What the Association of American Railroads calls “Class II and Class III railroads”—short lines and regionals, in the vernacular, or simply short lines, for short—are rebuilding America’s railroads with a vengeance. Their growing traffic volumes, even in this slow economy, give eloquent testimony to their success.
Your short line faces higher fuel prices, health costs escalating at a rate you can’t predict, limited ability to increase per-car divisions with your Class I connections, and has about worn out
$7 billion is available for Class II and Class III railroads.
Creating a culture that promotes individual safety and eliminates injuries is not an easy thing to do in the railroad industry.
National Railway Equipment Company’s new, six-axle 2GS-37C DE N-ViroMotive utilizes existing SD40-2 main frames, rebuilt trucks with D87B traction motors (70:17 gear ratio), and twin gensets equipped with 1,850-hp Cummins QSK50 ULEL certified diesel engines.
Reading & Northern: Ready and able
For Texas short line, “Customer is king”. In 12 years, an upstart short line powerhouse has increased freight traffic 20-fold.
In Texas, “think big” is a maxim, even for the smaller things such as short line railroads. Blacklands Railroad, Railway Age’s 2011 Short Line Railroad of the Year, certainly qualifies.
Short line operators proposing new moves or trying to renegotiate rate divisions on old moves can be at a competitive disadvantage with their Class I counterparts.
The RRIF program was conceived to support more direct, local rail service. But such service may be in retreat.
U.S. energy options in the coming decades will need to be plentiful and diverse. Count on the Reading & Northern Railroad to contribute to any solution.