Five major rail industry companies—Trinity Industries, Norfolk Southern, GATX, Genesee & Wyoming and Watco Cos.—have entered into a joint venture called RailPulse that is “expected to accelerate rail modal transformation through the advancement of GPS technology and other telematics across the North American railcar fleet.”
Shades of the battle between CSX and Norfolk Southern that occurred some 25 years ago over Conrail, but on a smaller scale: CSX is in negotiations to acquire Pan Am Railways, the 1,700-mile Class II previously known as the Guilford Rail System, itself the amalgamation of the Boston & Maine, Maine Central, Portland Terminal Company and Springfield Terminal Railway. NS, in a Nov. 6 filing with the Surface Transportation Board, is opposing the transaction.
RAILWAY AGE, NOVEMBER 2020 ISSUE: Cindy Sanborn, a seasoned railroader who Norfolk Southern Chairman, President and CEO Jim Squires described as “one of the freight rail industry’s leading operations experts,” became the railroad’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer on Sept. 1, 2020. Mike Wheeler, Sanborn’s predecessor, retired on Oct. 1, 2020, after a 35-year career at the railroad.
Norfolk Southern Corp. reported third-quarter financial results that reflected the pandemic’s impact, similar to the other five publicly traded Class I’s, but emphasized how Precision Scheduled Railroading has “significantly enhanced” operational and financial performance since its launch.
Norfolk Southern, Genesee & Wyoming, Watco Companies, GATX Corp. and TrinityRail are developing a telematics platform for railcars to provide real-time car location and condition/health monitoring data. Called “Rail Pulse,” it will help shippers, car owners/lessors and railroads better manage consists, incidents and maintenance. Rollout is expected by year-end 2022.
CSX and Norfolk Southern are honoring customers for their commitment to the safe transportation of hazardous materials (hazmat).
Denver-based OmniTRAX is linking rail-served properties along its 25-mile Northern Ohio & Western Railway (NOW) with customers interested in locating there, in coordination with the Tiffin-Seneca Economic Partnership, which serves the counties of Tiffin and Seneca, Ohio. Additionally, Watco Companies, LLC, will lease and operate a line from CN subsidiary Wisconsin Central Ltd. in Illinois. Previously known as the Phoenix Line, Watco’s new subsidiary is now called the Elwood Joliet & Southern Railroad (EJSR). The Jeffersonville RiverRail Terminal in Indiana is set to open early next year, to be served by Louisville & Indiana Railroad (LIRC), an Anacostia Rail Holdings Co. subsidiary, and American Commercial Barge Line.
Norfolk Southern has published its 13th annual Corporate Responsibility Report, highlighting the company’s performance in 2019.
Railway Track & Structures Editor-in-Chief Bill Wilson talks with RT&S 2020 Engineer of the Year Ed Boyle about his outstanding career, working with COVID and the challenges that lie ahead in the rail industry. Boyle is the vice president of engineering with Norfolk Southern.
During a recent two-year period, engineers from Norfolk Southern (NS) and Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI) evaluated rail performance on four curves on the NS Whitethorne District, near Roanoke, Va., during two periods of 39 to 40 MGT (million gross ton) traffic accumulation. The objective was to document RCF (rolling contact fatigue) development, rail friction, and rail wear as influenced by the TORFC (top-of-rail friction control) materials NS currently uses. The rails were ground at the beginning of the test and again halfway through the test in April 2017, with the intent of producing similar conditions, after which a 39-40 MGT monitoring effort commenced, each with a different TORFC product.(1,2) The curve rails differed by rail mill, age and wear.