Railway Age April 2024

AILWAY G E

POST-PANDEMIC PERIL?

Budgets Stretched Thin as Ridership Recovers. What’s Next?

CEO PERSPECTIVES

Notable Safety

Accomplishments

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One Massive Ship is All it Took

Last month’s horrific, tragic marine accident that sent Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge tumbling into the the dark, dank waters of the Patapsco River serves as a shocking reminder of our infrastructure’s vulnerability. The 47-year-old steel truss structure collapsed like an Erector Set kicked over by a rambunctious toddler when the 95,000-gross-ton, 10,000-TEU, 948-foot containership Dali slammed into a bridge pier at just the right angle following a vessel-wide power failure.

A mayday call from the Dali’s wheelhouse cleared the bridge of vehicular traffic moments before the collision, but alas, eight souls—construction workers filling in potholes—went into the water. Six did not survive. That the bridge strike took place at 1:30 AM is fortunate indeed. Imagine if it had taken place during rush hour.

At this writing, the Port of Baltimore— the 20th biggest in the nation overall in 2023 in total tons (according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics), an important link in the global supply chain, and site of several major CSX and Norfolk Southern facilities—is closed to marine traffic. The 1.6-mile Key Bridge, on the I-695 Baltimore Beltway, will of course be rebuilt, but it will be some time before the wreckage is cleared and the shipping channel is reopened. Both railroads got busy immediately ramping up alternatives and adjusting operations. If there was ever a time to demonstrate our industry’s storied resilience, this is it.

Transportation analysts are fairly

confident that the accident will not have long-lasting effects on freight rail. “While Baltimore is the second largest export coal port, it’s the 15th largest container port in North America and the seventh largest on the East Coast—just 6% of L.A./Long Beach, for example,” noted Scott Group of Wolfe Research. “So, the impact on intermodal volumes should be relatively modest, and traffic can be diverted to other ports.

“Meanwhile, Baltimore is the largest port handling auto imports in the U.S., but Norfolk Southern noted to us that auto volumes can move to other facilities such as the nearby Sparrows Point Terminal, which is on the open-water side of the bridge. So, outside of coal, we don’t expect a material impact on volumes for CSX or NS. We also don’t expect a material impact on overall freight rates, truck or ocean.”

The accident should have a ripple effect on Capitol Hill insofar as the National Transportation Safety Board and Surface Transportation Board are concerned, especially in this Presidential election year. “With the East Palestine derailment, Baltimore bridge collapse and Boeing mishaps of Senate concern, there is reason to confirm NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy quickly to keep her fully focused on safety investigations, which would be a win also for Patrick Fuchs and STB stakeholders supporting his second five-year term,” Capitol Hill Contributing Editor Frank N. Wilner observes. See Watching Washington, p. 8, for more insight.

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Industry Indicators

’U.S. RAIL TRAFFIC RECOVERED IN FEBRUARY AFTER SEVERE WEATHER CONSTRAINED VOLUMES’

Railroad employment, Class I linehaul carriers, FEBRUARY 2024

(% change from FEBRUARY 2023)

%

FROM FEBRUARY 2023: +2.63%

“Total originated carloads on U.S. railroads averaged 221,387 per week in February, up from 205,034 in January,” the Association of American Railroads reported last month. “Total carloads were down 1.3% from February 2023. That’s a big improvement from January’s 7.2% decline. In February 2024, 13 of 20 carload categories saw gains. Motor vehicles and parts led the way, with their U.S. carloads up 12.3% over February 2023. Chemicals did well: Carloads averaged 33,429 per week, up 5.1% over 2023 and the second highest weekly average for any month in our records that begin in 1988. U.S. carloads of grain rose 6.3%, reversing January’s 12.8% decline. Carloads of grain mill products were the most since March 2010. On the negative side, carloads of coal, nonmetallic minerals, and crushed stone and gravel all were down year-over-year by double digits for the second month in a row. The Energy Information Administration recently reported that coal accounted for 16% of U.S. electricity generation in 2023. It has been many decades since coal’s share was that low. Excluding coal, U.S. carloads were up 3.3% in February, their third-best year-over-year gain in the past two years. Meanwhile, U.S. intermodal originations in February 2024 were up 10.9% over 2023. That’s their biggest percentage gain in 32 months and the sixth straight gain of any size. Intermodal averaged 260,078 units per week in February 2024, the second most in 16 months.” Source:

Transportation (train and engine)

52,867 (+3.95%)

Executives, Officials and

Professional

(+3.56%)

Maintenance-of-Way and Structures

(+1.13%)

Maintenance of Equipment and Stores 18,231 (+2.13%)

Transportation (other than train & engine)

4,928 (+1.67%)

Source: Surface Transportation Board

TRAFFIC ORIGINATED

Vehicles & Parts

101,33293,0948.8%

TOTAL North American CARLOADS, FEB. 2024 VS. FEB. 2023

1,322,4301,335,005

Short Line And Regional Traffic Index

TOTAL U.S. Carloads and intermodal units, 2015-2024 (in millions, year-to-date through FEBRUARY 2024, SIX-WEEK MOVING AVERAGE)

Industry Outlook

Biden FY25 Budget Request Boosts Rail Funding

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN ON MARCH 11 RELEASED HIS FISCAL YEAR (FY) 2025 BUDGET REQUEST, OUTLINING HIS ADMINISTRATION’S PRIORITIES FOR THE NEXT YEAR. It proposes increased funding for public transit and passenger rail.

President Biden is seeking $16.8 billion for public transportation, a $198 million increase from the FY 2024 enacted level, according to a March 12 APTA report. When combined with the advance appropriations included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the President requests $21.1 billion for public transit in FY 2025.

“The Budget request includes $2.4 billion for the Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program. When combined with IIJA funding, the Budget provides $4 billion for CIG projects in FY 2025. According to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), it “provides more flexibility with these available CIG funds by eliminating the specific IIJA allocations for New Start, Core Capacity, Small Starts, and Expedited Project Delivery Pilot Program projects in FY 2025.” The Budget proposes funding for 14 New Start projects and four Small Start projects in 11 States.

Communities are currently requesting more than $45.1 billion of CIG funds in FY 2024 and subsequent years to cover construction of 66 projects in 24 states.

The President’s Budget proposes new policy provisions for several public transit grant programs. Among them:

“To address the projected operating

budget shortfall caused by fare revenues remaining lower than pre-pandemic levels and COVID-19 relief funds expiring, the Budget proposes allowing § 5307 Urbanized Area Formula funds to be used for operating expenses,” according to APTA. “To use this authority, grant recipients must certify to the Secretary of Transportation that the recipient will ensure a maintenance of effort comparable to the most recent fiscal year for projects funded by Urbanized Area Formula grants. In addition, the Budget proposes to allow highway funds (including unobligated balances) transferred to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) in FY 2025 to be used for operating assistance.”

President Biden is requesting $3.2 billion for passenger and freight rail programs, a $180 million increase from the FY 2024 enacted level. When combined with the IIJA’s advance appropriations, the President is seeking $16.4 billion for passenger and freight rail in FY 2025.

The Budget request includes $2.5 billion for Amtrak, the same amount as the FY 2024 enacted level. When combined with the IIJA’s advance appropriations, the President is seeking $6.9 billion for Amtrak, including $4.5 billion for National Network grants and $2.4 billion for Northeast Corridor grants. The Budget also provides $100 million for Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail grants; $250 million for Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement (CRISI) grants; and no new funding for Railroad Crossing Elimination grants. These amounts are in addition to the

$8.8 billion provided for these competitive rail grant programs pursuant to IIJA advance appropriations.

The President’s Budget also proposes new policy provisions for several passenger rail grant programs:

For Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail grants, the Budget proposes a Federal share up to 90% for projects benefiting an “underserved community.” The Budget also sets aside not less than $15 million for a grant to Washington Union Station with a Federal share of 100%, according to the association.

For CRISI grants, the Budget proposes to allocate $20 million for grants to States for State rail planning activities; allow any State, county, municipal, local and regional law enforcement agency to be an eligible recipient for trespassing prevention projects; for projects benefiting an underserved community, eliminate the statutory preference for projects where the Federal share of the total project costs does not exceed 50%, and provide a Federal share up to 90%; and retain up to $5 million to establish a National Rail Institute.

The President’s Budget proposes to eliminate the preference for projects that maximize benefits (pursuant to a cost-benefit analysis) for certain CRISI-eligible projects including: regional rail and corridor service development plans; safety program or institute designed to improve rail safety; research for rail-related capital, operations, or safety improvements; workforce development and training activities; and research, development, and testing to advance and facilitate innovative rail projects.

For the Railroad Crossing Elimination grant program, the President’s Budget proposes to eliminate the project selection criteria for improving the mobility of people and goods; for projects benefiting underserved communities, provide a Federal share of up to 90%; eliminate the state limitation (i.e., no more than 20% of grant funds available may be selected in any single state) in grant funds award distribution; and increase the set aside for grants for Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Safety Information and Education programs from 0.25% to 2.25% and include nonprofit organizations as eligible recipients.

William C. Vantuono

Market

Thales Canada Lands STM CBTC Contract

Société de Transport de Montréal (STM) has awarded Thales Canada a contract for a CBTC (communications-based train control) system for the Montreal Métro Blue Line. Thales’ SelTrac™ G8 technology—the first CBTC system to be deployed on the STM network— will be installed on the entire existing, 12-station Snowdon to Saint-Michel Blue Line and the new 6-km (3.72-mile), five-station Saint-Michel to Anjou eastward extension. The contract includes design, manufacturing, installation and testing, as well as five years of maintenance. Thales describes SelTrac™ G8 as “Green CBTC,” a “customer-selectable and configurable option. SelTrac™ is inherently energy-efficient due to the high level of automation with CBTC. We developed Green CBTC to further optimize energy usage for metro operators, providing energy savings of 14-18%. Green CBTC is a package of tools and services designed to accelerate recovery from disruption, maximize regenerative braking, minimize peak power consumption and visualize energy use during timetable construction. It is an optimized solution, lowering installation and life cycle costs, flexible architecture and evolutionary hardware platforms. SelTrac™ G8 is agnostic to communication networks. Enhanced services improve maintainability and increase availability.”

WORLDWIDE

GRUPO RAS, a Uruguay-based multinational integrated logistics company with more than 30 years of experience, announced March 13 an order for three C23EMP locomotives from WABTEC, “marking a crucial step for Grupo RAS as it enters the Uruguayan railway market.” The C23EMP locomotives are designed for reliable light-axle-load operations on narrow-gauge tracks. The locomotives are equipped with fuel-efficient, electronically-fuel-injected 12-cylinder FDL engines. Wabtec will manufacture the locomotives at its plant in Contagem, Brazil. The locomotives are expected to be delivered by late 2025, marking the commencement of Grupo RAS’s rail operations in Uruguay. The investment, Wabtec says, “aligns perfectly with Grupo RAS’s vision to become a key operator within Uruguay’s revitalized national railway network.”

NORTH AMERICA

THE BRANDT GROUP OF COMPANIES last month announced a major expansion to its material handling equipment dealer in a move that the company says is expected to generate $500 million in new revenue and up to 300 jobs over the next three years. The company’s acquisition of Cervus Equipment in 2021 included material handling operations from Alberta through Manitoba. Now, Brandt has announced its intentions to “deepen and expand its commitment to the material handling industry in Canada.” The company will expand nationwide, “creating a new and separate division that will deliver tailored solutions and after-sales support to customers from coast to coast.”

SACRAMENTO REGIONAL TRANSIT

DISTRICT (SACRT) is exercising an option with SIEMENS MOBILITY for nine additional S700 low-floor LRVs for its 43-mile, 53-station system, bringing the total number on order to 45. SacRT initially awarded Siemens a 20-car contract in 2020, which included an option for up to 76 more, to replace older cars that had reached the end of their useful life. Siemens had previously provided 36 U2A vehicles in the late

1980s. In 2021, SacRT ordered eight more Siemens S700s; and last fall, it ordered an additional eight. The new S700s have atplatform boarding at every door and allow riders with mobility devices to board using a deployable ramp at the two center doors instead of using a mini-high ramp. Also, each LRV features four dedicated wheelchair locations. The new low-floor cars are part of SacRT’s Light Rail Modernization Project, which includes station modifications to accommodate them and the addition of a passing track to provide 15-minute service to Folsom-area stations. Siemens has already delivered the initial 20 S700s to SacRT’s light rail facility in north Sacramento, where they are undergoing testing. They are expected to begin entering service on the Gold and Green lines this summer. The Blue Line will continue to operate the current high-floor LRVs, which still require riders with mobility devices and those unable to climb stairs to use the mini-high ramps at the ends of the station platforms. SacRT said it will begin construction on Blue Line station platforms to meet the height requirements of the new LRVs in late 2024; construction is slated for completion by 2027.

Watching Washington

Not So Fast on Oberman’s STB Successor

With t he voluntary departure of Surface Transportation Board (STB) Chairperson Martin J. Oberman expected by May, President Biden is mulling ve potential Democratic nominees for the opening. e President separately will name a new chairperson.

Given the decision-making in uence of the Senate’s second ranking Democrat— Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois—it’s understandable that four contenders have Chicago area ties, re ecting also the city’s reputation, as poet Carl Sandburg said, as “player with railroads and the nation’s freight handler.” Chicago’s Oberman is a product of Durbin’s in uence as is STB Chicago-rooted Democrat Karen Hedlund.

Politics is a contact sport, however, and Senate Republicans are unlikely to allow con rmation of a Democratic successor before the November election. Oberman’s departure gives the STB a 2-2 party split, so con rming a third Democrat to the ve-person board would hand Democrats a majority in a possible Trump Administration.

Biden still is likely to make a nomination, because also in politics, one never knows.

On Biden’s list are Chicago Metra board member Melinda Bush; Chicago Transit Authority President Dorval Carter Jr.; former House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee Chairperson Peter DeFazio of Oregon; former congresswoman Marie Newman of a nearby-Chicago county; and Chicago-rooted Senate Commerce Committee sta er Melissa Porter. Except for Porter, all tote problematic baggage.

• Melinda Bush, 67, a former labor union leader, joined Chicago Metra’s board in 2023. Previously, she was vice chair of the state senate’s transportation committee. In earning an Illinois Environmental Council 100% favorable voting record, she supported passage of a Coal Ash Pollution Act opposed by energy interests and was active with the Environmental Justice movement.

• Dorval Carter, 65, was named CTA president in 2015. Previously, he was chief of sta to Obama Administration Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and assistant chief legal counsel at the Federal

Politics is a contact sport, and Senate Republicans are unlikely to allow confirmation of a Democratic successor before the November election. oberman’s departure gives the STB a 2-2 party split.”

Transit Administration. As reported by Chicago media, Carter is faulted for numerous alleged CTA ills and for rarely riding the trains.

• Peter DeFazio, 76, gained the T&I chair based on seniority—not personality. He distinguished himself by being shut out by fellow Democrats during nalization of the 2021 $1 trillion bi-partisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that he derided as “crap.” He has a strong allegiance to labor. Recently, DeFazio registered to lobby on behalf of trucking interests.

• Marie Newman, 59, was a one-term (2021-2023), politically le House member, having dealt a Democratic primary defeat to moderate Dan Lipinski to gain a Chicagoarea seat held by Lipinski and his father for 38 years. A Green New Deal supporter, she served on the House Rail Subcommittee. Until leaving o ce, she was the subject of a House ethics probe into allegations she “may have promised federal employment to a primary opponent for the purpose of procuring political support.” Newman currently heads a Chicago non-pro t organization.

• Melissa Porter, 48, is Senate Commerce Committee deputy sta director. Previously, she was general counsel to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, a Department of Transportation senior associate counsel, and the Federal Railroad Administration’s chief counsel.

And how about Republican STB member Patrick J. Fuchs, whose rst term will expire Dec. 31? Renominated in January for a second term, he has no opposition from labor, railroads or shippers—the latter

having used “calm,” “solid,” “transparent” and “seriously thoughtful” to describe him while citing his “deep understanding” of regulatory issues.

Traditionally, Democratic and Republican nominees are paired for Senate con rmation, as were Fuchs and Oberman in 2019. But since a Democratic Oberman successor likely will not gain a con rmation vote before November, the safest path for Fuchs is a pairing with National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairperson and Democrat Jennifer Homendy, renominated in March for separate terms as a member and chairperson. (Unlike the STB, where permanent chairpersons are appointed by the President from among Senate-con rmed members, NTSB chairpersons are separately Senate-con rmed.)

With the East Palestine derailment, Baltimore bridge collapse and Boeing mishaps of Senate concern, there is reason to con rm Homendy quickly to keep her fully focused on safety investigations, which would be a win also for Fuchs and STB stakeholders supporting his second ve-year term.

Wilner’s new book, Railroads & Economic Regulation, is available from SimmonsBoardman Books at www.transalert.com, 800-228-9670.

FRANK

REF 2024: Tight Market Feeds Mixed Temperament

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 Je rey Korzenik (Chief Economist from Fi h ird Bank) discussed the possibility of the economy’s so landing (continuing cautious optimism with ongoing risks) then pivoted engagingly to discussing the U.S. workforce’s labor challenges and the opportunity for companies to hire secondchance employees (primarily those with minor felony convictions). Korzenik covers the topic in his book Untapped Talent. Key takeaway: e birth rate in the U.S. sits at 1.6% and needs to be at 2.1% to maintain the population (due to infant mortality).

David Humphrey (Railinc), REF’s “railcar guru,” updated statistics on the North American railcar eet and its YOY changes (see p. 49). Key takeaways: e national eet increased to 1.637 million; there are 52,883 covered hoppers and 32,523 boxcars reaching full interchange life over the next 11 years, beginning in 2025.

Robert Pickel (National Steel Car Ltd.) discussed factors stressing the new car market. Inquiries and orders remain reasonable, while labor and supply chain challenges persist. Pickel follows prevailing 2024 production forecasts of new car production in the mid 40,000s.

Eric Starks (FTR Transportation Intelligence) noted a somewhat stagnant economy. Starks reported an early 2024 strengthening of imported container activity. Key takeaways: Starks does not currently see data supporting Red Sea and Panama Canaldriven increases in West Coast port tra c; and current data indicates so ness in railcar demand right now.

Graham Brisben (PLG Consulting) discussed the energy and chemical landscape for rail. Key takeaways: EIA estimates that globally renewable energy will out-generate coal by 2025; demand for biodiesel has made the U.S. a net soybean oil importer; polyethene’s “second wave” is complete with a third wave so ly under way; and U.S.-based rare mineral mining is

a potential rail growth story.

Jarrett Bilous and Geo Wilson (Standard and Poor’s) updated the domestic economic picture. Key takeaways: S&P sees low recession risk; an improvement in freight indexes is an economic positive while other contradictory factors (ISM New Orders Index) are showing weakness; and per-carload railroad revenue continues to increase post pandemic.

Jason Kuehn (Oliver Wyman) noted rail maintains e ciency in freight moved per tonmile but generates half the freight revenue per diesel gallon. Key takeaways: A gallon of renewable diesel costs $8.05 to produce—it is being o set by $4.52 of government incentives. Right now, rail does not have a solution to address the North American road locomotive eet, more than 50% of which will need upgrades before 2040.

Ron Sucik (RSE Consulting) tackled the intermodal market. Sucik noted early 2024 intermodal tra c increases are the h month of YOY West Coast tra c improvements. 2024 tra c is expected to exceed 2022 levels. Key takeaways: Nearshoring will continue to be an impact factor even as manufacturing moves to a just-in-time delivery focus.

John Ward (National Coal Transportation Association) updated the coal market. Key takeaways: Coal’s energy generation share is expected at 15% (from 17% in 2023) in 2024 and 13% in 2025. Coal- red generation capacity of 2.3 GW will retire in 2024 with more capacity retired in 2025. Even with small declines in rail loadings, Coal shippers remain concerned about railroad service.

Clint Pella (Union Paci c) discussed the national eet’s changing demographics and decreasing railcar specialization. Car type variety has decreased rapidly since 2010 while total eet size has been increasing. Key takeaway: Pella sees standardization creating customer, railcar owner and railcar operator supply chain certainty. Standardization o ers opportunity for asset optimization and service consistency.

Daniel Anderson (TrinityRail) discussed the tank railcar market and rea rmed tanks as the national eet’s second-largest car group and the largest lessor-owned segment. Tanks are the youngest major car group resulting from decreases in the average retirement age.

Key takeaways: Tank tra c has been volatile; tank car compliance (think HM-216 and HM-246) will impact car supply/availability. Bio and re ned fuels and chemical growth are market positives.

Johanna Biggs (Biggs Appraisal) identi ed that eets for covered hoppers (>5,000 cf), 117J tanks and boxcars grew most in 2023. On the appraisal panel led by Pat Mazzanti (Railroad Appraisal Associates), Ed Biggs (Biggs Appraisal), Greg Schmid (RESIDCO) and Bryan Vaughn (Modern Rail Capital), FMV values were higher across most car classes except for older grain and coal cars. ere were some mixed opinions on older tank values. Small-cube hopper values increased. Biggest market gainers? Boxcars, plastic pellet hoppers and PD covered hoppers.

Paul Titterton (GATX) kicked o Day 2 at REF. Titterton discussed what the railcar industry may have learned from collective history and that the current railcar and leasing cycle is di erent from those in the past. Key takeaways: Titterton illustrated how lease pricing has diverged from both railcar demand and the railcar eet replacement rate. He sees less volatility in the future with consistency in current fundamentals.

Independent analyst Tony Hatch addressed whether Norfolk Southern will survive the Ancora onslaught and all other things railroad. Key takeaways: Even with lackluster loads and earnings, railroads continue to pivot to growth unable to shake ongoing in uence of the “Cult of OR”; short line railroad growth continues as a positive story; rail could add $61 billion in revenue with limited capex spending; and technological innovation continues with implementation rapidity expected to increase.

Doug Driscoll (Genesee & Wyoming), David Horowitz (GATX), Anthony Petrillo (Packaging Corporation of America) and David Sellers (Greenbrier) talked boxcars. Key takeaways: Shippers, railroads and car owners must collectively convert more boxcar loads from truck to rail. e boxcar market shows lower loadings and some weakness, but a rebound is expected.

e car-hire system remains an issue; the national boxcar eet enhances utilization but challenges remain, as it continues needing investment and rightsizing;

Financial Edge

technology can impact freight demand.

Patrick Kurtz (AITX) discussed covered hoppers. Kurtz discussed the negative impact of a third bumper crop in Brazil on grain loadings but has some positive e ect on milled product loading increases. Kurtz sees some PD eet replacement needs. Key takeaway: Covered hopper eet segments show reasonable utilization; food product loadings have been weaker vs. nonfood loadings. Kurtz highlighted discordance between hopper carload growth and eet growth.

Day 3 at REF is for locomotives. David Humphrey of Railinc led with a locomotive eet discussion. Key takeaways: Without signi cant new builds or eet growth, the national locomotive eet ages every year; even thinking optimistically about locomotive unit longevity, more than 7,000 (from a total eet of 37,600) locomotives may need replacement by 2030. (Details in the May issue.)

Don Grabb (Triangle Brothers) discussed how, overall, Class I railroads do not have a cohesive strategy to replace diesel as the primary fuel for locomotives. Key takeaways: Timing for a systemic change in how locomotives would be fueled could require more than a decade of time to address 25% of the eet. Furthermore, Class I executives concerned with other problems connected to railroad operations do not have concerns about the future of diesel fuel as a priority.

Pedro Santos (HGmotive) discussed HGmotive’s e orts to lead the transition to hydrogen as a locomotive fuel. is will utilize HGmotive’s hydrogen tender for linehaul rail service. Key takeaways: Undeveloped hydrogen in Canada and renewable energy in the Southeastern U.S. have the capacity to o er zero-carbon hydrogen-based fueling solutions. Santos is watching geological hydrogen as the potential game changer for the future of low carbon fueling.

Matthew Findlay (CPKC) discussed the railroad’s hydrogen locomotive program. Findlay said that diesel accounts for 92% of CPKC’s carbon emissions. He noted that zero-emission locomotive modi cation was the next phase in locomotive rebuilding. CPKC has determined that hydrogen fueling can be completed in a reasonable timeframe and at a reasonable cost if the supply of hydrogen is available for the use. Key takeaways: With validated technology, CPKC will continue to move along the road

of carbon neutrality, adding electrolyzers and a larger eet of fuel cell locomotives and tenders. CPKC sees a pathway to reduce carbon emissions on this pathway.

Glen Rees (Cummins Inc.) updated Cummins’ work using a variety of strategies to engage in carbon emissions reductions for motive power. Cummins sees a need to be exible pursuing alternate fuel strategies while maintaining exibility to use renewable or biodiesel, renewable or bio natural gas and hydrogen, with a focus on promoting a fuel-agnostic engine. Key takeaways: Rees reminded the audience that “getting to zero [emissions] is not a light switch”; and Cummins sees available grant money to assist in the switch to a carbon-neutral fuel platform for railroads, including short lines.

Robert Brenner and Peter omas (Wabtec) updated Wabtec’s new products and alternative fuel strategies. Wabtec recognized the pressure on North American rail to move quickly to change railroad emissions, and sees potential for the CARB locomotive emissions regulation to spread beyond California. Wabtec is ready to address a multitude of replacement fuel and emissions reduction strategies from repowering to batteries to fuel cells. Key takeaway: A future with battery-powered linehaul locomotives was unlikely. Wabtec is preparing for a multimodal solution of biofuels, battery, hydrogen and emissions reduction.

Andrew Anderson (Progress Rail) discussed his company’s point of view on the path toward carbon reduction and curtailment. Progress Rail is working on a hybrid style locomotive that would convert existing diesel locomotives to the hybrid model with an improvement in tractive e ort. Key takeaway: Progress sees that all biodiesel types can be used in existing combustion engines and is evaluating the long-term maintenance expense impact.

Michael Hart (Sierra Northern Railroad) discussed his short line’s use of, and successes with HFC (hydrogen fuel cell) locomotives in California. Hart detailed sister company Sierra Energy’s FastOx® system, which creates green hydrogen through the high-temperature waste burning. He sees the turnkey opportunity to place FastOx® wherever biomass feedstock can generate hydrogen. Key takeaway: Hart sees an abundance of locations

for FastOx® that could bene t short line railroads looking to make a conversion to hydrogen.

Jason Kuehn returned to discuss the timing and process for the necessary fuel transition for North America. Kuehn notes that with the U.S. planning carbonfree by 2050, any new Tier 4 locomotive has a 26-year maximum useful life. North American rail is challenged by the time and money for any plan requiring transition in a limited timeframe. Kuehn prioritizes eet modi cation over new-product transition. is conserves time and cost. Key takeaway: While noting how little the industry has changed in ve years, Kuehn sees hydrogen in the lead for replacing linehaul locomotives, while battery hybrids have a larger share in switching.

Stuart Bigs (Biggs Appraisal) noted that locomotive rebuilds added signi cant increases to the number of AC4400 locomotives YOY. Key takeaway: ere are approximately 4,000 Wabtec locomotives potentially available as remanufacturing candidates.

In the nal panel of the day, Pat Mazzanti and Greg Schmid returned to the stage along with Rick Ortyl (MetroEast Industries) to discuss locomotive values. In the rst half, the panel discussed locomotives built in the 1960s and 1970s. e market perspective remains strong as use in industrial service remains cost-e ective. On the newer six-axle eet, valuations were higher YOY for all AC traction locomotives that are capable of being rebuilt or that were 2004-built or younger. Key takeaway: Contrary to recent years, the audience felt that Class I railroads with a xed price purchase option on newer locomotives (2008 or younger) would purchase those units since they are likely Tier III-compliant and within the CARB rules age threshold.

REF 2025 is March 2-5, 2025 (www.railequipment nance.com). See you in La Quinta!

Got questions? Set them free at dnahass@ rail n.com.

NCEO

PERSPECTIVES

orth America’s freight rail industry is sharply focused on the future as the 21st century is well into its third decade. For this third annual special report, the freight rail industry’s thought leaders— the chief executives of leading North American companies–have crafted exclusive, insightful essays for Railway Age on growing and sustaining our vibrant industry, which has helped shape our society and is the backbone of transportation. Here are what they believe are their organizations’ most significant achievements in safety.

12 Katie Farmer, BNSF

14 Tracy Robinson, CN

16

18 Joe Hinrichs, CSX

20 Alan Shaw, Norfolk Southern

22

24

26 Michael Miller, Genesee & Wyoming

28 Ed Quinn, R. J. Corman Railroad Group

30 Dan Smith, Watco

32 Ian Jefferies, Association of American Railroads

34 Chuck Baker, American Short Line & Regional Rail Association

35 Lorie Tekorius, The Greenbrier Companies

36 Jean Savage, Trinity Industries

Our Safety Vision is Achievable

By Katie Farmer, BNSF

All of us at BNSF will remember 2023 for our work together that delivered industryleading 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 achievements are always put in the context that our work is not done

until we reach our safety vision of an accident- and incident-free workplace. That vision and path to zero starts with the elimination of fatalities and life-altering injuries, which we accomplished in 2023 in operating our railroad without loss of life.

This is a credit to our multiple teams approaching one another about safety, building strong intentional relationships and making wise decisions with safety as the foundation. These teams are proving that our safety vision is not aspirational. It is, with hard work and focus, achievable.

We believe it’s no coincidence we were able to achieve this milestone the first year after finalizing our Transportation Safety Agreement with a portion of our transportation workforce, which further strengthened collaboration and communication between management and our employees.

The first-of-its-kind agreement also includes risk identification and mitigation programs that enable our frontline supervisors to shift away from discipline events and instead have a more proactive, coaching approach with employees.

Another ingredient in our success is BNSF’s ability to reach agreements with all our union partners, which paves the way for 100% of our union workforce to have access to work/rest agreements. That means, if employees want a schedule with rest days, they can have one. This marks an important step forward in supporting the well-being of our employees, ensuring a more balanced and efficient work environment.

We believe supporting our people as best we can while improving work/ life balance pays dividends toward the overall success of our rail operations.

We have also continued to make progress in driving down the number of train accidents on our railroad. We know we will continue reducing accidents through our investments in training, process improvement and new technology.

We have continued to make advancements, thanks to the development and use of wayside detectors, track and equipment inspection technologies and

train control technology. The results of our efforts are reflected in our industry-leading performance over the past several years and a record start once again in 2024.

Our monumental achievement in safety is a credit to the commitment and passion for safety demonstrated by everyone at BNSF. We owe our thanks to those on the front lines serving customers every day, whose dedication to safety made our performance possible. We will

build upon last year’s safety achievements in 2024 and everyone across our company remains aligned in our commitment to safety and ensuring everyone goes home safely at the end of the workday.

CEO PERSPECTIVES

Safety is Our Core Value

By Tracy Robinson, CN

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 across our network.

In 2023, CN saw a record low injury frequency rate of .96 (per 200,000 personhours), an improvement of 13% over the previous year. While we are proud of the hard work our team put in for this achievement, we can never celebrate safety when, in that same year, two of our team members didn’t make it home to their loved ones.

It’s a stark reminder that although we have come a long way, we have more work to do.

e best way for us to honor our fallen colleagues is to continue to prioritize safety, every minute of every day. is takes leadership and a safety culture that embraces and embeds commitment, not simply compliance.

e team at CN aims to be the safest railroad in North America. at’s why we believe that safety in our industry must continue its evolution. It must evolve beyond rules compliance to a way of life ingrained in our culture. Over the past decade, we have started to see a shi toward a culture that puts safety at the heart of railroading.

At CN, we aspire to ZERO: zero serious injuries, zero fatalities and zero harm. We believe that by providing the leadership, training, and resources necessary, we can achieve this ambitious goal.

processing to nd at-risk wheelsets. Additionally, we have installed powerful sensors and AI technology into our Autonomous Track Inspection Program (ATIP) railcars, positioned on regularly scheduled trains, enabling 24/7 track inspection at normal speed. In 2023, our 11 ATIP cars inspected more than one million track-miles. ese added layers of protection allow CN to correct issues in real time.

Field employees participate in regular hands-on training and daily job safety brief ings. Our eld employees also have a mobile technology application that enables real-time and voluntary, con dential reporting of near misses or safety hazards while helping CN take action and create a safer working environment. is feedback loop with our eld employees is so important. It allows us to better under stand and track how the terrain is changing along our network. It also drives home that we all have a role to play in safety.

Technology advancements are enabling us to do great things. However, we need to focus on making sure everyone knows how this applies to them and how to use the tools to keep them safe.

Since 2021, CN operation employees have completed more than 8,800 Safety Leader ship training courses, from workshops to in- eld training. At the heart of these courses is a simple tenet: Leaders create the culture that determines the behavior, and behavior drives safety. is is how we build a safety culture based on values versus compliance.

In 2023, we had thousands of employees participate in CN’s rst Safety Week. e week was an opportunity to have meaningful discussions about safety and recognize each others’ achievements and e orts to stay safe. Senior executives were deployed across the network and engaged with eld employees as we all recommitted ourselves to a culture of safety and looking out for one another. I rmly believe that this is how we foster a culture of continuous safety improvement, building leadership and accountability amongst our teams.

Technology has been a game-changer for safety. We continue to increase our technological capabilities to nimbly assess, direct and x potential hazards. At CN we have an extensive wayside detection network, utilizing more than 24 million data points per day on more than 2,800 detectors that are constantly monitoring our trains’ health. CN has also installed acoustic bearing detectors, which can identify bearings at risk before they begin to fail. We are embarking on a new journey with Broken Wheel Detectors, which use a combination of sensors, machine learning, and AI image CN

At CN, we have an enormous privilege and responsibility to help move the economy across our network. While we have seen a major shi in safety across the industry, I rmly believe that the more we all put safety at the core of our operations, the more we can deliver better results for our clients and capitalize on new growth opportunities. But most important, we are making sure our colleagues get home safe and sound.

WE’RE FORGING THE FUTURE OF RAIL WITH THE STRENGTH OF 20,000

Innovation is driven by the power of many. That’s why we build our foundation on the strength of our people. It is their skill and dedication that move the weight of the world for our customers, drive growth in our communities, and chart a new course for our industry.

We’re proud to recognize the experienced, dedicated railroaders at Norfolk Southern as they deliver safe, reliable, and resilient service to all.

NorfolkSouthern.com

Home Safe, Every Day

By Keith Creel, Canadian Pacific Kansas City

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 Paci c’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. at is our commitment and our obligation. Our culture at CPKC is one of excellence that we adhere to 24/7, 365 days a year.

In 2023, CPKC led the industry with the lowest FRA-reportable train accident frequency among Class I railroads, building on CP’s legacy of 17 consecutive years leading the industry.

rough our Home Safe program, which reinforces our culture of safety, and through cutting-edge technologies and innovation, we work to protect our railroaders, our communities, our customers and the environment. CPKC railroaders embrace safety as a journey, not a destination. Whether it’s on the ballast or in the o ce, our railroaders are committed to performing their work safely and to always trying to do better today than they did yesterday.

In 2023, we introduced our Home Safe program to railroaders across our combined network south of Kansas City, including in Mexico, and provided refresher training across the network where Home Safe has been a key component of our safety culture for many years. Home Safe is an initiative

designed to strengthen our safety culture by tapping into the human side of safety and promoting both safety engagement and feedback. Home Safe training sessions end with each employee making a commitment to reinforce our Home Safe actions and take responsibility for their own safety, as well as that of their coworkers.

Since we began our journey as CPKC, we have continued to develop and leverage innovations and technologies that help to improve safety and performance across our network. In 2023, approximately 60% of CPKC’s capital investment went to basic replacement and safety infrastructure. For example, we continue to invest in our broken rail detection system, which runs an electric current though the rail to detect problems. is enhances safety and track speed and improves cycle times and fuel e ciency at a fraction of the cost of Centralized Tra c Control. CPKC also recently added another remote inspection portal to our network, this time in British Columbia, to perform technology-based train inspections.

Rail transportation is the safest way to transport hazardous materials over land. We work closely with all stakeholders in the supply chain that is involved in the transportation of hazardous materials, including shippers, receivers, and everyone in between to transport these essential products safely and securely. We also work with railroad supply companies and governments to develop programs and standards to help protect communities.

We are legally required to transport hazardous materials as part of our common carrier obligations, on reasonable terms and conditions, and do so in accordance with all applicable laws, including safety and environmental protection regulations.

At CPKC we also understand the importance of serving as rail safety ambassadors and modeling safe behaviors around the railway for our family, friends and co-workers. CPKC supports Operation Lifesaver in Canada and Operation Lifesaver Inc. in the U.S. and Mexico to promote rail safety education. Railway police work diligently with Operation Lifesaver state and provincial agencies and local law enforcement to share rail safety messages year-round and by participating in community outreach activities and Rail Safety Week.

Canadian Pacific Kansas City

Committed to safety.

Focused on service.

Driven by sustainability.

CEO PERSPECTIVES

Our Job is Never Finished

By Joe Hinrichs, CSX

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 e orts to help make CSX the safest railroad in the country.

We are proud of the strides our railroaders have made in enhancing safety over the past year. In 2023, the team achieved a 12% year-over-year reduction in our Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) personal injury rate and a 1% improvement in our FRA train accident rate. Moreover, CSX

has achieved record safety performance in recent years.

While we are proud of our progress, two incidents in the summer of 2023 resulting in the deaths of two newly hired railroaders reminds us that our e orts must continue. Following these incidents, we reevaluated our safety approach. is included extensive review and enhancements to our safety programs and technologies, rea rming our commitment to safe operations.

TRAINING AND MENTORSHIP

vital rules and equipment handling procedures, ensuring that every member of our team is equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate their roles safely and e ectively.

We also partnered with the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers—Transportation Division (SMART-TD) to extend the duration of safety training for our new conductors in Atlanta. By extending initial classroom training from four weeks to ve, we are providing trainees with immersive experiences in real-world scenarios, emphasizing practical eld tasks crucial for safe operations. In addition, we looked at the on-the-job portion of training and added additional job starts prior to trainees graduating to a marked-up conductor.

While training is an important step in giving our employees the tools and knowledge they need, ongoing reinforcement of safety is just as important to cultivate a strong safety culture. Recognizing this, we enlisted the help of our union partners and assigned mentors throughout the system to observe, coach and guide our new hires. We also started bringing mentors in from the eld to our Atlanta training facility to co-lead new hire training and provide feedback to our instructors on what they are experiencing in the eld. ese mentors are playing a critical role in guiding and reinforcing safety protocols. ey ensure our new hires fully understand our safety best practices and help ingrain safety into the daily operations of our entire workforce.

Mentorship doesn’t end with new hires. We have also been hosting Safety Summits where senior eld leaders collaborate with employees at all levels, evaluating current safety approaches and developing strategies for improvement; and conducting Management-Labor Safety Tours, with frontline managers and local labor representatives engaging in safety discussions with employees to strengthen local safety conditions.

We brought in experts from a leading safety rm DEKRA to help develop new training to build skills for proactive hazard identi cation and exposure mitigation. CSX believes that we need to go beyond traditional training on operating rules in order to provide our employees, management and cra , the necessary skills to identify hazards and self-mitigate risk. is training was rst

We took the extraordinary step of recalling all of our conductor trainees to their home terminals for intensive half-day sessions. ese sessions were designed to reinforce CSX

rolled out to our dedicated team of mentors and senior operational eld leaders. In addition, in 2023, CSX received approval of our FRA Risk Reduction Program, which aligns to our ongoing work of mitigating risk throughout the workplace.

PROACTIVE SAFETY MEASURES

Every incident is preventable, and our proactive safety measures empower employees to be vigilant, and to speak up when they see something that doesn’t look right. One example of this is our intended participation in the FRA’s Con dential Close Call Reporting System that allows employees to report unsafe events and conditions without fear of discipline. e system supplements the internal processes we already have in place to allow employees to anonymously report safety concerns. CSX is engaged in discussion with our union leadership and FRA to adopt a similarly structured program that exists in our industry.

While prevention is critical, in the event of an actual emergency, a swi response

can save lives. CSX held more than 60 rst responder training sessions in 2023, reaching more than 6,000 individuals, preparing them to handle potential emergencies on and around railroad property.

TECHNOLOGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS

Our investments in technology and infrastructure have also been important to making the job of safety easier and more efficient.

CSX has consistently increased its annual investment in core infrastructure, allocating signi cant resources to track, bridge, and signal projects. We have made upgrades to hot bearing detectors and acoustic bearing detectors to better facilitate early detection of potential issues; and established our third automated train inspection portal, which enables comprehensive inspections of moving trains in real-time.

Our eet of autonomous track assessment cars gathers critical data on track conditions, allowing for timely assessments

CEO PERSPECTIVES

and expedited repairs when necessary. Additionally, our extensive drone safety program utilizes unmanned aerial vehicles to perform various tasks, including aerial mapping, facility inspections, and accident investigations.

A CONSISTENT EFFORT

Of course, our safety progress has not been without challenges. Despite our best efforts, we lost three employees on our railroad in 2023; and in February, yet another. It’s a heart-wrenching reminder that the job of making our railroad safe for our employees, customers, and neighbors is never finished. No matter how much our safety metrics improve, we cannot get complacent.

From simple measures like eld visits to robust training programs and technology initiatives, our ONE CSX team remains committed to working together at every level of our organization—and with stakeholders across the industry—to keep safety at the forefront of our operations.

CELEBRATING 175 YEARS of service and innovation. We are proud to move America’s freight.

Delivering the Gold Standard

By Alan Shaw, Norfolk Southern

At Norfolk Southern, ensuring safe operations is a shared responsibility across our organization. ere is not one single solution when it comes to safety. We rely on our combined e orts 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 signi cant adjustments to our network design and how we build trains, tightening makeup standards to better manage weight distribution and reduce the risk of incidents. We are expanding our wayside detection network – announcing that we will add approximately 250 hot bearing detectors, accelerating the deployment of acoustic bearing detectors, and are working closely with manufacturers to test and deploy new technology.

at technology included partnering with the Georgia Tech Research Institute to develop cutting-edge Digital Train Inspection Portals. e portals utilize machine visioning and marry advanced technology with human expertise. Comprised of a collection of cameras and stadium lighting, the portal captures thousands of ultra-high-resolution, 360-degree images of railcars passing through

at track speed. ose cameras photograph what is di cult for the human eye to detect and the data is passed along to our AI team. Leveraging advanced algorithms, we analyze the images with a high degree of accuracy. Immediate and potential issues are agged and transmitted to our Network Operations Center for our experts to address. Twenty will be deployed across our network.

To further ensure the safety and resilience of our operations, we invested more than $1 billion in infrastructure improvement projects across our system in 2023. Notably, our Engineering team set a company record in consecutive years, laying more than 550 miles of new rail, directly facilitating the reduction of trackcaused derailments.

Norfolk Southern’s safety initiatives all align with our strategy unveiled in December 2022, and are guided by the Six-Point Safety Plan we released last March. Together, we have reduced our Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) mainline accident rate year-over-year and to nearly half of what it was in 2022 and is among the best of the North American Class I rails.

We have a balanced approach to safe service, continuous productivity improvement, and smart, sustainable growth. By investing in our infrastructure, technology, and our colleagues,

we’re enhancing safety and charting a better way for our company and the rail industry.

We’re also engaging our workforce, labor leaders, regulators, and communities. Last year, we hired Atkins Nuclear Secured as an independent consultant to help take our safety performance to the next level. With extensive experience that includes the Nuclear Navy, they have helped us develop a roadmap to further our safety culture.

Beginning on my rst day as CEO, I made it a priority to visit frequently with my cra colleagues. Our candid conversations build relationships and are critical to enhancing the safety culture of our company, and I am appreciative of the engagement of our railroaders. I’m also proud to have partnered closely with our labor unions, co-authoring a letter alongside 12 of the leaders of our largest unions, publicly rea rming our shared commitment to safety.

We have committed to leading from the front on safety. Norfolk Southern was the rst Class I railroad to announce a partnership with the FRA in which we co-developed and launched a Con dential Close Call Reporting System pilot program. rough the program, railroaders may con dentially report safety concerns to be reviewed by a joint committee composed of Norfolk Southern and labor representatives. Together, they will identify and implement safety improvements with the FRA’s guidance.

Our commitment extends to those who help protect our communities. In 2023, Norfolk Southern trained more than 5,400 rst responders through our Operation Awareness & Response (OAR) program. Our Safety Train traveled throughout our network providing hands-on training events in 15 cities. Since 2015, we have trained more than 45,000 rst responders and anticipate an additional 4,000 in 2024.

With local o cials in East Palestine, Ohio, we broke ground last September on a regional First Responder Training Center. It builds upon our OAR program and will provide ongoing, free training for rst responders from Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and the greater region.

Rail remains the safest way to ship freight on land. We want it to be even safer. With our innovative strategy, the skill and dedication of our railroaders and essential partnerships throughout the industry, we’ve made signicant progress. More work remains. At Norfolk Southern, everything starts with safety, and we are committed to being the gold standard.

Investing in Safety at Union Pacific

By Jim Vena

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. At Union Pacific, we

have a goal to become the best at safety and we are making progress to get there. We are investing in our people, changing our culture, continuing to improve our infrastructure and equipment, and using technology to propel these efforts.

Safety is not a new area of focus for us, and we have made substantial strides:

• We had zero work-related fatalities in 2023.

• In 2023, we also reduced year-overyear serious injuries by 15%.

• Serious derailments on Union Pacific’s network declined 26% in 2023 compared with 2019, while average maximum train length grew.

• And, during the past 10 years, trackrelated derailments declined 28%.

These results are important, and indicative of the plans we have in place, but I realize we have more work to do.

We are investing in a safety culture where employees know they have the right to speak up if they see something unsafe, to stop a process or activity if they have concern, and to look out for one another. Our Union Pacific team researched thousands of serious safety incidents and used those findings to refresh our safety strategy. Approximately half of Union Pacific’s serious injuries are related to six choices individuals make each day on or near railroad equipment, affecting their personal safety, the safety of their colleagues and the communities we serve.

We call these the “Go Home Safe” choices, and we rolled out new policies and training to help employees prevent these potentially life-threatening behaviors.

In addition to changing our culture, we are also investing in technology and in our infrastructure. Technology is equipping us with information to assess risk, improving our operations and making us safer. We have thousands of wayside detection devices across our system which generate more than 16 million data points per day, helping us identify when a train should be stopped for inspection or repair, repaired at the next location, or repaired at a planned maintenance event.

Innovation is also critical in how we build trains and the routes we traverse. We do this by simulating and replicating the forces trains experience based on the terrain they travel, and then taking that data to improve the way we build and connect trains on our network.

We’ve put technology into the hands of our front-line employees, equipping them with mobile devices that put critical information at their fingertips. These tools include visualization capabilities that enable them to see the condition of tracks, locomotives and cars in real

time. Some features help them prioritize important tasks and even give them the ability to throw switches and protect tracks. Converting highly manual processes into ones infused with technology reduces physical risks and helps our workforce adapt.

We also continue to make infrastructure investments as a normal component of safeguarding our operations for the customers and communities we serve.

• Last year, our Engineering team replaced 3.4 million ties, 5 million feet of rail, and invested in purchasing or repairing thousands of vehicles and work equipment.

• Our Mechanical team performed 13 million inspections and completed more than three million maintenance tasks, including more than 90,000 wheelset changes.

• Our Locomotive department performed more than 1.6 million inspections and completed 6.5 million maintenance tasks.

We are determined to improve safety and are invested in every way. We know that as we improve our culture, practices

From the dawn of the rail transportation to the futuristic driverless rail systems, Union Switch & Signal throughout history has been the leading switch, signal and dispatch company in the rail industry. This book covers every aspect of the USS company from the founders to the signal and switch machinist and assembly to the switchboard operators and the control centers and every employee that contributed to building the USS. Safety on the Rails will give the reader the whole story of the USS company’s leadership in safety and signaling for the transportation industry. Hard bound,192 pages.

and overall system, we will succeed and win—for the employees, customers and the communities counting on us.

Commitment to Safety Excellence

By Peter A. Gilbertson, with Herman E. Crosson, Chief Safety and Compliance Officer, Anacostia Rail Holdings

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. Through a combination of strategic initiatives, technology, dedicated employees and continuous improvement, Anacostia has elevated safety standards and reaped measurable returns on its investments. Safety is paramount to ARH’s key strategies and actions that

have propelled our success.

ARH railroads operate in demanding environments, including the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, shared freightpassenger corridors in New York City and Chicago, in military facilities and hosted Class I operations. ose operations present daily challenges for our employees and their dedication and expertise are key to our measurable safety improvements.

Central to ARH safety achievements are its core values of Resources, Education, Belief, and Accountability. By investing in resources, providing comprehensive training programs, belief in safety principles, and holding each other accountable for our actions, ARH has fostered a strong safety culture that permeates the organization. New York and Atlantic’s industry leading safety training resulted in a 66% reduction of reportable injuries since leaving the pandemic and Northern Line Railroad has one reportable injury in 11 years.

A key Anacostia safety strategy is the implementation of localized safety action plans. Safety Action Plans are tailored to address speci c safety risks and concerns in each operational area, ensuring that proactive measures are taken to prevent incidents. By working together and addressing safety concerns, ARH nips potential problems in the bud and reinforces its commitment to safety as a core value and provides measurable success. PHL received the ASLRRA 2021 and 2022 President Safety Award for railroads over 250,000 manhours. Chicago Southshore’s Track Team has not experienced a reportable injury in more than 13 years.

e ARH Safety Process starts with safety culture assessments, which evaluate and improve safety practices. e assessments allow us to identify strengths and weaknesses, measure safety performance, and facilitate employee buy-in and engagement. Safety culture assessments pinpoint factors that may be contributing to incidents, allowing us to implement safety initiatives that reduce accidents and create a safer work environment.

Safety assessments are conducted internally and externally. We rely on external auditors, from the ASLRRA Short Line Safety Institute to provide unbiased insight into Anacostia safety practices.

Improving safety requires continuous

education and training. is includes external outreach, such as hazmat training for rst responders, internal training, such as our recent class on derailment prevention, and the use of Federal Railroad Administration subject matter experts as a resource for feedback and best practices.

A guiding principle for ARH’s safety e orts is the belief in the adage that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” rough safety culture assessments, investing in preventive maintenance programs and technology, and exceeding the industry standards, ARH ensures that potential safety hazards are identi ed and addressed before they escalate into serious issues. ese actions de ne roles and set expectations for leaders.

Leadership is crucial to Anacostia’s safety commitment. Leaders must lead with a consistent, company-wide, and plainspoken safety message that de nes who we are and what quali es ARH managers to lead safety. By emphasizing the importance of follow-up, follow-through, and keeping

commitments, ARH’s leadership team sets the tone for a culture of accountability and excellence in safety performance.

In addition to investing in people and processes, ARH prioritizes investments in

CEO PERSPECTIVES

infrastructure and technology improvements to enhance safety. From ergonomic switches and high stand operated derails, wayside detectors, to track integrity enhancements, remote metrics on locomotives, eld-tested handheld radios, and PTC systems, we look for ways to make operations more safe, e cient, and reliable. By addressing critical areas, such as grade crossings and signal systems, we demonstrate our commitment to safeguarding our employees and the communities we serve. LIRC reduced crossing accidents from 15 in 2019 to two in 2022.

ARH’s achievements in safety stand as a testament to the power of strategic planning, employee engagement, and continuous improvement in complex rail environments. Prioritizing safety at every level of the organization, implementing targeted action plans, and investing in people and infrastructure has raised the bar for safety standards and reaped substantial returns in the form of enhanced operational e ciency and customer satisfaction.

Herman E. Crosson

CEO PERSPECTIVES

Safety is About Our People

By Michael Miller, Genesee & Wyoming

At G&W, our most signicant 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 end of the day, we want every single employee—whether in the eld moving freight for customers or in one of our corporate support centers enabling our railroads to work safely and e ciently—to go home to loved ones the same way they came to work.

Working toward this vision requires a consistent and proactive investment of time

and resources, as well as a persistent drive to continuously improve our safety performance and increase employee engagement in safety. Whether it’s monthly safety calls with our entire operational leadership, our annual June Safety Month campaign to get ahead of the industry’s summer injury spike, culture assessments with the Short Line Safety Institute, the creation of our own Life Critical Rules for all three cra s, or recent e orts to roll out the Con dential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS) and FRA risk-reduction program across many of our railroads, we are willing to do more than just the regulatory requirements. At G&W, we will do whatever it takes to strengthen our safety culture and improve safety performance.

Our approach has delivered results year a er year:

• G&W has earned a track record of safety

performance improvement—beginning by looking inward and achieving a 75% reduction in our own injury-frequency rate (IFR) from 2006-2012 and subsequently improving the IFR of acquired operations. For example, it took just two years for G&W to attain the same IFR it had reported the year prior to acquiring RailAmerica’s 45 roads. Likewise, Arkansas Midland Railroad operated injuryfree for three consecutive years a er joining the G&W family, and Providence and Worcester Railroad’s IFR decreased 53% the year following acquisition.

• G&W railroads collectively have led the short line industry in safety since the early 2000s—sometimes by more than three times in a given year and even as we grew from a handful of operations to more than 100 total across North America. We have also received more than 1,000 Jake Awards with Distinction from the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association over the years. ese are both tremendous accomplishments considering that short line railroads handle signi cantly more switching and short line employees move on and o rail equipment considerably more than Class I railroaders.

• In 2023, 80 G&W railroads nished the year with zero reportable injuries, and as of March 1, 34 of our operations have been injury-free for more than a decade. ese operations demonstrate that “zero injuries” is not just aspirational but very tangible, and they provide a blueprint for how our other railroads can replicate this success.

In celebrating our 125th anniversary this year, G&W is proud of our safety accomplishments, and we recognize that safety is tightly woven into the legacy we have been building since 1899. G&W’s results are just the results of our people taking personal pride in working safely, caring about the wellbeing of their teammates, committing to delivering customers’ products without incident, and understanding what it means to be good stewards of the communities we operate in. We have surpassed all expectations for what is possible at a short line, but we can’t be complacent. G&W understands that safety is never xed, and each of us is committed to putting in the work and passion necessary to continue operating safely for the century ahead.

Employee-Driven Innovation, Our Path to Safety Leadership

By Ed Quinn, R. J. Corman Railroad Group

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.

Fi y years ago, Rick Corman found that using a backhoe to unload ties from gondola cars was not only more e cient, but undeniably safer than doing it by hand. It wasn’t ashy but it was innovative for the time. at spirit still de nes us. Today, with

safety as our rst core value, we’ve found that success lies in empowering a behaviorbased safety culture characterized by innovation and continuous improvement.

R. J. Corman doesn’t t neatly into a single category. With locations in 24 states, we o er a multitude of railroad-related businesses spanning everything from freight and passenger rail to track maintenance to emergency response. is geographical and operational diversity presents unique safety challenges that can’t be solved with cookie-cutter solutions. Each division, o en with regulatory requirements, must tailor its own e ective safety approach. It is this diversity that fuels our innovation, fostering a culture where diverse perspectives converge to tackle safety issues, driving solutions we can then share throughout the organization.

At the heart of our success is our robust behavior-based safety program. Our leaders support it, and it’s fundamentally informed by valuable input from our frontline employees. To kick o each year, we hold Safety Commitment Week, emphasizing collective responsibility through a pledge and focused safety stand-downs. To stay ahead of the curve, we’ve invested in instant reporting and analytics systems that put crucial realtime safety data directly into the hands of decision-makers. If incidents or near misses occur, transparency is our most powerful tool; we rapidly issue company-wide bulletins and additional stand-downs to ensure everyone learns from the situation. For us, honesty and accountability are vital parts of any safety equation: We have zero tolerance for delayed or non-reporting of incidents.

We prioritize safety education and training at every level. Our new hands-on Training Center and Mobile Training Simulators provide cutting-edge resources to hone skills. Monthly company-wide LMS (Learning Management System) training continually reinforces key concepts for everyone, from dispatchers to track maintenance crews. Additionally, our employee-led Regional Safety Improvement Teams (SITs) are a powerful testament to the idea that our best safety innovations o en come from our boots-on-the-ground teams. Case in point: our team members developed a specialized rack to allow safe, e cient mounting of oxyacetylene cylinders onto equipment, eliminating a potential hazard.

Moreover, we actively participate in industry initiatives fostering safety knowledge in our communities, both hosting external training like Short Line Safety Institute rst responders’ programs and American Association of Railroad Superintendents Train Accident Prevention & Investigation Training and taking advantage of those o ered by organizations like MxV Rail and the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA). We work with states to access Section 130 grade crossing funding, and our team members are active in Operation Lifesaver, demonstrating our deep commitment to broader industry safety.

e results of this approach speak for themselves. We’ve earned numerous awards, including several years of the ASLRRA Jake Award with Distinction by our short lines and the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association Safety Award multiple times. Our HFI (human factor incidents) indexes have consistently improved year-over-year, and 2023 was a

record safety performance regarding our total recordable incident rate. We are widely recognized in the industry as safety leaders. Our safety statistics are among the top, but this isn’t just about numbers; it is about everyone going home the way they came to work.

As we evolve to suit the needs of our

customers, we have discovered that a focus on behavioral-based safety, a drive for continuous improvement, and open communication are powerful tools. By empowering our employees, sharing our insights, and promoting a company-wide safety- rst mindset, we’ve built a model that can keep in step with innovation.

CEO PERSPECTIVES

‘This Switch’

By Dan Smith, Watco Companies

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 single team member we have makes it home in safe condition each day.

In my previous career as a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and Montreal Expos, I had a wise coach once tell me, “you are only as good as your last pitch.” Success on a baseball field as a Major League pitcher can be simplified into two words:

“This Pitch.”

In our industry, where I spend my time today, I am humbled by how much focus, effort, and investment has gone into improving safety over the past 15 years. But still, I am reminded of that coach I once knew. I can’t help but alter his advice slightly to fit how success can be measured in our industry. Again, two simple words, but modified for our business:

“This Switch.”

What is the most important achievement at Watco? One would be wise to say it is the safe execution of the task at hand. Because when the task at hand gets done right, you can rest assured our team all went home safely. And those are my favorite days at Watco. We do far more than switch railcars at Watco these days, but the idea that the task at hand, more simply referred to as “This Switch,” is understood by our team as the easiest way to measure success or failure.

As I like to remind our people, we are only as good as our most recent switch.

When I look at our many other safety achievements at Watco, it is important to highlight our Safe Performance Center (SPC) in Fairfield, Ala., near Birmingham. This was something we wanted to put in place for a long time—a facility built and designed for one purpose: safety.

Seeing the SPC become a reality was extremely gratifying. The SPC is not just a building. It represents Watco’s commitment to our people and our customers to be safe. The SPC means we can ensure we’re offering team members standardized, high-quality safety training. No matter where our conductors, engineers, mechanics, and maintenance-of-way teams are based, they receive the same, uniform instruction. Everyone learns the importance of staying focused on the task at hand.

A dedicated team of full-time safety instructors is based at the SPC, with a

handful of other SPC instructors providing training remotely for our field operations. Our centralized rail safety training ensures we’re delivering the same information at any place and time.

A few years ago, we invested $3 million to double the SPC’s size, adding new classrooms, lab space, and a new conference room. We started out in 2017 averaging about 180 people coming through the SPC annually. The past three years, we’ve averaged 500 students per year.

Another achievement I’m very proud of is our safety culture. We are focused on prevention. Stop Work Authority is alive and well. It’s not just lip service. People aren’t afraid to stop activity that could become an issue.

We also have a formal system of capturing safety suggestions and tracking near-misses. Our team reviews this information in daily meetings, learns from it, and acts on it. This kind of open communication continues to strengthen our safety awareness and approach.

These are some other notable Watco safety successes:

• ASLRRA recognized Watco rail operations in 2023 for their safety records, including one President’s Award for Watco Switching Services, 23 Jake Awards with Distinction, and four Jake Awards.

• The Watco team switching railcars for Packaging Corporation of America in DeRidder, Louisiana, was recently recognized for a million hours without a lost-time injury. And just a couple of years ago, one of our largest railroads, the Wisconsin & Southern, hit that same remarkable milestone. At the WSOR, it meant more than 150 team members handled more than 200,000 railcars across 600 track-miles for more than three years without an injury.

• We have organized Team Safety and Improvement Committees. Team members at the local level meet regularly to note their observations and suggest safety improvement ideas, and many are put into action.

• Our teams bolster community safety readiness. Several Watco locations participate in disaster drills, and we partner with local, state, and federal

agencies for emergency response planning.

I am very proud of our Watco team for where we find ourselves today, after more than 40 years in business. I am grateful for the thousands of team members, past and present, who helped make this happen, and the thousands of customers that allow us to support all these

amazing families that make up Watco. But I am most proud when the little things get done right, every time, with focus and attention to detail, and our team members all make it home in a safe condition. That is what Watco was built upon, and I know it will keep growing to places we can never imagine if we all stay focused on “This Switch.”

3859_RWAge_GilbertsonAd_2024-FINAL.qxp_3859_RWAge_GilbertsonAd_2024-FINAL 3/21/24

CEO PERSPECTIVES

Holistic, Culture-Driven Safety

By Ian Jefferies, Association of American Railroads

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 every day—it is a way of life—from morning safety brie ngs to inspections and all points of safety in between. As the association, we have a unique responsibility to promote the industry’s safety record while informing the policy decisions our members are ultimately bound to. We serve a critical role in supporting railroads in their pursuit of an even safer future, particularly in making the case for a regulatory framework that enables advancement.

As we have argued many times over, strong safety is good for employees, communities, customers, and overall business performance. is is not a call for zero regulation. Far from it, as railroads are one of the

most regulated sectors in the economy and we have a storied history of working alongside the government to make critical safety gains. We go above and beyond regulation regularly, setting standards and advancing safety through unique insights gleaned from running the network.

Yet the clearest path to further safety advancement includes a healthy mix of investment, technological innovation, and an unwavering commitment from our employees. Real strides continue to be made across these fronts, exempli ed by annual spending topping $20 billion and the acrossthe-board progress in improving employee quality-of-life packages for workers.

Railroads can and do learn from each accident, yet one accident does not ultimately de ne the performance of railroads—the data and clear trend lines do. e past decade was the safest on record for railroads. According to the FRA, the train accident rate per million train-miles has dropped 23% since 2000. Over the same time frame, the hazardous materials train accident rate has fallen 73%.

As part of an overall safety culture,

railroads invest billions each year to reduce accidents. One of the industry’s biggest areas of focus is track-caused incidents, where a large portion of annual capital spending goes to repair and upgrade infrastructure. Automated Track Inspection, or ATI, is being used to more frequently assess infrastructure health and provide deeper readings possible than manual inspections alone. ATI systems increase detection by up to 90%.

Another key area is reducing human error—the source of nearly 50% of incidents—by constantly innovating to aid employees with new technologies. A prime example includes the industry’s $15 billion investment in Positive Train Control.

Railroads also continue to invest in detection technology to assess the health and safety of its rolling stock, including through much-discussed hot bearing detectors. is technology is essential to reducing accidents and incidents because it is uniquely capable of assessing equipment while it is in use, which allows railroads to develop a more accurate picture of the equipment in real-time. ese systems continue to work as intended, are being re ned every day, and exist today because railroads voluntarily put them on the network—not because of government dictates.

We are aware of the broader discourse surrounding our sector, including a er uniquely challenging years in 2022 and 2023. For example, we hear points of concern raised when it comes to emergency response. is has driven AAR and its members to dramatically expand access to AskRail, now available to 2.3 million rst responders. At the same time, railroads provided hands-on emergency response training to more than 36,000 rst responders in 2023 alone.

Congress and the Biden administration will continue to assess rail safety in the year ahead and weigh various policy changes. We support these endeavors so long as measures are rooted in sound data and designed to address a real and speci c problem. e nation’s complex freight rail system requires an evidence-based, nuanced, and surgical approach. Policies should be designed to meet speci c needs.

Because ultimately, the data is clear— while there is much work to do, railroads are safe and getting safer.

CEO PERSPECTIVES

Positively Moving the Safety Needle

By Chuck Baker, American Short Line & Regional Railroad Association

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.

e recently published 2023 reports from the Federal Railroad Administration shows that derailment rates per million train miles have dropped for the industry by 30% since 2000, and on-duty fatalities have reached an all-time low in 2023. Per carload, the hazardous materials accident rate is at its lowest ever and down 75% since 2000. Overall, the last decade has been the safest ever for railroading.

For short lines speci cally, another measurement of progress is our Jake Safety Award program. Based on FRA data, Jake Awards are awarded to ASLRRA-member railroads who achieve an accident/incident rate better than the industry average. is is one way of celebrating safety achievements. Further, “Jake with Distinction” awards recognize railroads with zero reportable incidents during the year—there were a record 350 such short lines in 2023!

Although this progress is notable, short lines will not rest until the total number of annual accidents is zero.

ree initiatives have been critical for short lines in driving this success. e rst is addressing the #1 cause of derailments and incidents on short lines: worn out rail. As an industry, when most short lines were spun o from former owners, we became custodians of lines that were saddled with decades of deferred maintenance and thousands of bridges nearing the end of their useful life. Many short lines had rail incompatible with the nation’s standard 286,000-pound GRL railcars.

Short lines invest a huge portion of their own revenue into their infrastructure but need even more help beyond that. Decades of consistent education of our Congressional leaders has brought signi cant additional public infrastructure investment programs to short lines, such as the 45G Short Line Rehabilitation Tax Credit. is program alone has driven more than $2.5 billion in upgrades to short line rail infrastructure.

e IIJA then included new funds deployed towards short line rail upgrades—most important, the CRISI Grant program, for which short lines are directly eligible.

Fiscal Year 2022’s budget brought the rst full year of IIJA’s implementation—and, with it, new and signi cant investments in short line freight rail projects. e FRA selected 47 projects that were advanced by short line

railroads or short line partners. Of these, 13 projects included grade crossing safety and trespassing mitigation elements. Fourteen projects invested $300 million to upgrade track to move industry-standard railcars weighing up to 286,000-pounds. Twenty projects upgraded or repaired bridges. In all, short line projects in 48 states have received awards via CRISI.

e short line industry is preparing to compete vigorously for the FY 23/24 CRISI NOFO expected to be released any day now.

A second initiative that ASLRRA has strongly supported is the Short Line Safety Institute (SLSI). Safety goes beyond compliance; safe behaviors need to happen when nobody is watching. SLSI has supported the development of exceptional safety culture on short lines across the country through Safety Culture Assessments, other programs, such as Hazardous Materials training for railroad employees and rst responders, and leadership training. Research has shown that railroads who have returned for a review of their safety culture through a second, follow-up Assessment have shown progress across all elements of safety culture on their railroads. e SLSI is a critical resource for short lines, and ASLRRA is excited about the future of this organization and its impact on short line safety culture.

While short lines are focusing on closing and eliminating gaps in our infrastructure and bolstering safety culture, we also need to be paying close attention to personnel and the training available. To that end, ASLRRA has collaborated with Iowa Northern Railway, and with the support of a CRISI grant, has developed the Short Line Training Center. is comprehensive training program for short line railroads combines an online Learning Management System (LMS) and Locomotive Simulators to deliver essential regulatory, compliance and safety courses and materials to railroad employees. is program can level the playing eld for the smallest of railroads where it may be di cult to free up employees for a day-long in-person training session. More than 300 employees from 22 railroads have already bene tted from training resources available through the Short Line Training Center.

Every day, on individual short lines across America, small business railroads are investing in upgrades, technology and operational practices that are positively moving the needle on safety. e data from the FRA is showing the progress, and that is exciting.

Safety is a Competitive Advantage

By Lorie Tekorius, The Greenbrier Companies

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 a company culture that prioritizes the safety and well-being of each of our employees.

Our track record of consistent improvement demonstrates Greenbrier’s dedication to safety. Over the past ten years, Greenbrier’s employee headcount has increased by 95%, while our Total Injury Rate (TIR) and Days Away, Restricted or Transferred (DART) incidents have decreased by 79% and 80%, respectively.

In addition, we strive to develop new and innovative ways to reduce incidents by proactively addressing unsafe behaviors and strive to prevent injuries before they happen. We continue to track additional leading indicators to measure improvement in our safety culture and develop a

more robust safety program.

Over time, our safety goals have become increasingly focused. Early in our program, we implemented introductory safety lessons to shi priorities and recognize safety as a core value. As our programs strengthened, we began to focus on more speci c high-risk activities and create specialized plans and programs to address them.

In 2022, we introduced a new safety initiative: the Dynamic Hand Safety Program. Injuries to the hands are the most common in our work, comprising more than half of all total recordable injuries at Greenbrier in scal year 2023. Dynamic Hand Safety represents a systematic approach to raising situational awareness around the hand safety risks that have caused injury in the past, or could have the potential to cause harm to an employee’s hands, wrists, or ngers.

e program focuses on the movement and arrangement of materials and positioning that o en result in hand injuries. Risks of hand injuries can go unnoticed and occur when an employee is in motion. Addressing this issue for Greenbrier meant evaluating our production process to increase situational awareness and identify

transition stages during workstreams that threaten hand safety. Once risks are identi ed, each employee is trained to verbally identify each risk associated with their workstation as they point to the risk with their ashlight. Over time, this program aims to reduce hand injuries when metal objects come together unintentionally during routine situations typically perceived as safe.

One of the achievements I’m most proud of is that Greenbrier’s employees feel a true sense of ownership regarding safety. We have so thoroughly ingrained safety into our culture that when employees recognize safety risks on the job, they feel empowered to address them with colleagues and supervisors before they become incidents. Open communication and collaboration are key components of our Better Together strategy, which we unveiled in 2023. A positive safety culture enhances employee morale and creates a sense of ownership and accountability among employees, resulting in a more harmonious and productive work environment.

Safety isn’t just beneficial for employees; it’s beneficial for Greenbrier. When they know their safety is our priority, employees are more likely to follow standardized procedures and protocols, leading to consistent and high-quality work. We optimize our production processes and meet customer demands more effectively by minimizing errors, rework, and downtime caused by accidents or injuries. This improves Greenbrier’s reputation for delivering reliable products and enhances our competitive advantage in the market.

Fostering a culture of safety is never finished. We regularly challenge ourselves on how we can improve the safety conditions across Greenbrier. We also lean on our facilities to exchange best practices, as well as external developments like artificial intelligence.

As CEO, I aim for employees to work safely and return home to their families in the same condition they arrived that morning, albeit a little more tired. By demonstrating a commitment to safety, Greenbrier creates a satisfactory work environment, minimizes accidents and injuries, improves operational e ciency and enriches company culture.

Improving Safety Through Telematics

By Jean Savage, Trinity Industries, Inc.

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 one gallon of fuel” from memory. Freight rail transportation in North America has noteworthy safety implications, as well.

At the most basic level, removing trucks from our roadways can make them safer for passenger vehicles. A study from Texas A&M University found that rail is nearly five times safer than

truck when measured by fatalities per ton mile. When it comes to the shipment of hazardous materials—necessary ingredients for modern life, like chlorine for clean water—rail has demonstrated an impressive track record. More than 99.9% of all hazmat moved by rail reaches its destination without a release caused by a train accident and the hazmat accident rate is down 73% since 2000.

Nevertheless, the railroad industry must continue to strive for an even safer network. One area of emerging collaboration between railroads and railcar owners that can aid in these safety efforts is the investment in innovation, railcar-based telemetry. Making railcars more than a “box on wheels” can convert them from passive pieces of equipment to insight-generating nodes in an interconnected rail network. In the future, railcars outfitted with sensors and communication devices could alert railroads and shippers in real time, when their railcars are breached or damaged. Real-time remote monitoring on railcars has the potential to make these assets even more impactful contributors to a safer railroad environment.

In seeing the transformative potential of railcar-based telemetry, TrinityRail launched our Trinsight© visibility platform in 2021 and was one of the founding members of RailPulse. RailPulse has the potential to drive the sharing of safetycritical information from the railcar to the railroads to assist in avoiding accidents through its role as telemetry data aggregator and guardian.

RailPulse is also working with vendors to foster standardized development of safety-related sensors that deliver realtime actionable and accurate information about the railcar.

We believe the railcar is a vital intermediary of value between the shippers and railroads in North America. By working across the industry to foster investment in railcar-based telemetry, railroads, railcar owners, and shippers are coming together to deliver more datapoints about the location, condition, and health of railcars and the important contents they deliver. These datapoints are a critical ingredient in making an already safer choice even safer.

Trinity Industries Inc.

‘Long COVID’ for America’s regional/commuter railroads is restricting post-pandemic progress speed.

BY DAVID PETER ALAN, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Passenger rail is bouncing back from the devastating impact on ridership from the COVID19 pandemic. Agencies are making necessary changes in service in response to shi s in traditional peakoriented ridership patterns caused by exible hours and remote work. Some are dealing with the looming “ scal cli ” as federal relief money winds down. is is a best-case scenario.

Progress is coming slowly, though. e COVID-19 pandemic, which started slightly more than four years ago, changed American life more than any events since the Great Depression and World War II, nearly a century ago. We still don’t know what the nal e ects will be, especially in and around our cities, where the “regional railroads” run. It would

be somewhat of a misnomer to keep referring to them as “commuter” railroads, because commuting ridership is down, and it will be a long time coming back to pre-COVID numbers, if it ever does. e non-commuting ridership is becoming stronger now.

A er the virus hit, reporters at Railway Age and its sibling publications Railway Track & Structures (RT&S) and International Railway Journal (IRJ) joined forces to report on the swi decline of all sectors of the railroad industry. A er that situation stabilized, I continued to report about every six months on the state of passenger trains and rail transit in the United States and Canada, as service slowly came back. Now that we are examining the railroads that once carried the “9-to-5 army”; many of whom no longer commute to the o ce ve days a

week, we nd progress here and there. Largescale change has not occurred yet, but there are signs that it’s coming, and an impending massive shock to those railroads might kick the change engine up to its top speed.

Personally, I can’t say I’m surprised at the change in workplace and commuting habits. I rst predicted this on July 22, 2020 in a commentary on the Railway Age website, headlined “Rail ‘Commuting’ in the ‘New Normal,’” one of the rst of several such glimpses into the post-COVID future on the trains that run between the suburbs and the city’s core.

at’s not to say that there are no more trains that are crowded. Some of the busiest now run on weekends if a line has enough weekend service to lure suburbanites into the city for the day. E orts by landlords and employers

William Beecher

passenger rail focus

to lure or force employees back into the o ce for the traditional ve-day commute are not faring very well. Managers from the agencies who run the local railroads ash a gure like 70% or 80% of pre-COVID level, but that does not yield much useful information. More than the aggregate, it’s the distribution that counts. A weekday train might be relatively full on Tuesday, Wednesday or ursday, but not so much on Monday or Friday. ose have become the popular days for employees to work “remotely” from home. Weekend trains don’t run as o en as weekday trains, but it’s more di cult to nd a seat on them than it was before the virus hit. e railroads surrounding some cities are still running sparse weekend schedules, which will not alleviate crowding.

Managers are aware of that, but local passenger railroads are hardly bastions of innovation, and old ideas die hard. Some have talked extensively about the “post-COVID future” of their railroads, as we have reported. Change seems to be coming, but the ideas that will bring new

life to those railroads look more like seedlings than plants in full bloom. Still, some managers are talking about some sort of innovation. at could be innovative.

SIGNS OF PROGRESS

Whatever the pace of innovation might be on the freight side of railroading, it always seems to happen at the most-restricted speed possible on the passenger side. We checked the schedules of every local rail line in the United States for this story, and found most of them surprisingly similar to those from a year or two ago. Small operations that run only for a limited number of traditional commuters still do so. Giants like Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) have returned to pre-COVID schedules, except that the LIRR has made adjustments to accommodate its new “Grand Central Madison” underground terminal on the East Side. ose schedules do not indicate as much choice for riders into Manhattan as many had hoped, while most Brooklyn riders

must now take a shuttle train from Jamaica, where the timed cross-platform transfers that were so convenient for so long have now been relegated to the dustbin of history. New Jersey Transit has also gone back to its pre-COVID schedules, with only a few minor di erences.

If genuine change has taken root among most of America’s regional railroads, it did so in Boston, the historic epicenter of cultural conservatism. e MBTA (better known as the “T”) still calls its regional trains “commuter rail,” but the actions of its managers portend a service pattern that appears to bene t more riders. A er deep COVID cuts (at one time, seven of the system’s 12 lines had no weekend service at all), the system is making its comeback. e commuter-peak was all but gone. Instead, trains started to run hourly throughout the weekday schedules, which o er a full span of service. On lightly patronized lines, trains run every 75 or 90 minutes, but the headways are constant through the service day. On weekends, trains run essentially every two

passenger rail focus

hours, both on Saturdays and Sundays.

ere have been some tweaks since then, including the restoration of a few trains for peak-hour commuters, but not many such trains. e evenly spaced headways throughout the service day on weekdays were not disturbed. ere are other changes, too. “Plymouth” trains all go to Kingston, rather than the former “Plymouth” station, which was not close to downtown Plymouth. Some short turns on the North Shore to Beverly have been added to o er hourly weekday service there.

ose trains ll the gaps that existed when all trains east of Beverly went either to Newburyport or Rockport, further east.

Metra in Chicagoland recently added weekday trains on several of its lines to approach hourly service, although some twohour gaps remain and service ends earlier than it did before the virus hit. On the former Rock Island, Metra is running short turns at Blue Island that allow transfer to trains that run express to there, and then to Joliet. Will this labor-intensive operation attract more riders than hourly locals? Time will tell, but at least

Metra is experimenting. Another Metra experiment is not doing as well as had been hoped.

e Big Noise from Winnetka last year was half-hourly weekday service; the hourly schedule augmented by short turns on the other side of the hour. Now the Winnetka turns run only every two hours, producing an odd schedule that demonstrates that the Big Noise has quieted down. Weekend service on Metra still runs every two hours, with some extra trains here and there.

Metrolink in the Los Angeles area has always run schedules that emphasized peak-hour commuting and provided only sparse service at other times. When the virus hit, it was the only railroad of its type that slashed service outside peak-commuting periods, rather than reducing “commuter trains” despite their lack of riders. For the most part, the pre-COVID schedule is back, but with one notable exception. e railroad recently expanded service on its Antelope Valley Line, northward to Lancaster. e agency has added several short turns at Via Princessa, a stop located in the middle of the line: four new round trips on weekdays and six

on weekends. Weekend service between Union Station and Via Princessa is now the strongest in the system, with twelve trains in each direction, rather than only the six Lancaster runs.

e San Bernardino line has stronger weekday service, but only eight round trips on weekends.

Caltrain, running south of San Francisco to San José, now features more service than it did at the height of the pandemic, but the weekday schedule calls for a “limited” train and a local train that run about ten minutes apart; each pair running hourly outside peak-commuting periods. For most riders, that feels like one departure during the hour, not two. Service at peak-commuting times is as strong as ever, with the return of the “Baby Bullet” schedule and many “limited” trains, even though transit in the Bay Area is su ering because so many workers in the tech elds are working from home. Local trains provide weekend service, running hourly, the only place with such strong weekend service outside the New York area.

e line will be electri ed soon, though, which could mean big increases in service. North of the Bay, Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit

(SMART) has expanded service both on weekdays and weekends.

Not all the railroads are advancing toward a future of less commuting and more discretionary riding, especially on weekends. SEPTA in Philadelphia has added a few trains at peakcommuting times and almost runs hourly service on weekdays, with some two-hour gaps on some lines. Weekend service is a mix of lines running every two hours, and other lines that ran hourly before the virus struck, and now run a seemingly random schedule of either one or two hours between trains, depending on the time of day. Only the Airport Line runs every hour on weekends, although more used to run that way. To make matters worse, the Chestnut Hill East and Chestnut Hill West lines might be eliminated soon. Another railroad that has reduced service almost to the sparsest COVID level is Shore Line East in Connecticut, between New Haven and New London. e schedule is down to eight round trips per day.

JOLTED INTO CHANGES?

A major threat is coming to all transit modes,

everywhere in the country. As the virus devastated the nation, the federal government enacted grants to keep millions of people and many industries going during the crisis. Transit, including the local railroads, were among the recipients. Normally, federal assistance for transit must be used for capital projects, but Congress made exceptions on account of the virus. According to a Jan. 18, 2024 report by the Congressional Research Service titled Federal Support of Public Transportation Operating Expenses, Congress authorized $69.5 billion in supplemental appropriations for transit.

With changes in commuting, ridership (and, therefore, revenue) remains below pre-COVID levels, and with in ation claiming its share of scarce dollars, this money will run out for many transit providers during the next year or two. How can the agencies that run the local railroads and other transit keep going when that happens? We don’t know, and some of them don’t, either, but others are working on solutions.

New York’s MTA expects to keep balancing its budget, thanks to new taxes and fees, but the congestion pricing plan to charge vehicles

passenger rail focus

for entering Manhattan south of 60th Street is being challenged in court. Gov. Phil Murphy has proposed a levy on big corporations that would keep NJ Transit going. Proposals like these face sti opposition, and we plan to examine the coming scal cli and e orts to keep transit going in spite of it, and report these stories soon. We can conjecture that a shock of that magnitude will force progress toward recovering from the crises caused by COVID19, if anything can.

e prediction at the top of this article might appear a bit optimistic for the time frame but is still fundamentally correct. e traditional model of the “commuter railroad” is outdated and is no longer sustainable, given the recent changes in commuting that will probably become permanent. e country’s local railroads are facing an “innovate or die” situation. e progress we mentioned must happen, and it must happen soon. Now it’s time to get the word out to the senior managers on those railroads, as well as the elected o cials who must raise the money needed to make that progress occur.

WHAT’S NEW, WHAT’S NEXT CROSSTIE TECH

BY MARYBETH LUCZAK, EXECUTIVE EDITOR

What’s the latest in crosstie technology and what new projects are in the pipeline? What is the market outlook? How can railroads best manage the crosstie life cycle and boost longevity? Railway Age explores these topics and more with top suppliers, who are continuously improving their o erings to help railroads—both heavy-haul and passenger—keep tra c moving safely.

KOPPERS INC.

e Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) this past fall provided $1.4 billion for rail infrastructure improvement projects through the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program. Because of this, Koppers has realized an increase of quoting activity, as well as a higher ratio of quotes materializing into projects, according

to John P. McDonald, Vice President of Sales and Product Management, North American Operations, Railroad Products and Services. With new funding rounds just around the corner, he says the company is hosting a webinar on April 24 to review what it takes to submit a winning application.

Koppers in 2022 bought Kirkwood, Mo.based Gross & Janes, and McDonald tells Railway Age that the acquisition has “greatly improved our ability to procure, sort and store green ties.” Ultimately, he says, “this means more dry ties headed to our plants for treating.”

Koppers last year opened a new treating plant in North Little Rock, Ark. With enhanced technology, it allows for greater productivity along with improved environmental and safety performance, according to McDonald, who notes, “We are very pleased with the results and ready to supply treated ties to the southern market.” Koppers also invested more than $180 million over the past ve years

to improve overall performance at its Stickney, Ill., carbon materials and chemicals facility.

McDonald tells Railway Age that the “increased cost of labor has put the focus back on product life cycle and reducing maintenance and install rates.” e company, he says, is “aggressively pursuing R&D in emerging tech while continuing to provide superior technical assistance, and comprehensive testing services for our customers.” It held its rst invitationonly Technical Summit at the Koppers Global Technology Center in Pennsylvania, providing insight into its work around alternative preservatives, end-of-life tie management, the coal tar market and borates, while highlighting the importance of its process controls and data collection. Koppers will host another summit in 2025 at its Stickney plant.

NARSTCO

“ e railroad industry, from industrial rail yards to Class I’s, continues to adopt and nd

Tech focus – M/w: CROSSTIES

Tech focus – M/w: CROSSTIES

more areas of use for NARSTCO’s steel ties, turnouts and recently released ‘e’ clip fasteners,” Vice President of Sales Matt Violin reports. “ e superior performance and longevity that NARSTCO products deliver our customers, meets many of their sustainability and safety goals.” Coming o a record 2023, he tells Railway Age that NARSTCO expects to see continued growth in 2024 for new construction and maintenance.

e company’s latest o ering is “e”-type clip fasteners, which are produced in the United States from recycled steel. ey are gaining interest from all areas of the railroad industry, Violin says, including Class I railroads and transit agencies.

In 2023, the company secured the largest steel tie and turnout order in its history for a Chevron Phillips Chemical project in Orange, Tex. According to Violin, this has resulted in more opportunities for steel ties and turnouts to be installed in adjacent facilities and other locations in this market, which he says “are racing to build out rail infrastructure to support the high demand for railcar storage and transloading.”

NARSTCO is also working on port projects across the country that Violin says directly relate to improving the supply chain and movement of goods. One example is for the South Carolina Ports Authority’s Navy Base Intermodal Facility in North Charleston, which is implementing a “large quantity” of steel ties and turnouts. Slated to open in July 2025, the facility will provide near-dock rail and inner-harbor barge operation to the Port of Charleston; nearly 80,000 feet of track will

create a capacity of one million rail li s in Phase 1. Additionally, NARSTCO is supporting a variety of projects for the automotive industry, where there is a “major push” to build electric vehicles, Violin reports “ e use of NARSTCO’s environmentally friendly recycled products is a perfect t for this ‘green’ industry that is poised for rapid growth in the coming years,” he says.

NISUS CORPORATION

“Railroads have long recognized the advantages of QNAP for bridges but are now starting to adopt them for crossties,” says Dr. Mark Manning, Divisional Vice President of Industrial Wood Protection. “Cleanliness, lower EPA labeling restrictions, improved tie life, ease of quality control, and more disposal/end of life options have all helped. Of course, with

steel and aluminum trying to go low carbon, there will also be less creosote availability in the future.”

Extending tie life, especially in high-hazard environments, is important to customers today, according to NISUS. e company has developed “a series of new technology—most of which are readily available with technical support—to achieve that,” Senior Scientist, Wood and Composite Protection Dr. Jae-Woo Kim tells Railway Age.

Customers are also concerned about borate e cacy and ties not lasting as long as expected, notes Dr. Je Lloyd, Senior Vice President for Innovation and Sustainability. is has been for a variety of reasons, which could be summarized by quality control (QC) issues, he says. “Poor initial borate retention (less than half what is required by American Wood Protection Association Standard and which could signi cantly impact tie life), not covering ties during seasoning, improper or no quality control of tie moisture content and subsequently treating ties with creosote at too high moisture content, has led to most of these issues,” explains Kim Kelley-Tunis, Vice President of Regulatory and Technical Services.

On the R&D side, Nisus is looking to improve diluent oil used and focusing on the data required to support the EU registration, as creosote is being phased out; creosote, it says, will be allowed through 2029.

STELLA-JONES CORPORATION

Jim Raines, Vice President, Global Railway Ties Sales, tells Railway Age that Stella-Jones is “noting long-term trends pointing to solid crosstie demand year-over-year.” is

voestalpine Railway Systems Nortrak (top); NISUS Corporation (bottom)

A blend of Keyway ties from voestalpine Railway Systems Nortrak and wood ties are shown at TriMet in Portland, Ore.

“These Class I ties show poor borate retention and poor creosote penetration,” NISUS Corporation reports. “Red indicates 0.07 pcf as DOT (disodium octaborate tetrahydrate) instead of 0.25 pcf. These issues stem from poor quality control.”

Stella-Jones Corporation uses railway tie stackers— like this new one in its Fulton, Ky., facility—to improve worker safety and productivity.

demand, he says, “is largely driven by steady maintenance requirements across our Class I, commercial and short line customers, and is further bolstered by government infrastructure mandates that are set to fuel signi cant upgrades to the North American railway network.” e FRA’s CRISI grants are promising for the company, which Raines says has experienced their impacts as funds have been deployed, and expects more to come.

“On the industrial products front, we’ve noted a rise in demand for bridge timbers and crossings,” Raines reports. “With aging infrastructure and the growing occurrence of extreme weather events, we expect repair maintenance to be an additional demand driver for our business. Stella-Jones’ proven ability to respond quickly to emergency situations through our strong inventory position, logistics capabilities and distribution network, make us optimistic that we will continue to meet this demand.”

e company is consistently investing to improve its network and operations through technologies that optimize quality, e ciency and safety, according to Raines. For example, it recently installed its sixth robotic railway tie stacker at a manufacturing facility in Fulton,

Ky. “By automating the stacking process, we help improve productivity and enhance the safety of our workers,” he points out.

Procurement continues to be a key consideration for the business, according to Raines. “Coming out of 2023 where the industry felt tightness in untreated tie availability, Stella-Jones is pleased to nd itself standing at a robust inventory position, thanks to the strength of our sawmill partner relationships,” he tells Railway Age. “We continue to leverage these partnerships while staying abreast of market trends so that we may keep ensuring certainty of supply for our customers.”

VOESTALPINE RAILWAY SYSTEMS NORTRAK

Last summer, voestalpine Railway Systems Nortrak acquired Spokane, Wash.-based CXT Concrete Ties from L.B. Foster Company. e addition “complements our growing rail xation portfolio and leverages our vertically integrated design and manufacturing approach with our ability to produce concrete ties and fastening components like Safelok I clips, ductile shoulders, plastic rail pads and insulators, and even indented reinforcing wire, all in-house,” Senior Vice President

of Strategy and Development Fixation John Stout reports. “Our customers demand the best quality at the lowest cost and by controlling our own supply chain, we wring out inefciencies to meet customers’ expectations in a very competitive environment.”

voestalpine Railway Systems Nortrak’s newest o ering is the Keyway Tie System. is concrete tie is designed to be interspersed with wood ties, and “has continued to gain wider adoption throughout North America in freight and passenger applications,” according to Stout. “Track measurements before and a er installation show the Keyway Tie System immediately secured and stabilized the track gauge, and since it has the same dimensions as a wood tie, it allows for a consistent track modulus with adjacent wood ties and can also be installed with typical maintenance-of-way equipment.”

Stout tells Railway Age that the company o ers Keyway Ties to accommodate 6-inch and 5-1/2-inch rail bases and has developed a specialized set of Keyway Transition Ties to bridge the transitions from xed structures to open track. e Keyway Transition Tie Sets minimize the ballast breakdown at approaches to turnouts, open deck bridges, highway/rail grade crossings and other structures, which he says “o en lead to a dip in the track surface that results in high impacts on structures with accompanying maintenance and reduced service life of those high-cost assets.”

What is the longer-term outlook for voestalpine Railway Systems Nortrak’s products?

“We are seeing a slight pullback in near-term concrete tie demand as Class I’s reconcile capital and maintenance programs with tra c levels,” Stout reports. “However, we remain optimistic about the long-term outlook for concrete ties as freight and passenger railroads look to increase the RAMS (Reliability, Availability, Maintenance and Safety) on their networks to increase revenue-generating tra c and minimize the need to occupy the track for maintenance. In addition, di culties in hiring and retaining skilled track workers will likely persist making long-life/low-maintenance products like concrete ties a very attractive option.”

voestalpine Railway Systems Nortrak is nearing completion of its work on the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) Heyward Maintenance Complex Project in California. It is providing standard concrete ties, turnouts on concrete ties, and rubber bonded direct

Stella-Jones

xation fasteners, as well as switch machines and project management services. e company is also beginning engineering and production planning for the St. Louis Metro Mid-America Airport Extension Project, which includes more than 15,000 main line concrete ties and eight turnouts on concrete.

WVCO RAILROAD SOLUTIONS

To ensure crossties hold gauge and to extend their service life, WVCO Railroad Solutions o ers wood tie plugging compound, as well as concrete railseat and shoulder repair products. It also provides low-viscosity high modulus urethane for concrete structures.

e company’s aim is to help railroads reduce downtime, and its latest product, Spike Fast IJ-30, does just that, according to Rob Loomis, Vice President, Performance Products Division. is insulated joint repair material cures in place and keeps the signal isolated, so the track stays open, he says. Among WVCO’s other products are SpikeFast® ES-50, for the remediation of wood and composite railroad ties; anchoring spikes with

Tech focus – M/w: CROSSTIES

comparable strength to un-spiked hardwood ties; and SpikeFast® CTR-100, for quick repair of damaged concrete ties, restoring original geometry for proper cant and gauge and reducing head de ection.

A growth area for the company is structural support, and some of the products gaining traction are bearing pad repair, used at bridge approaches, and waterproo ng for concrete and steel structures. Additionally, on the transit and rail yard side, WVCO o ers a plinth repair product to hold fastener screws in place. It is used by transit agencies such as Dallas Area Rapid Transit, Seattle’s Sound Transit and Baltimore MTA.

While WVCO’s R&D efforts are confidential, Loomis tells Railway Age that the company is constantly working to simplify product application with the fewest possible steps.

OMAHA TRACK (OT)

Recycled railroad materials and services provider OT remains optimistic about tie disposal markets, President Je Peterson tells

Railway Age. Most of the wood crossties it processes each year are recycled as biomass, with the remainder repurposed as railroad infrastructure or used in landscaping. e company’s tie-grinding fuel source project, he says, “has progressed positively, with potential end users currently in the testing phase.” Initiatives show promise for both environmental sustainability and economic viability, he reports. OT’s work with universities and other industries to nd environmentally friendly tie disposal options—such as biogas, biochar, woodgas and biocracking—also continue. “While these technologies present challenges in scaling economically, we remain optimistic about the potential for additional green alternatives,” Peterson says.

Also ongoing is OT’s collaboration with equipment, engineering and manufacturing companies to develop a new product for improving the tie pickup process. While it is still in the developmental phase, Peterson says the company is “optimistic about the potential to streamline operations and improve eciency in tie disposal process.”

SIT AND LISTEN

Railway Age, Railway Track & Structures and International Railway Journal have teamed to offer our Rail Group On Air podcast series. The podcasts, available on Apple Music, Google Play and SoundCloud, tackle the latest issues and important projects in the rail industry. Listen to the railway leaders who make the news.

William C. Vantuono Railway Age

David C. Lester Railway Track & Structures

Kevin Smith International Railway Journal

TOTAL FLEET INCREASE

RBY DAVID HUMPHREY, PH.D., SENIOR DATA SCIENTIST, RAILINC, FOR RAILWAY AGE William Beecher

ailinc’s analysis of the North American revenue-earning eet reveals that the total eet increased in 2023 with almost all car types accounting for the gain. One of the smallest car types—hoppers—continued declining in 2023. e average age of cars in the revenueearning eet was up, and new cars continued to trend on the larger side, with the majority having gross rail loads (GRLs) of 286,000 pounds.

is report from Railinc represents the period ending Dec. 31, 2023. It provides an industry overview of the North American

railcar eet, detailing essential rail equipment statistics and overall rail equipment trends. Railinc compiled all data in the report from its Umler® system.

e Umler equipment registry contains the physical characteristics, transportation management and pool assignments of more than two million pieces of rail equipment in North America. It is updated nearly one million times each month.

e revenue-earning eet is largely composed of freight cars that can be used in interchange service and against which an interline waybill can be placed. e North American rail equipment eet also

includes locomotives, intermodal trailers and containers, end-of-train (EOT) devices, maintenance equipment, etc., which are not included in this report. In context, the revenue-earning eet totaled 1.64 million units, while the total count for railroad equipment of all types was 2.10 million units.

e revenue-earning eet is made up of six sub eets: hoppers, covered hoppers, gondolas, ats, tank cars and boxcars. Because not all intermodal trailers and containers are registered in the Umler system, Railinc does not report them as part of the revenue-earning eet.

RAILINC FREIGHT CAR REVIEW 2024

2023 RAIL EQUIPMENT TRENDS

Detailed analysis reveals the following trends:

1. e size of the revenue-earning eet increased in 2023. e total eet size was up 0.7% from year-end 2022 to year-end 2023, compared with a 0.4% increase the previous year.

2. Nearly all car types recorded gains in the revenue-earning eet. Covered hoppers, gondolas, ats and boxcars all saw gains, with boxcars—the least populous car type—up 3.0%. It was the 14th consecutive year of decline for hoppers, down 0.8%.

3. e average age of the revenue-earning

eet continued to climb in 2023. e average age rose to 20.2 years—its highest in more than a decade— continuing to suggest new cars were joining the eet at a slightly lower rate than older cars were exiting last year.

4. e trend of GRL 286 cars predominating among additions to the revenueearning eet continued in 2023. e number of GRL 286 cars added to the eet increased by about 3% in 2023. ese cars accounted for 87% of all new additions in 2023 and about 88% in the past decade. Larger cars enable operational e ciencies that reduce costs and ease logistics challenges.

e revenue-earning eet realized a net increase of 12,000 cars in 2023. At the end of 2023, the revenue-earning freight car eet totaled 1.64 million units, up about 0.7% from the previous year (see Figure 1).

Hoppers and tanks were the two car types that decreased in the revenue-earning eet, down 0.8% and 0.1%, respectively, over 2022. All other car types increased in 2023, with boxcars leading the gains by nearly 3.0%.

e average age of railcars in the revenue-earning eet in 2023 was 20.2 years, a 0.1-year increase from 2022. e average age continues to hover around 20 years as it has for the past decade (see Figure 2). e slight increase in the age of the eet in 2023

Figure 1: North American Freight Car Fleet, By Car Type Counts At Year-End, Shown In Thousands

Figure 3: North American Freight Car Fleet Number Of Cars By Age

Figure 2: North American Freight Car Fleet Average And Median Age

RAILINC FREIGHT CAR REVIEW 2024

suggests that new cars are being added at a slower rate than old cars are exiting.

About 81,000 new cars have joined the revenue-earning eet in the past two years (see Figure 3). e number of new cars added in 2023 increased 7.5% over 2022.

Railcars with a GRL of 286,000 pounds have made most of the new additions to the revenue-earning fleet in the past 25 years. Over that time, GRL 286 cars have accounted for 84% of all new additions to the fleet. This trend continued in 2023, as 87% of new equipment were GRL 286 cars (see Figure 4). The number of GRL 263 cars added in 2023 increased by about 420 cars from 2022.

GRL 286 cars dominate among recent additions to the eet because they enable operational e ciencies that reduce costs and ease logistics challenges. e eet continues to add GRL 263 and GRL 268 cars, but at a much lower rate than GRL 286 cars. 2023 saw increases in GRL 220 cars added to the eet for a second year of growth. e last year non-GRL 286 cars led among new additions to the eet was 1992.

SUBFLEET TRENDS

More than 700 equipment type codes (ETCs) appear in the Umler equipment registry. Of those, 11 ETCs accounted for 55% of the revenue-earning eet in 2023.

For the eighth time since Railinc began producing this report in 2011, nine of the top 10 car types were either tank cars or covered hoppers—the two largest car types in the revenue-earning eet.

As the demographics of the car types change, so do the average car size and the total combined capacity of all the units in a car type. For example, with the growth in the tank car population, the total eet capacity has increased by 55.7% since 2009 (see Figure 5). Most new tank cars are large, which has pushed the average car size up by 7.8%. e total eet capacity for covered hoppers has increased, as well, by 24.1% (see Figure 6). However, the average car size

Figure 4: North American Freight Car Fleet Number Of Cars By Age And GRL

RAILINC FREIGHT CAR REVIEW 2024

has decreased slightly because most new covered hoppers are smaller.

In the past decade, the boxcar population has decreased, which has driven down the total eet capacity. Large boxcars have joined the eet, which led to an increase in average car size, but not at a fast enough rate to o set the population loss.

Several equipment types comprise the revenue-earning eet. e following section of the report presents select car types by the kinds of commodities they carry. is provides a more nuanced view of these car types. For example, while covered hoppers carry grain, sand, plastic pellets, and other commodities, the types of covered hoppers

that transport each commodity are very di erent in their characteristics.

e report takes a deeper look at a few of the car types, including covered hoppers, gondolas, open hoppers and boxcars. ese car types were selected because they carry commonly shipped commodities and make up a sizable percentage of the revenue-earning eet.

Plastics: Covered hoppers are commonly used to ship plastic pellets. is commodity sub eet added about 9,100 cars in the past two years—about 20% of what was added in the previous 10 years combined. Cars with equipment type code C214 comprise nearly the entire commodity sub eet as de ned here and make up 9% of the revenue-earning

eet. ey are the second-largest equipment type. New railcars have trended larger. Of the cars added to the commodity sub eet in the past 20 years, about 93% have had a capacity of 6,000 cubic feet or more.

Grain/Fertilizer: Railroads move grain and fertilizer in large covered hoppers. e grain and fertilizer sub eet added about 14,600 new cars in the past two years and make up about 17% of the revenue-earning eet. Two types of covered hoppers—C114 and C113—account for about 96% of the commodity sub eet and are in the top ve of the most populous equipment types in the revenue-earning eet. Larger covered hoppers with capacities of at least 5,000

Figure 5: Total Tank Car Fleet Capacity Has Increased By 55.7% Since 2009.

Figure 6: Total Covered Hopper Fleet Capacity Has Increased By 24.1% Since 2009.

RAILINC FREIGHT CAR REVIEW 2024

cubic feet have made up nearly 84% of the additions to the commodity sub eet in the past 20 years.

Sand & Cement: Railroads move sand and cement using small covered hoppers. No sand and cement cars were added in the past four years, but over the past 10 years, the revenue-earning eet has added almost 44,000 covered hoppers with an equipment type code of C112. About 96% of the sub eet is comprised of C112s, which was the thirdlargest equipment type in 2023. Because of the density of sand and cement, the cars that carry these commodities tend to be smaller. Of the cars in the sub eet, almost all have a capacity of just over 3,000 cubic feet. Only about 3% of the sand and cement cars have capacities less than 3,000 cubic feet, and practically no cars of this size have been added to the sub eet in almost 25 years.

Coal: is commodity is shipped primarily in gondolas and open hoppers. ese cars still made up a sizable portion of the revenueearning eet—10%, or 166,000 railcars—in 2022 and 2023. About 77% of those cars were

added between 1990 and 2013 and none were added in the past eight years. Nearly all the coal-carrying railcars added in the past 30 years have been GRL 286 cars.

Aggregate: Aggregates such as limestone and crushed stone are shipped in gondolas and open hoppers. e number of these car types added to the revenue-earning eet in 2023 and 2022 was several times greater than those added in the previous two-year period. Nearly half the cars in the aggregate commodity sub eet have been added in the past 16 years, though they make up only 2% of the total revenue-earning eet. About 94% of all cars added to this commodity sub eet in the past 12 years have been GRL 286 cars.

Boxcar Commodities: Boxcars are the least populous car type in the revenue-earning eet and are used to ship a wide variety of products—from consumer goods to automotive parts. e boxcar eet is older than other car types. As older and smaller boxcars continue to age out of the eet, new larger boxcars continue to be added. Boxcars with a GRL of less than 286,000 pounds make up

HowDiesel&Electric LocomotivesWork

ByJeffWilson

Thecombinationofthedieselengineandelectrictraction motorrevolutionizedrailroading.Inthepastcentury,the dieselanditscompanionelectriclocomotivehave advancedfromnewtechnologytosomeofthemosthightechvehiclesonsteelwheels.Findingoutwhatgoesonunderthehood,inthe electricalcabinet,andbehindthecontrolstandtomaketheseunitsworkisjust asfascinatingaswatchingone(orseveral)haulfreightormovepassengers. Wilson’snewbooktracesthehistoryanddevelopmentofthedieseland examineseachmajor systemthatispartofalocomotive.Thebookiswrittenin easy-to-understandlanguageprovidingjusttherightamountoftechnicaldetail withoutburdeningthereader.

about 32% of this car type, but most of those were built more than 40 years ago.

CONCLUSION

e North American railcar eet grew in 2023. e total size of the revenue-earning eet increased 0.7% from year-end 2022 to year-end 2023.

e revenue-earning eet added cars in almost all sub eets—boxcars increased the most, up 3%, followed by gondolas at 1.7%. Hoppers and tanks contracted, decreasing by 0.8% and 0.1%, respectively. e average age of cars in the revenue-earning eet increased to 20.2 years, suggesting new cars are joining the eet at a slightly lower rate than older cars are exiting. GRL 286 cars continue to predominate among new additions to the revenue-earning eet. is size of car accounted for about 86% of all new additions to the eet in 2023.

Railinc is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Association of American Railroads. For more information and to download this report and related materials, visit www.railinc.com.

& SECURITY FURSST FOR SAFETY

BY DR. PRZEMYSLAW RAKOCZY, SENIOR RAIL RESEARCH ENGINEER; AND MATTHEW DICK, P.E., CHIEF OF STRATEGY & DEVELOPMENT, ENSCO, INC.

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 Vulnerability research project, the tunnel was primarily built for con ned space blast tests. However, its design allows for a range of security and safety-related testing, including re. e FURSST is one of many proactive testing initiatives led by the TSA to help ensure safety and security of surface transportation. is article will discuss its construction and use.

TUNNEL PARAMETERS

Constructed in 2017 using the “cut and cover” method, the rst 300-foot-long section of the FURSST tunnel utilizes a multi-arch design with an open bottom, with cross-sectional

dimensions of approximately 18 feet 7 inches high and 22 feet 8 inches wide. is oversized design facilitates full-scale re tests, allowing for the application of necessary insulation.

e tunnel comprises corrugated steel plate modules on reinforced concrete footings, with 8 gage thick steel plates and galvanized. Modules are connected by bolts with seams alternating every ring. Its modular design allows for easy replacement of damaged sections post-testing.

BLAST TESTS

e tunnel was constructed to replicate realistic con ned space conditions for the full-scale blast tests. e initial tests aimed to experimentally demonstrate the tunnel’s structural strength for future full-scale testing. Moreover, the data collected from these tests were used to validate and calibrate computer models of the tunnel and blast loading under con ned space conditions.

When a high explosive substance detonates, it triggers a chemical reaction that generates a large quantity of hot gases. ese

gases undergo a violent supersonic expansion, forcing the surrounding air outwards. As a result, a compressed layer of air, known as the shock wave, contains most of the energy released by the explosion. is shock wave travels outwards from the explosion’s center.

A blast wave, upon impacting a solid surface, re ects o the surface. e magnitude of the resulting pressure on the surface depends on the angle of incidence between

Tunnel

TTC OPERATED BY ENSCO

the surface and the blast wave. Blast loading on structures is characterized by two parameters: peak pressure and speci c impulse. Peak pressure represents the maximum pressure on face of the pressure wave, typically lasting for a very short duration, around one millisecond. From a structural damage perspective, speci c impulse, the area under the pressure time plot is a more signi cant parameter, as it correlates with the energy carried by a pressure wave.

A section of the tunnel was modeled using the Finite Element Method (FEM) in LS-DYNA so ware to analyze the structural response of the tunnel and back ll soil. is model was validated through initial tests and later utilized simulating full-scale tests with a vehicle inside the tunnel. e value of creating a model that corresponds with the

physical testing is that once the model is validated through the physical testing, it can be repeated with varying parameters, decreasing the total number of physical tests required.

OTHER FURSST APPLICATIONS

Fire testing is another intended application for FURSST. Tunnel res post serious safety and security concerns due to limited access, higher temperatures compared to open air res, and toxic smoke and fumes lling the space. Historical accident data highlights the tragic consequences of tunnel res.

To facilitate full-scale re tests, the tunnel clearance was intentionally increased to allow the application of multilayer re insulation, with temperatures exceeding 1,800 degrees F for up to 30 minutes. FURSST has the capability

to conduct full-scale re tests on any railcar or locomotive. Both ends of the tunnel can be enclosed to enable testing in controlled ventilation conditions, assessing the e ectiveness of ventilation or re extinguishing systems, and analyzing smoke composition and quanti cation. e tunnel is perfectly suited to test thermal runaways in electric batteries by themselves or within their own vehicle. ENSCO has designed a removable concrete deck that lays on top of the rail and allows the tunnel to be used with rubber-tired vehicles (bus, trucks, etc.), thus supporting the new mission of the TTC in supporting all modes of surface transportation, research, test, and training.

SUMMARY

FURSST stands as a pioneering facility for testing security and safety aspects of underground rail systems, as well as rubber tires vehicles. While initially focused on blast testing, its capabilities extend to full-scale re tests and beyond, underscoring the TSA’s mission to enhance safety and security within the surface transportation sector.

Finished rail tunnel

FURSST Explosion FEM results: pressure wave propagation stages.

PEOPLE

JOHN ORR

Norfolk Southern

HIGH PROFILE: Veteran railroad operating officer John Orr has departed Canadian Pacific Kansas City as Executive Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer and joined Norfolk Southern as EVP and COO, effective immediately. Orr replaces Paul Duncan, who departed NS “to pursue other opportunities,” NS said.

CPKC agreed to a waiver of Orr’s non-competition agreement to allow him to work for NS “in exchange for certain considerations,” CPKC said. The CPKC/NS agreement includes a one-time waiver fee of US$25 million payment from NS to CPKC plus certain operational and commercial considerations related to the Meridian Speedway and the Meridian Terminal “that will expand competition and unlock additional value related to CPKC’s proposed Meridian & Bigbee Railroad (MNBR) acquisition,” CPKC said. “NS has also agreed to temporally limited no-hire and non-solicitation restrictions for a short list of employees of CPKC. Orr will remain subject to his non-solicitation restrictions. The role of Chief Transformation Officer will not be replaced, and Orr’s portfolio will be integrated into CPKC’s existing operational structure.”

Orr was appointed CPKC Executive Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer on April 14, 2023, the day the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger was completed and memorialized with driving of the ceremonial Final Spike in Kansas City. Prior to this, he served as Executive Vice President Operations for KCS from 2021 through 2023.

Orr began his career at CN in 1985 as a conductor and served as a union representative for 15 years. Over the years, he held various operating and network positions at the company, ultimately being promoted to Senior Vice President and Chief Transportation Officer. Orr holds a Bachelor of Arts in environmental studies from the University of Waterloo and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

“Throughout his four-decade career, John Orr has earned a reputation as a proven leader in applying scheduled railroading principles to drive sustainable long-term value creation,” NS said. “He spearheaded the turnaround of CPKC’s Mexico operations by successfully implementing a high-efficiency operating model, shaped and guided the execution of KCS’s service-focused scheduled railroading initiatives and drove significant improvements in CN safety and operational performance. He rapidly remediated CPKC’s challenged Mexican operations by restoring service levels and resiliency, which resulted in significant operating improvements across train speed, terminal dwell time, car miles, locomotive productivity, and service experience for the customer. He is an award-winning expert and author in PSR operations, having worked under Hunter Harrison at CN, and was honored as one of Railway Age’s 2023 Readers’ Influential Leaders.”

Reporting directly to NS President and CEO Alan Shaw, Orr will oversee NS’s railway operations, including safety, transportation, network planning and operations, engineering, and equipment maintenance.

Brad Thomas on April 1 became President and Chief Operating Officer for the U.S. Transit business at Keolis North America. Since 2009, Thomas served as the CEO and President of First Transit and First Vehicle Services. He led the organization through two transactions, first to a private equity firm and most recently to another private-sector operator, Transdev. During Thomas’ tenure, First Transit was one of the largest passenger transportation contractors in North America. Thomas has also served as the Chair of the Board for the North American Transit Alliance from 2020-2023 and currently sits on the Board of the National Safety Council. He will be based out of Keolis’ Boston headquarters, reporting to North America CEO David Scorey, and will sit on the Executive Committee.

LA Metro last month made three executive-level appointments: Darcy Buryniuk as Chief Program Management Officer; Ilyssa DeCasperis as Chief People Officer; and Ray Sosa, promoted to Chief Planning Officer from Deputy Chief of Planning.

Railway Supply Institute (RSI) President Patty Long has joined the OneRail Coalition Board of Directors. “Patty’s strengths as the leader of RSI, whose members touch nearly every aspect of the rail supply chain, will help advance OneRail’s mission of raising awareness for the many economic, environmental, and safety benefits freight and passenger rail provide,” said OneRail Coalition Director Devon Barnhart.

Betsy Talton-Buck and Angie Kolar have joined Norfolk Southern as Vice President and Chief Communications Officer, and Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer, respectively. Both report to Executive Vice President Corporate Affairs and Chief Legal Officer Nabanita Nag. Talton-Buck spent 20 years at Delta Air Lines, serving most recently as Vice President-Global Public Relations and Reputation. Kolar was previously Senior Vice President, Operations, EHS, and Compliance for Colonial Pipeline, a company with a similar operations focus and workforce to NS; she served there for 20 years.

May 8, a Pivotal Day, Then and Now

May 8 is a big day in railroad history. e transcontinental railroad was completed on May 8, 1869. It was a remarkable achievement that profoundly changed the country by opening the western United States to travel and making commerce possible on a vastly larger scale.

is year, May 8 is Railroad Day on the Hill. Although perhaps not as consequential as completing the transcontinental railroad, this is the freight railroad industry’s best opportunity to communicate with members of Congress about the bene ts of the national railroad network and the importance of promoting policies that strengthen that network. is annual event brings together hundreds of individuals from the railroads and rail supply industry for a single day of more than 300 Congressional o ce meetings. It is a display of the industry’s geographical reach and the chance to give elected ocials the perspective of hundreds of railroad leaders from whom they don’t hear from as regularly as those of us in Washington, D.C. If you have attended in the past, you know the importance of telling our story. If you have not, we strongly encourage you to do so! You can register at https://www.aslrra.org/events/ railroad-day.

e work our members have done on Railroad Day has yielded hugely bene cial results, including building Congressional support for the 45G tax credit, creating short line eligibility for CRISI grants, and funding the Short Line Safety Institute. ese programs help us rehabilitate infrastructure to better serve our shippers, improve safety to better protect our workers and communities, preserve rail service and jobs, and maximize the signi cant environmental bene ts of moving freight o the highway.

ASLRRA launched the rst Railroad Day in 1994, and it has grown from a relatively modest short line lobbying e ort into a major industrywide event. It continues and grows because lobbying Congress cannot be a “one and done” e ort. Issues continue to evolve and are impacted, for better or for worse, by current events. Technology continues to change, creating new opportunities for improvement and challenges in adoption. Finally, Congressional membership itself

is never static. In 2022, more than 80 new representatives and senators were elected to Congress, and that kind of turnover occurs every two years. Congressional sta turnover is even greater, and these are the individuals we depend on daily for navigating the legislative process.

is year’s Railroad Day will focus on issues that directly impact short line viability and the ability to provide reliable service to rail shippers.

e ve-year infrastructure bill provided $1 billion per year in guaranteed funding and authorized Congress to appropriate an additional $1 billion per year. is year, the President’s budget recommends only $250 million beyond the guarantee, and we need to convince Congress that increasing the funding is well worth the investment. One great way to make that case is for short lines that have CRISI projects to show up on Railroad Day and describe the real-world bene ts of that spending.

is year, there is yet another legislative e ort to increase truck size and weights. e MOVE Act (HR 7496) would give governors new authority to increase weights without limit based on a wide range of vague “emergency” conditions or equally vague “supply chain function” disruptions. Last year, the House T&I Committee approved a 10-year “pilot” project to increase truck weights from 80,000 to 91,000 pounds. For years, the railroad industry and allied labor, trucking, and safety groups have successfully convinced Congress to reject e orts to increase truck size and weights. Last year’s T&I approval of the pilot project proposal should serve as notice that the current Congress is not as supportive as before. Participating in Railroad Day is the best way short lines can help.

A California Air Resources Board (CARB) rulemaking would impose immediate and ruinously large nancial charges on railroads operating locomotives in California based on the locomotive’s emissions. e rulemaking further proposes to ban the operation of locomotives older than 23 years by 2030. While this is a state initiative, it would have catastrophic national implications immediately because of the size and importance of California. Other states may also follow, creating a patchwork of locomotive operational

requirements that is untenable for the interconnected U.S. freight rail system. We are working to ensure that EPA and Congress understand the grave implications of approving a waiver necessary for this rulemaking to go into e ect. Railroad Day is an opportunity to educate Congress on this issue.

e 45G Short Line Rehabilitation Tax Credit was rst enacted in 2004 and remains in place. e tax credit, which must be matched by a short line’s own spending on track improvements, has been enormously successful in increasing infrastructure investment and improving safety. However, the 2004 law capped the value of the tax credit at $3,500 per mile, and $3,500 just doesn’t buy what it used to. ASLRRA is launching an e ort to raise the cap in line with in ation and make new short line miles eligible.

e Transcontinental Railroad Golden Spike ceremony celebrating the May 8 completion did not go entirely to plan. Central Paci c President Leland Stanford and Union Paci c Vice President omas Durant used a silver-plated spike maul to gently tap in the nal golden spike to not scratch the maul or the spike. e spike was then removed, and the two executives were given an iron spike and an iron spike maul that were both wired to the transcontinental telegraph line so the nation could hear the blows as the spike was driven. Stanford took a mighty swing at the spike but hit the tie instead. Durant did not even hit the tie. According to the newspaper account, “Finally, a regular rail worker drove home the last spike and the Western Union telegrapher sent the long-awaited message, D-O-N-E.”

On May 8, railroaders from across the country will convene in Washington, D.C., to do the hard work necessary to help Congress make the best transportation policy decisions. I urge all our short line members to help get that job done and hit the spike.

There are no new proposals or final rules to report for this issue. Be sure to check back next month to see if there are any changes to FRA regulations.

Railroad Operating Rules & Practices

49 CFR 217 to 218. Part 217: Purpose, Application, Definitions, Penalty, Operating Rules, Program of Operation Tests and Inspections; Program of Instruction on Operating Rules, Information Collection. Part 218: General Blue Signal Collection of Workers Protection of Trains and Locomotives, Prohibition against tampering with safety services, Protection of occupied camp cars. Softcover. Spiral bound. Updated 12-28-23

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Part 215: Freight Car Safety Standards

49 CFR 215. Prescribes the minimum safety standards for freight cars allowed by the FRA. Includes safety standards for freight car components, car bodies, draft system, restricted equipment and stenciling. Softcover, spiral.

Updated 12-28-23

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Part 231: Railroad Safety Appliance Standards

49 CFR 231. General requirements for safety appliances including: handbrakes, brake step, running boards, sill steps, ladders, end ladder clearance, roof handholds, side handholds, horizontal end handholds, vertical end handholds, and uncoupling levers. 106 pages. Softcover. Updated 12-28-23

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Part 232: Brake System Safety Standards

49 CFR 232. Regulations and general requirements for all train brake systems, inspection and testing, periodic maintenance and training requirements, and end-of-train devices for Class I, II, and III railroads. Plus the introduction of new brake system technology. Softcover. 155 pages Updated 12-11-20

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