railroad service

Unions warn regulators cost cuts at BNSF are risky

WASHINGTON — Recent cutbacks totaling $105 million in BNSF’s 2024 capital maintenance plan have raised major safety and service concerns from the railroad’s unions.

In a statement filed with the Surface Transportation Board, Tony Cardwell, president of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division (BMWED) of the Teamsters Union, contends that BNSF’s decision to defer the maintenance and infrastructure projects is being done “in pursuit of a lower operating ratio” to satisfy the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/unions-warn-regulators-cost-cuts-at-bnsf-are-risky

Regulators nervous about rail freight decline

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators are summoning executives from the major freight railroads to a rare public hearing to explain how their companies plan to invest in and grow their business amid concern over recent negative volume trends.

In a notice published Friday, the Surface Transportation Board, which regulates railroad rates and service, said it also welcomes railroad customers, suppliers and rail labor to testify during the two-day hearing on Sept. 16 and 17 at STB headquarters in...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/regulators-nervous-about-rail-freight-decline

FreightWaves Classics/Leaders: Jervis Langdon led railroads during very turbulent times

A Penn Central boxcar sits on a siding. (Photo: Penn Central Railroad Historical Society)

Jervis Langdon, Jr. was born in 1905 in Elmira, New York. He was part of the fourth generation of a family of industrialists with ties to the railroad industry. His grandfather was Mark Twain’s friend and brother-in-law, and his uncle was president of the Lehigh Valley Railroad.

A Lehigh Valley Railroad boxcar. (Photo: James Doty/pintrest.com)A Lehigh Valley Railroad boxcar that illustrates the railroad’s route.
(Photo: James Doty/pintrest.com)
Jervis Langdon, Jr. as a young man. (Photo: geni.com)A young Jervis Langdon, Jr. (Photo: geni.com)

Langdon graduated from Cornell University in 1927 and began his...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-classicsleaders-jervis-langdon-led-railroads-during-turbulent-times

FreightWaves Classics: Railroads helped the U.S. expand and increased interstate commerce

A photograph of a Union Pacific train hauling intermodal containers across a field.

Early beginnings

Railroads were first developed in Great Britain. The first railroads were horse-drawn wagons running on wooden and then iron tracks, or rails…

Wooden railroads were also built in the American colonies and were built exclusively to transport freight. Termed “wagonways,” the earliest were begun in the 1720s. In addition to the British and colonists using wagonways in North America, the French used a wagonway to haul construction materials to their fortress at Louisburg, Nova...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/freightwaves-classics:-railroads-open-up-the-us-to-expansion-and-increase-interstate-commerce

Commentary: Will railroads grow organically or just recover?

The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of FreightWaves or its affiliates. 

That search for modal share growth is still fundamentally the real strategic challenge for the seven Class 1 North American railroads.

 Profitability remains excellent.

 Net cash flow? Down a bit during the second quarter of 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic economic shock hit. We will find out by how much less over the next few weeks as second quarter earnings are...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/commentary:-will-railroads-grow-organically-or-just-recover?

Commentary: Should we fear mega-railroad mergers?

The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of FreightWaves or its affiliates.  

About once a year, someone pens a North American rail merger column.  Why not one from a rail economist? This is not a “will happen” projection. It’s a strategic scenario question.

If a merger proposal is announced, here is a quick checklist of what you will want to examine as to details.

Suggested railroad M&A process checklist

Source: Lots of M&A post-review case...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/commentary-should-we-fear-mega-railroad-mergers

Commentary: Making a tough best guess market forecast

The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of FreightWaves or its affiliates.  

Forecasting is hard enough to do when you have accurate and timely data. It’s almost impossible when your data is not up-to-date. 

There is an old adage: Forecasting is like driving blindfolded while your partner looks rearward and telegraphs the next turn based on what you recently passed. That is tough to do on a curved road. It is mpossible on a road never...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/commentary:-making-a-tough-best-guess-market-forecast

Commentary: When will PSR-driven volume and service growth emerge?

The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of FreightWaves or its affiliates. 

This week’s strategic question is “What are the bold new benefits shippers can expect now that the freight railways are super-efficient?”

It is May, and freight carriers – including the railroads – have issued their first quarter 2020 report cards. Simultaneously, it is a time of considerable economic uncertainty.

Previously in such crises, certain companies and...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/commentary:-when-will-psr-driven-volume-and-service-growth-emerge?