Opinion

Commentary

New York vs. New Jersey: Law, Equity and Politics

For many years, Albert L. Papp, a longtime transit advocate in New Jersey, has referred to the river that separates New York and New Jersey geographically as the “Hudson Ocean.” Today, a conflict between the transit providers in the two states (with Connecticut also playing a minor role) provides the latest example of a feud that bestows credibility upon the moniker that Papp conferred upon the river.

Commentary

Let Us Hope That Good Sense Prevails

ASLRRA PERSPECTIVE, RAILWAY AGE, OCTOBER 2021 ISSUE: In 2017, the previous Administration dubbed the week of June 5 as “Infrastructure Week” as part of an effort to promote its $1 trillion infrastructure plan. Seven times in the following three and a half years, that Administration declared that infrastructure would be the theme of the week, only to see those plans thwarted in one fashion or another each time.

Commentary

BOOK REVIEW: The Steam Locomotive Energy Story

THE STEAM LOCOMOTIVE ENERGY STORY: How These Locomotives Used Energy and What Was Done to Make Them More Efficient. By Walter Simpson. The Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society, Inc. Hardcover, 144 pages, $44.95. Available from

Commentary

More delay for STB nominee

Karen J. Hedlund’s quest to be confirmed to the five-member Surface Transportation Board (STB) and give Chairman Martin J. Oberman a Democratic majority hit another speed bump Oct. 6 when Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) objected to Hedlund’s Senate floor confirmation.

Commentary

Who Watches Out for the Watchman?

We, the railroads, have established certain principles of safe train operations that we wish were absolute, positive, inviolable. We apply one such principle in the enforcement of train separation: the principle that

Commentary

Muddling the Message With Staggers

Surely you remember the Ash-Pan Act, named after Sen. Ash and Rep. Pan. In fact, it was a 1908 railroad safety law—its name identifying a steam locomotive appliance.

Commentary

BNSF Testing Lab: Choosing the Right (and Safe) Materials

We all remember the beginning of COVID shutdowns and empty store shelves last year. Cleaning and disinfecting products were some of the hardest to find. Like most Americans, the team at BNSF had to change course quickly to secure an adequate supply of those elusive items.

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