on Monday, March 23, 2015, pulling down the broader transport sector, after Kansas City Southern, citing the negative effects of lower oil prices and continued weakness in the Mexican peso, downgraded its full-year outlook.
Commentary
  • News

“UP, UP, where art thou?” asks Texas customer

As all good Texas stories require, this one includes beer. While there is no pickup truck or trailer park involved, a railroad and organized labor are prominent. As often is the case, the railroad appears to wear the black hat; its customer the white. And, of course, there are lawyers, but like the poor and cockroaches among us, lawyers are a species with which we must live in perpetuity.

Senate bill would mandate STB reforms

It is shipper-friendly legislation with which freight railroads probably can live. And while it’s not all the stuff so-called captive shippers would prefer—such as mandatory caps on rail rates and a study into the benefits of mandatory reciprocal switching—it stands a better probability of becoming law than anything previously attempted in Congress on behalf of shippers.

BNSF drones will patrol the track

One need not look to the wild blue yonder to find the BNSF air force. Soon, it will be patrolling BNSF tracks from altitudes no higher than 500 feet, but not within three miles of any airport and always during daylight hours.
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