The Surface Transportation Board has announced the speakers for the Board’s June 10, 2015 public hearing, Rail Transportation of Grain, Rate Regulation Review, Docket No. EP 665 (Sub-No. 1), to explore the issue of making the Board’s rate-case process “more accessible to railroad shippers of grain.”
In reporting weekly U.S. rail traffic, as well as volumes for May 2015 and the first five months of 2015, the Association of American Railroads revealed that U.S. carload traffic in May dropped nearly 10%, while intermodal continued to beat last year’s numbers, with a gain of nearly 4% for the month.
At Washington, D.C.’s Union Station, Norfolk Southern dedicated its latest commemorative locomotive, an SD60E painted in a vibrant red, white and black livery with gold accents and insignia recognizing police, fire, and emergency services, honoring first responders. Numbered 9-1-1, the locomotive will enter general revenue service on NS’s 22-state network.
It’s no surprise that Federal Railroad Administration Acting Administrator Sarah Feinberg, a Democratic political operative—and a darn good one by all accounts—is President Obama’s choice to become the agency’s permanent chief. Politics generally determines executive branch appointments and it’s a shrewd wager the Senate will confirm her.
For the week ending May 23, 2015, U.S. rail traffic dipped nearly 3%, with a gain in intermodal only partially offsetting a sharp decline in carload traffic. The same held true for combined North American traffic for U.S., Canadian and Mexican carriers. U.S. traffic was relatively flat for the year’s first 19 weeks of 2015.
RailComm has appointed Michael L. J. Hackney, Ph.D. as Vice President of Products with responsibility for the company’s new products initiatives, including its smart analytics products platform.
U.S. Class I railroads originated 113,089 carloads of crude oil in the first quarter of 2015, down 17,982 carloads or 13.7% from the fourth quarter of 2014, the Association of American Railroads noted as it reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending May 16, 2015.
Rail Connection Inc. (RCI), a subsidiary of Appalachian Railcar Services Inc. (ARS), has formed a joint venture with ITE Management L.P. with the purpose of acquiring, leasing and operating railcars, the company announced on May 8, 2015.
Parsons Brinckerhoff has named Marsha Kaiser area manager of its Washington, D.C. office. In her new position, Kaiser will be responsible for leading all aspects of the firm’s Washington, D.C. operations, including business development and marketing, client relationship management and project performance.
Speaking at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2015 Transportation Conference in Boston on May 14, 2015, CSX Chief Financial Officer Fredrik Eliasson said that, for the full year, CSX “continues to expect EPS growth in the mid-to-high single digit range, as well as meaningful margin expansion as the company makes progress toward a mid-60s operating ratio.”