Commentary

Boxcars: Point/Counterpoint

Our Market-Based Approach is Working, by Bill Sheehan, Vice President, Fleet, TTX Company I read with interest David Nahass’ October 2024 Railroad Financial Desk Book article regarding boxcars. It reports that the

Commentary

Will Banning Strikes Undercut Collective Bargaining?

WATCHING WASHINGTON, RAILWAY AGE NOVEMBER 2024 ISSUE: In response to an early October economy-jolting dock workers’ strike—now suspended until mid-January—Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.) introduced a “Safeguarding Our Supply Chain Act” (H.R. 9911)

Commentary

Anecdotes Are Not Data

Let’s resume where I left off, moving right along, next up: The NPRM intends to amend section 236.1029, PTC System Use and Failures. The provisions authorizing “temporary exceptions” to the prohibition on

Commentary

NS: Textbook Rebound from Hurricane Helene

The Eastern railroads have had an eventful hurricane season, including landfalls from hurricanes Debby on Aug. 5 (Cat 1), Helene on Sept.26 (Cat 4), and Milton on Oct. 9 (Cat 3). Helene,

Commentary

Five Key Takeaways From the 2024 Commuter Rail Summit

Commuter railroads are moving beyond the traditional 9-5 commuter. The way people live, work, and play has changed and there appears to be no going back. Agencies are rethinking schedules, fares, partnerships, and customer amenities to reach and retain new riders.

Commentary

Just What is PTC Initialization?

“We”—old timers, old heads, just plain old—sometimes refer to ourselves as “fossils,” but we’re not really. Fossils, as far as “we” know, can’t think, change positions, make jokes, whine, or delude themselves

Commentary

New York Celebrates 120 Years of the Subway

Nobody seems to dispute that the subway system is an integral part of New York City, and that New York “wouldn’t be New York” without it. Yet there was a time before

Commentary

Unconventional Labor Talks Begin

As baseball is a straightforward game—hit the ball, catch the ball, throw the ball—negotiating wage, benefits and work rules agreements between railroads and their dozen craft-differentiated labor unions is equally uncomplicated. The

Commentary

‘Second Battle of Mobile’ Ends at STB

The long-fought conflict between Amtrak on one side and CSX, Norfolk Southern and the Port of Mobile on the other has ended. The final move on Amtrak’s part was to move to

Commentary

Union Pacific Enhances Cargo Security on Numerous Fronts

Amid ever-changing challenges to supply chain security, Union Pacific has undertaken aggressive steps to safeguard its customers’ cargo, including strengthening its infrastructure and deploying technology to surveil its tracks and rail yards.

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