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TTC OPERATED BY ENSCO, RAILWAY AGE JUNE 2024 ISSUE: Rail transportation has recently achieved a groundbreaking milestone with Stadler’s hydrogen-powered FLIRT H2 train. On March 22, 2024, the Zero-Emission Multiple Unit (ZEMU) secured a prestigious Guinness World Record by completing the longest distance ever traveled by a hydrogen fuel cell (HFC)-powered electric multiple unit train without refueling. This event took…

WATCHING WASHINGTON, RAILWAY AGE JUNE 2024 ISSUE: One would think California’s housing cost crisis, soaring energy prices, hundreds of companies relocating and a population exodus would induce greater regard for benefits and costs when formulating public policy. Not so the California Air Resources Board (CARB) that seeks to impose on railroads a regulatory burden whose CARB-estimated costs could exceed $13…

Last summer I finished riding the entire VIA Rail system, including the railroad’s remote “Adventure” routes. It was not easy, and I reported those trips in a series collectively titled Adventures on VIA Rail. This is another trip report about VIA Rail, but it reflects a travel experience totally different from the adventures I had last summer. It was a…

When Amtrak began operations in 1971, two-thirds of the long-distance and corridor-length trains that had previously run in the United States were discontinued. Amtrak’s original long-distance network consisted of only 14 routes. A few were added and taken away again during the 1970s, and there have been other changes since then, but the network today also numbers 14 routes, and…

We are still waiting for Judge Leo M. Gordon to decide the case filed by the State of New Jersey and other plaintiffs who oppose the Congestion Pricing proposal, which would impose tolls on motor vehicles that enter Manhattan at 60th Street and further south. He is expected to issue a ruling in June. Other cases in federal courts on…

May 8, 2024: With its Annual Meeting of Shareholders just hours away, Norfolk Southern in the past few days has ramped up its efforts to convince shareholders to reject the takeover attempt by Ancora Holdings and stay the course with President and CEO Alan Shaw and the team led by Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer John Orr, who…

In his commentary posted on May 1 and published in the May issue, Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono said what few others have been willing to say regarding the subject of how many bodies to assign to the locomotive cab. And he summed it up brilliantly with just two words: “It Depends.” Most of the controversy over crew size, especially when…

FINANCIAL EDGE, RAILWAY AGE MAY 2024 ISSUE: Roughly one year ago, in May 2023, a “60 Minutes” report was issued about cost overruns in the defense contracting business. The story  details billions of dollars in price gouging by contractors (Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Boeing) on Patriot missiles, Stinger missiles and the legendary mother of all cost overruns—the F35 fighter jet.…

FROM THE EDITOR, RAILWAY AGE MAY 2024 ISSUE: Multiple-choice question: How many crew members should occupy a locomotive cab? A) Three. B) Two. C) One. D) Zero. E) None of the Above. The correct answer is E, None of the Above. More specifically, the best correct answer, which does not appear on the test, is “It Depends.”    Doubtless, Federal…

WATCHING WASHINGTON, RAILWAY AGE MAY 2024 ISSUE: Among choices faced by political appointees are whether to obey statutes defining their authority or perform as political partisans. The optics of an April announcement by the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) of a final rule mandating two crew members in the locomotive cab—with limited exceptions—was an unashamed demonstration…

The MTA on April 26 announced that Central Business District Tolling, which the agency calls “the country’s first congestion pricing program,” will begin in Manhattan ‘s designated Congestion Relief Zone early on Sunday, June 30, at 12:00:01 a.m. (details below). Is the MTA jumping the gun, or is at the very least over-confident? When we most recently reported to you…

Norfolk Southern’s Operations Task Force, led by Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer John Orr, reports that has made several improvements at the Conway Yard locomotive shop in Pennsylvania, northwest of Pittsburgh and among the largest classification yards in North America. At the same time, President and CEO Alan Shaw updated the Surface Transportation Board and U.S. Department of…

The Surface Transportation Board on April 17 issued findings and closed its proceeding in Oversight Hearing Pertaining to Union Pacific Railroad Company’s Embargoes, Docket No. EP 772. STB noted that “UP’s effort to [dramatically] reduce its use of congestion embargoes is a positive and welcome step,” but added the agency “will continue to monitor the railroad’s use of embargoes.” The decision…

The railroad industry is safe and getting safer every day. Short line freight railroads and their employees are woven into the fabric of their communities, so safety is not only the right thing to do for the business, but also it is incredibly personal.  The recently published 2023 reports from the Federal Railroad Administration shows that derailment rates per million…

At R. J. Corman, we’ve always believed that our people are our most valuable asset. Our founder, Rick Corman, started this company as an equipment operator, and that hands-on experience instilled a fundamental truth: safety isn’t just about compliance – it’s about protecting the heart of our business, our team members. Fifty years ago, Rick Corman found that using a…

Conversion of freight shipments from truck to rail, combined with recent developments in innovation, can benefit more than just shippers’ bottom line—and the broader public wins, too.  The industry has done an impressive job highlighting rail transportation’s sustainability advantages. By now, we all should be able to cite “one train can carry one ton of freight nearly 500 miles on…

Safety is preeminent among Greenbrier’s core values and extends to every part of our organization. As Greenbrier’s CEO, employee safety is my highest priority. While this seems foundational, it is essential to keep safety at the top of our organization’s mind, no matter how strong our safety programs become. We show this commitment by implementing policies and standards to foster…

It may not surprise anyone who knows us, but we try to keep things simple here at Watco. When we set objectives, we work hard to make sure we stay focused on our customers and our team members. If it is good for them, it is good for Watco. But it is only a successful day at Watco if every…

Former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood once argued that “building a safety culture requires constant attention, a commitment to continuous improvement, and strong leadership from the top. It means not just complying with the rules, but always striving to do better.” Such is the case in the railroad industry I proudly represent at the AAR. Safety permeates everything our members do…

At G&W, our most significant safety achievement is the safety culture we’ve built over the past two decades. For us, that culture isn’t about numbers—though a rigorous rules compliance program and diligent reporting of personal injuries, human factor incidents and derailments are, undoubtedly, a key component. G&W’s safety culture is truly about people and building a family atmosphere.  At the…