AAR fires at NITL over forced switching proposal

Like a U.S. Navy destroyer unleashing all of its weapons simultaneously, the Association of American Railroads has launched a strongly worded attack on the National Industrial Transportation League’s proposal to the Surface Transportation Board for “forced switching,” also known as “mandated access,” “mandatory switching,” and “forced competition.”

NS “training brains” with graphic public-safety billboards

Graphic billboards showing a cast on a person’s leg with the caption, “I raced a train and all I got was this lousy full-body cast”; two feet poking out from a white sheet in a morgue with the tagline, “I raced a train and all I got was this lousy toe tag”; and depicting a cemetery headstone with the inscription, “I raced a train and all I got was this lousy tombstone”, are all part of Norfolk Southern’s “Train Your Brain” public safety program, which warns motorists and pedestrians of the (literally) grave consequences of disregarding railroad signals and trespassing on railroad property.

Boosting asset utilization: The hunt for percentage points

Lessons learned from TTX Co.

Increasing asset utilization by a single percentage point can make the difference between a typical year and a banner year. By blending operations insight with advanced technology and optimization techniques, the rail industry is achieving performance gains it previously thought were out of reach.

UP: Always expect a train in Chicago

Chicago is the railroad crossroads of the nation, with hundreds of freight and passenger trains rolling on the region’s vast network of lines virtually 24 hours a day. In a public safety campaign “encouraging Chicago pedestrians to cross tracks at only approved railroad crossings,” Union Pacific is launching an “Always Expect a Train” billboard program.

CN accelerates frac sand branch upgrade

CN is accelerating work on a $33 million upgrade of its Whitehall Subdivision in Wisconsin to increase carloading capacity and train velocity for the growing frac sand supply chains of Badger Mining Corp., Preferred Sands of Wisconsin LLC, Atlas Resin Proppants LLC, and Taylor Frac LLC.

Engineer shortage hampers SEPTA operations

A shortage of qualified engineers is causing annulments of SEPTA regional rail service trains, with some SEPTA employees predicting the problem will become more acute.

America’s railroads: Conservers of energy, friends of the environment

You might remember the TV commercial: A single locomotive pulling doublestacked containers through a pastoral landscape, a logjam of trucks and autos on the adjacent roadway, everything moving uncharacteristically slow, but the message conveyed with undeniable clarity: Trains move goods more efficiently than trucks.

CSX Play It Safe campaign in national spotlight at NASCAR All Star Race

Handling problems with the Front Row Motorsports no. 34 Ford Fusion may have kept driver David Ragan from running near the front of the 22-car field during the May 18 NASCAR Sprint Cup All Star Race, but they certainly didn’t keep CSX’s “Play It Safe Around Railroad Tracks” public safety message out of the national spotlight.

AAR confers environmental stewardship awards

The Association of American Railroads on May 15 presented Rick McNey, a CSX Transportation employee from Baltimore, Md., with the 2013 John H. Chafee Environmental Excellence Award, and U.S. Senator Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) with the 2013 John H. Chafee Congressional Environmental Award.

CSX, David Ragan team for NASCAR All Star Race

David Ragan, driver of the no. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford Fusion, will be running his 850-hp racecar with CSX’s “Play It Safe” colors in the Saturday, May 18 NASCAR Sprint Cup All Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
LOAD MORE