If the past few months are any indication, the answer is yes. Just ask BNSF. BNSF Railway posted a double-digit return on net investment for the 12 months ending June 30, 2010—right through the worst of the Great Recession.
Canadian Pacific has harnessed the latest train control and planning technologies to drive forward its successful long-train program.
The first half of 2009 was a tough time for Canadian Pacific Railway. In the grip of a sharp global economic downturn, the company saw year-on-year volumes plummet by up to 35%, and the railroad was running at less than 55% of capacity.
Kansas City Southern looks to its new international intermodal corridor for sustained growth.Kansas City Southern is “the best growth story in rail.” That proclamation, made recently by Dahlman Rose Director-Equity Research and Railway Age Contributing Editor Jason Seidl, characterizes a railroad that for the past 15 years has grown and prospered under the leadership of Mike Haverty, one of this industry’s great entrepreneurs.
How Union Pacific achieved a record 8.6-day car cycle time. For many years, freight car shortages plagued the railroad industry.
Despite a higher average age, the revenue-earning fleet comprises mostly “young” freight car sub-fleets, based on a 50-year life span.
Writing a new chapter in an extraordinary success story.
Paul Tellier took Canadian National public with stunning success, Hunter Harrison’s Precision Railroading model took CN to performance levels that led many investment analysts to crown CN as the world’s finest freight railroad, and now Claude Mongeau, in command since Jan. 1, is taking steps to ensure that CN stays that way.
Bigger is indeed better for this transcontinental carrier, which is operating some of the longest freight trains in North America.
A short line plots land use development and alternative energy options, along with acquiring a right-of-way, to best advantage—and beats recessionary odds.
The railroad industry has a safety record that’s the envy of many other industries, yet when railroads think safety, they think continuous improvement. The most important element is a strong safety culture, supported by training and technology.
Can the industry’s much-touted fuel efficiency number be improved?