Opinion

Commentary

Robotic Brakemen (Updated)

For one reason or another, European railroads have never universally adopted semi-automatic knuckle couplers, a technology that revolutionized operations and improved safety on North America railroads generations ago. We take them for granted. But if you think about it, our system is still labor-intensive, as air brake hoses must be manually connected, and uncoupling is lever-activated, manually. Now it seems as though our European counterparts may leapfrog us, with a technology called DAC, for “Digital Automatic Coupling.”

Commentary

Alberta’s CBR Fiasco: NDP Clowns to the Left, UCP Jokers to the Right

In a desperately irrational move at the end of its term in the winter of 2019, Alberta’s former NDP (New Democratic Party) government tried to defy Economics 101 by dramatically increasing crude-by-rail capacity in order to raise prices. Nobody outside former Premier Rachel Notley’s statist brain trust thought that was a good idea. Especially not the railways: CN and Canadian Pacific both insisted that the government commit to paying the $C3.7 billion contract price, whether or not the trains were needed. In the event, “or not” turned out to be a very wise condition for the railways.

Commentary

“The Subways Are Facing a Five-Alarm Fire”

“New York City cannot recover without a robust transit system, and the country cannot rebound without New York,” New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman and CEO Patrick J. Foye and Transport Workers Union International President John Samuelsen wrote in a Sept. 1 op-ed published in the New York Times on what they say is “the MTA’s dire fiscal crisis.” The MTA released the op-ed to media outlets. We reproduce it here.

Commentary

SMART-TD’S Current Appeals Court Victory A Pyrrhic Win

A Pyrrhic win is a victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is equivalent to a defeat, because it takes a heavy toll that negates any true sense of achievement or damages long-term progress. The phrase originates from a quote from Pyrrhus of Epirus, whose triumph against the Romans in the Battle of Asculum in 279 BC destroyed much of his army and, while a tactical victory, forced the end of his campaign. If you examine it closely, the Aug. 28 U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit vacating an injunction that forced Sheet Metal, Air, Rail Workers-Transportation Division (SMART-TD) General Committees to bargain over crew consist size and redeployment is a Pyrrhic victory for the union.

Commentary

Third in a Series: Is It Money, Or Ideology?

Beginning Oct. 1, Amtrak is reducing service on its entire long-distance (L-D) train network from daily to three departures per week, except for the two trains that already run only tri-weekly-only schedules, and the Auto Train.

Commentary

Technology Holds the Key to Our Future Success

With around 55% of the world’s population already living in cities, and the United Nations World Urbanization Report predicting the number to rocket to in excess of 68% over the next 30 years, rail really is the only way to keep our cities moving. When you factor in the urgent need to respond to climate change and work toward meeting carbon neutral targets set by governments around the world, against a backdrop of tighter budgets, shorter deadlines, and fewer skilled people, one could be forgiven for thinking that as an industry we have an impossible task on our hands.

Commentary

Congratulations, NTSB!

I chuckle sometimes these days. Chuckling, in some circles is considered to be an indication of maturity, of wisdom. Those circles don’t include me, and they don’t mean me. Chuckling is that kind of half-wry, half-sad, half-surprised, half-jaded response—and that’s two many halves.

Commentary

Aiming the Congressional Hammer

Congress is one of the American public’s least favorite entities. Recent polling data puts the approval rating of Congress at 25%. Gallup’s long-standing “Confidence in U.S. Institutions” polling shows that Congress has maintained the lowest confidence rating of the 15 institutions listed since 2010.

Commentary
  • News

Pipeline Shutdown Highlights Downturn’s Depth

FINANCIAL EDGE, RAILWAY AGE AUGUST 2020 ISSUE: The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) has been grabbing headlines for a few weeks. A second pipeline, the Tesoro High Plains Pipeline, has been shut down recently, due to disputes involving the pipeline’s right-of-way.

Commentary
  • News

Jazz and Rail: A 100-Year Musical Landmark

Exactly a century ago, on Tuesday, Aug. 10, 1920, diversity in music took a giant leap forward. The occasion was the first recording session that featured a black popular singer, backed up by a jazz band from Harlem, performing the first record widely accepted as an example of the blues. That event changed the music business forever, and reinforced the universal kinship felt by everyone who plays jazz, or has a serious interest in it. It is not unlike the kinship shared among those of us who are serious about our trains, our transit, and the policies and procedures that keep them in service.

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