Commentary

Congress, Unions Can Cure Rail Worker Shortage

Railroads, including Amtrak, are hiring, but applicants are scarce. The Washington Post reports Amtrak is short 1,500 workers, and may be forced to eliminate some service, trim some daily long-distance trains to three times weekly, and delay inauguration of new routes. Already, Amtrak is operating at 80% of its pre-pandemic schedule.

Commentary

Ebenezer Scrooge Was Nowhere In Sight

ASLRRA PERSPECTIVE, RAILWAY AGE, DECEMBER 2021 ISSUE: Christmas came early this year and the short line stocking was filled to the brim. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) is the biggest federal infrastructure spending bill since, well, since ever.

Commentary

Biden Administration Sides With Labor, Throwing California Transit Grants (and Riders) Under the Bus

In what has become a contest between two groups who strongly back Democrats, the Biden Administration has come out for labor by refusing to certify grants that would help California’s transit providers and, eventually, the state’s riders. The decision by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) could eventually affect transit projects in other transit-rich states that are facing financial woes due to the pandemic.

Commentary

World Energy: ‘Chaos’ Is Just About Right

FINANCIAL EDGE, DECEMBER 2021 ISSUE: Now that the drama around the CP-KCS merger has finally subsided, the rail market has to occupy itself with other more mundane issues, such as the forward trajectory of coal loadings. Representing 12% of railcar loadings (even in its diminished state), coal remains a critical industry issue.

Commentary

Coming to Metro-North’s Waterbury, CT Branch: PTC, Increased Frequency

MTA Metro-North Railroad’s branch line from Bridgeport to Waterbury, Conn., is being upgraded, and plans call for more trains to run on weekdays, starting next June.

Commentary

BNSF: Giving Back to the Communities We Serve

Your first thought of Thanksgiving may bring fond memories of family, food, football or turkey-induced naps, but at its core, the national holiday’s meaning is rooted in gratitude. While Turkey Day gives us a specific day devoted to being grateful for life’s gifts, the BNSF Railway Foundation works all year to show our appreciation through charitable giving to the thousands of communities along our network.

Commentary

A ‘Gow’ Infused STB Chairman

Years ago, as general counsel to the Illinois Racing Commission, Surface Transportation Board (STB) Chairperson Martin J. Oberman chased the “gow”—jockey-speak for opium used illegally to improve race horse performance. These days, the 76-year-old Oberman is himself infused with a legal form of gow: an unabated resolve to use his regulatory cudgel to splinter railroad market power.

Commentary

A Comprehensive History of Amtrak That Narrowly Misses Its Mark

BOOK REVIEW: Amtrak, America’s Railroad – Transportation’s Orphan and its Struggle for Survival. By Geoffrey Doughty, Jeffrey Darbee, and Eugene Harmon. Indiana University Press, 2021.

Commentary

Cowen Take on KCS: Mexican Volumes Up, Eyes on Labor

Cowen & Company hosted the Kansas City Southern (KCS) executive team in New York City last week for investor meetings. While challenges across
Mexico continue to hinder railroad operations, discussions with regulatory authorities appear to be moving in the right direction.

Commentary

Rivet Counting, Railroad-Style

In model railroading, there’s an annoying practice known as “rivet counting.” It involves people who have nothing better to do than finding fault with what someone else has created closely examining a painstakingly reproduced miniature (pick your scale—G, O, S, HO, N, Z—doesn’t matter) of a particular locomotive or car and finding some minuscule flaw, because the finished model doesn’t reproduce the actual equipment with 200% accuracy.

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