Commentary

End-to-End Intermodal Visibility, ‘Ship to Shore’

As freight transportation providers build up traffic volumes from pandemic-related lows, there remains a strong focus on supply chain visibility among ship operators, railroads and truckers. Additionally, shippers and beneficial cargo owners want better tools to see and track shipments from release to delivery, in the same way consumers track Amazon or UPS shipments. As consumers become more accustomed to better tracking and service standards, these capabilities are needed now at every stage of the transportation and handling process.

Commentary

1992, A Watershed Year, For Many

FROM THE EDITOR, NOVEMBER 2020 ISSUE: 1992 was a watershed year for me. That’s when, at the tender age of 32 years and roughly 8 months, I joined Railway Age as Assistant Editor under Luther S. Miller, who had joined the publication in 1958 and had been, since 1966, in the post I have held for the past 20 years. Luther was five years older (65) than I am now. He was my colleague, mentor and friend until he died at 90 a few years ago. Seems hard to believe (except for the hair). Where has the time gone? (Don’t we all say that at some point in our lives, like when our children are grown? My sons are 21.)

Commentary

Staggers, Loadings and the Election

THE FINANCIAL EDGE, RAILWAY AGE, NOVEMBER 2020 ISSUE: The 2020 U.S. Presidential election may be the most unique in modern times. Paper ballots came into use in the early 19th century; the modern lever-pull voting machine in the late 19th century; and push cards (until the infamous “hanging chad”) were used until 2000. Cue the pandemic: In the 2020 election, mail-in ballots were expected to account for at least 80 million votes—more than half the total number of votes expected.

Commentary

Election ‘Blues’ Could Benefit Rail Suppliers

Rail transit rail equipment is among the transportation equipment subsectors most likely to benefit from a potential “Blue Wave” in January following a Joe Biden/Kamala Harris win and the Democrats flipping enough seats in the U.S. Senate in the November Presidential election to take control of that chamber.* As well, a power shift in Washington could drive a public transit service recovery in the U.S.

Commentary

Are We Genuflecting Too Much to Wall Street?

The six Class I railroads that practice the marketing-term model called Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR)—all of the “Big 7” except BNSF—are now reporting third-quarter financial results in the remaining days of October. There is, however, an opportunity for a more holistic quarterly briefing. There is an argument for a new checklist of service metrics that would be of interest mostly to customers and, perhaps, public policy groups. However, instead of a balanced scorecard from the carriers, we are mostly seeing accounting reports that cater exclusively to analysts.

Commentary

Rail Transit In Slow Recovery

It has now been more than six months since the COVID-19 virus hit the United States and Canada, and also hit transit hard in both nations. The riders disappeared. On some systems, ridership dropped as low as 5% of prior levels. Service plummeted in many places, too. Here at Railway Age and its sibling publications, we kept track of the downward progress of everything on rails: freight and passenger/transit. This writer was on the team that documented rail transit’s decline. Ridership is beginning its slow upward climb; how far up it will eventually go is anybody’s guess. So is service; in some places more than others. This article will present a comprehensive look at how rail transit is returning.

Commentary

A Nod to King Lear

FROM THE EDITOR, OCTOBER 2020 ISSUE: I am not a fan of William Shakespeare. Frankly, I find him difficult to read, though methinketh he doth said some pretty cool stuff: “This life, which had been the tomb of his virtue and of his honour, is but a walking shadow; a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more: It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” Or, “There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures.”

Commentary

Staggers Act Lessons Remain Relevant in 2020

ASLRRA PERSPECTIVE, RAILWAY AGE OCTOBER 2020 ISSUE: This month marks the 40th anniversary of the passage of the 1980 Staggers Rail Act. It is an anniversary well worth emphasizing to the growing number of people who were not then in the industry and have little connection to that history. This landmark legislation literally saved the nation’s railroads from near total collapse. By the mid-1970s, many Class I railroads were in or near bankruptcy. Deferred maintenance was growing exponentially, and the “standing derailment” phenomenon had come to symbolize the sad state of the industry.

Commentary

Seventh in a Series: Beyond Daily Operation – Proposals for Reform

Thus far in this series, we have focused on the narrow issue of Amtrak’s service reduction from daily to three-times-a-week on its entire long-distance train network. We discussed costs, ideology, Amtrak’s impossible demands for restoring daily service, and what Congress can do to prevent the harm that Amtrak management is inflicting on the riding public and their communities.

Commentary

Sixth in a Series: What Congress Can Do—If It’s Willing

On May 24, Amtrak President William J. Flynn wrote to Vice President Michael Pence (in his capacity as President of the Senate) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, demanding a supplemental appropriation of $1.475 billion, and threatening to cut service on every long-distance (L-D) train (except the Auto Train, which is only available for travelers with a motor vehicle) from daily operation to only three departures per week. Most of the reductions are in place as of this Oct. 5 posting, although Amtrak cut service between New York and Florida in half on July 6.

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