Commentary

Cheap At Twice the Price

“Better to be lucky than good” is usually attributed to legendary New York Yankees pitcher Lefty Gomez. I don’t believe it, the aphorism, most of the time. What I do believe is

Commentary

The RLA Did Its Job. Time Now for Next Steps

When President Biden met with the railroad and union leaders in the Oval Office after a deal was struck, he characterized the tentative agreement reached by the parties as “an important win

Commentary

Even Santa Isn’t Immune from the Contagion

FINANCIAL EDGE, RAILWAY AGE SEPTEMBER 2022 ISSUE: An industry patiently waited to find out who will blink first in the complicated chess match between labor, railroad and government. The 30-day period for

Commentary

Giuseppe De Cicco, Capo Stazione

FROM THE EDITOR, RAILWAY AGE SEPTEMBER 2022 ISSUE: By now, many of you may have realized that I’m of Italian origin. My last name, thanks to my paternal grandfather William (1891-1972), an

Commentary

Reason Together or Face the Sword

WATCHING WASHINGTON, RAILWAY AGE SEPTEMBER 2022 ISSUE: As Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway (Santa Fe, now part of BNSF) intermodal train No. 198 sprinted from Chicago toward Kansas City one November day in 1989, a special guest was aboard an attached business car.

Commentary

How MBTA Coped During Partial Shutdowns

For much of the past month, rail riders in Boston have been doing without one of their major lines and part of another. The 30-day shutdown, which began on August 19, is intended to allow crews to perform major work on the lines, in light of a report from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) that called for major safety improvements on the system.

Commentary

Today’s Service and Labor Problems: Unlearning Intuitive Human Behavior

WARNING: Reader Discretion Advised. The following story is not fictional and depicts actual people, events and outcomes based on 75 combined years of rail experience:

Commentary

Labor Update: Avoid Misinformation Cesspool (UPDATED)

Increasingly likely on Sept. 16, or shortly thereafter, is a rail labor strike or management lockout creating a nationwide rail shutdown that almost certainly will elicit from Congress back-to-work legislation and third-party determination of wage, benefits and work rules amendments to end this almost 33-month-old round of collective bargaining.

Commentary

Amtrak’s Gulf Coast Service Will Impose Sizable Costs on Freight Railroads

Armed with $66 billion in federal funds from 2021’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Amtrak has begun making plans to increase service across the country. Unfortunately, many of the markets it wants

Commentary

Market Power, Cost Structure, Externalities and Moral Hazard

The railroad industry is in crisis. Many people outside and inside the industry are quick to blame its current state on Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR) and Wall Street. However, several instances of

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