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In the dynamic and challenging world of rail transportation, safe operations are key to attracting and protecting employees, as well as earning the right to serve communities and customers.  Anacostia Rail Holdings Company (ARH) has emerged as a center of excellence in safety, setting new standards and achieving durable success in some of the most complex markets in North America.…

Every day, we work with very large, heavy equipment to move products and materials across 23 states with gateways connecting the continent. One mistake can prevent an employee from returning home or seriously impact the communities where we operate. That is why safety is the first and most important part of our Safety, Service and Operational Excellence strategy for growth.…

Safety is at the core of everything we do at CN. Leaning back into scheduled railroading has allowed us to optimize our resources while never compromising on safety. Streamlining our operations has not only improved our performance but has allowed for a more consistent and disciplined approach to our operations, resulting in noticeably improved safety through reduced accidents and incidents…

All of us at CSX share one value above all others—and that is doing everything we can to protect the safety of our employees and the communities where we operate. It is part of the fabric of our ONE CSX culture of teamwork and communication, and it is what drives our collective efforts to help make CSX the safest railroad…

Safety is foundational to everything we do at CPKC. We are working to bring a new standard of safety to the North American rail landscape. Canadian Pacific’s (CP) proven culture of safety combined with Kansas City Southern’s (KCS) likeminded approach make it possible for CPKC to operate at the apex of rail safety. That is our commitment and our obligation.…

All of us at BNSF will remember 2023 for our work together that delivered industry-leading record safety results. We had the fewest number of injuries and lowest injury frequency and severity rates in our company’s 175-year history. Our employee injury rate went down by more than 20%, and our injury severity rate decreased by nearly 35% as well, year-over-year. Our…

At Norfolk Southern, ensuring safe operations is a shared responsibility across our organization. There is not one single solution when it comes to safety. We rely on our combined efforts and essential partnerships to deliver on our commitment.  With a comprehensive approach, we took a close look at our operations over the last year. We made significant adjustments to our…

WATCHING WASHINGTON, RAILWAY AGE APRIL 2024 ISSUE: With the voluntary departure of Surface Transportation Board (STB) Chairperson Martin J. Oberman expected by May, President Biden is mulling five potential Democratic nominees for the opening. The President separately will name a new chairperson. Given the decision-making influence of the Senate’s second ranking Democrat—Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois—it’s understandable that four…

At this writing, there are court cases about congestion pricing pending in federal courts on both sides of the Hudson River, or as longtime New Jersey advocate Albert L. Papp calls it: the “Hudson Ocean.” If Papp’s characterization were ever accurate, it is now. Federal highway officials have issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) and an Environmental Assessment…

As we wait for Judge Leo Gordon to decide the case filed by the State of New Jersey in federal court in that state, and as we also wait for a group of cases filed in the Southern District of New York to proceed, New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has been moving forward in its own way: preparing for…

In parts 4, 5 and 6 of this series, we examined a “border dispute” between New Jersey and New York. Gov. Phil Murphy of the Garden State initiated an action in federal court for the District of New Jersey against federal highway officials, seeking to invalidate the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) and the Environmental Assessment (EA) that had…

RAILWAY AGE APRIL 2024 ISSUE: Suppliers provide a market outlook on these foundational supports.

RAILWAY AGE, APRIL 2024 ISSUE: Railinc’s analysis of the North American revenue-earning fleet reveals that the total fleet increased in 2023 with almost all car types accounting for the gain. One of the smallest car types—hoppers—continued declining in 2023. The average age of cars in the revenue-earning fleet was up, and new cars continued to trend on the larger side,…

TTC OPERATED BY ENSCO, RAILWAY AGE APRIL 2024 ISSUE: The Facility for Underground Rail Security and Safety Testing (FURSST) at the Transportation Technology Center (TTC), also known as the “Underground Tunnel,” is a groundbreaking facility designed to address critical security and safety concerns within the rail and transportation industry. Funded by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for the Vehicle Blast…

RAILWAY AGE APRIL 2024 ISSUE: “Long COVID” for America’s regional/commuter railroads is restricting post-pandemic progress speed.

FINANCIAL EDGE, RAILWAY AGE APRIL 2024 ISSUE: At the Rail Equipment Finance Conference (REF) in March 2024, a tight rental market combined with lower new car build levels and listlessness in merchandise, grain and coal loadings to create a mixed temperament. Here’s a rundown of the key presentation takeaways.    Day 1 keynote Jeffrey Korzenik (Chief Economist from Fifth Third…

A lot happened last year in the court case concerning the proposal for congestion pricing, charging a toll for vehicles entering the Central Business District of Manhattan, defined as the area south of 60th Street, but excluding the highways along the perimeter of that part of the island. The action to invalidate and set aside the Environmental Assessment (EA) and…

New Jersey is slugging it out with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and New York State and City transportation officials over a proposal to charge tolls for vehicles that enter Manhattan’s Central Business District, the Central Business District Tolling Program (CBDTP), a plan the New York MTA Board approved March 27. On March 28, MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber…

Border disputes between states of the United States are often fought over issues like one state complaining that another state, located upstream from it, is taking too much water from the river that runs through them, and not leaving enough for the states further downstream. We are now looking at a “border dispute” of a different sort. New Jersey is…

The theory behind congestion pricing is that city streets are clogged with vehicles, and something should be done about it. Transit systems everywhere are in trouble, too. They need money to keep operating, an acute problem, about which we plan to report in a major series soon. At the same time, there is a chronic need for capital funds to…