On Dec. 17, the Surface Transportation Board released a new rate study, which you may have missed in the holiday rush. I know I did. If you did and have an interest
Currently pending before the Surface Transportation Board are an application by CSX to acquire Pan Am Railways (PAR) and a related petition regarding operation of Pan Am Southern (PAS) by the Berkshire & Eastern Railroad (B&E), a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming. These transactions will bring strong transportation and safety benefits to New England.
FINANCIAL EDGE, JANUARY 2022 ISSUE: It might be the meme of all memes, at least for the COVID-19 pandemic: Al Pacino’s iconic “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!” right before collapsing from a diabetic stroke, sums up what Omicron feels like (collapse included).
Something you don’t want to hear: “Please hold all train traffic while we trench under the tracks to install this fiber optic cable.” Ports and railyards are busier than ever, and new
What’s the consequence of appointing as chairperson of the Surface Transportation Board (STB) a veteran of rough-and-tumble Chicago politics? Contentment and consternation, it seems.
The year was 1964. Lyndon Johnson was campaigning for re-election as President, hoping his “Great Society” and “War on Poverty” programs would help the country, although the nation’s involvement in the Vietnam War was escalating and would later trigger his downfall. “Beatlemania” swept the country, as the “Fab Four” from Liverpool dominated the charts, with only the emerging Motown Sound from Detroit giving them any competition. The nation’s passenger train network was still gigantic compared to what we have on Amtrak today, but it was shrinking fast. Rail transit in the cities that still had it was shrinking, too. In New York, though, the second World’s Fair in 25 years was taking place in Flushing, Queens, and the “Brightliner” subway cars made their first appearance.
The railroad industry is embracing its own digital transformation. In his address to shareholders at the May 13, 2021 annual meeting, Norfolk Southern chief executive Jim Squires made a statement in-line with
In November, Railway Age reported on the provisions of the new infrastructure statute, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), that relate to passenger rail—Amtrak and rail transit. the report came to you on Nov. 15, the day President Biden signed it into law. While that article constituted a report about what the statute says about rail, this one is a companion commentary that will examine what it does not include. In some ways, the bill’s omissions may have a greater impact on future policy concerning Amtrak and transit than the provisions that were actually enacted.
No two words torment railroad executives and their investors more than “reciprocal switching”—a potential Surface Transportation Board (STB) decree that a railroad with sole physical access to a shipper facility transfer (switch) a shipper’s cars to a junction point with a second (competing) railroad. The second railroad pays a compensatory per-car switching fee whose reasonableness is determined by the STB.
FROM THE EDITOR, RAILWAY AGE, DECEMBER 2021 ISSUE: I like inclusion, but I disdain the stultifying requirement imposed by some sectors of our society to be politically correct, particularly with language. While “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings” is perfectly fine, I prefer a hearty “Merry Christmas!”
