Railway Age August 2022

AUGUST 2022

W W W. R A I LWAYA G E .C O M

AILWAY GE S E R V I N G T H E R A I LWAY I N D U S T R Y S I N C E 1 8 5 6

METROLINX

ON THE MOVE Four New LRTs Take Shape

WINTER PREPAREDNESS Snow and Ice Don’t Stand a Chance

REMOTE ONBOARD HEALTH MONITORING railwayage.com

Flag It and Fix It Before It Fails

August 2017 // Railway Age 1

AILWAY GE

February 2022 AUGUST 2020

16

RRVW photo by David Badgley

FEATURES

10

Passenger Focus – GTHA

DEPARTMENTS

16

Winter Preparedness

24

Remote Health Monitoring

30

Timeout for Tech

33

Telematics

4 6 7 36 37 38 38 39

Metrolinx On the Move

How To Handle Extreme Cold

Onboard High-Tech Solutions

Eighth In a Series With Gary Fry

TransmetriQ Introduces RMS

Industry Indicators Industry Outlook Market People Products Professional Directory

COMMENTARY 2 8 9 40

From the Editor Watching Washington Financial Edge ASLRRA Perspective

Classified Advertising Index

COVER PHOTO Alstom Citadis Spirit LRV clearance testing on Toronto’s Finch West line. Metrolinx photo.

Railway Age, USPS 449-130, is published monthly by the Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation, 88 Pine St., 23rd Fl., New York, NY 10005-1809. Tel. (212) 620-7200; FAX (212) 633-1863. Vol. 223, No. 8. Subscriptions: Railway Age is sent without obligation to professionals working in the railroad industry in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. However, the publisher reserves the right to limit the number of copies. Subscriptions should be requested on company letterhead. Subscription pricing to others for Print and/or Digital versions: $100.00 per year/$151.00 for two years in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico; $139.00 per year/$197.00 for two years, foreign. Single Copies: $36.00 per copy in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico/$128.00 foreign All subscriptions payable in advance. COPYRIGHT© 2022 Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced without permission. For reprint information contact PARS International Corp., 102 W. 38th Street, 6th floor, New York, N.Y. 10018, Tel.: 212-221-9595; Fax: 212-221-9195. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and additional mailing offices. Canada Post Cust.#7204564; Agreement #41094515. Bleuchip Int’l, PO Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2. Address all subscriptions, change of address forms and correspondence concerning subscriptions to Subscription Dept., Railway Age, PO Box 239 Lincolnshire IL 60069-0239 USA, Or call +1 (402) 346-4740, FAX +1 (847) 291-4816. Printed at Cummings Printing, Hooksett, N.H. ISSN 0033-8826 (print); 2161-511X (digital).

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August 2022 // Railway Age 1

FROM THE EDITOR

AILWAY GE

Letters, We Get Letters ...

B

ack in the print-only days, before email (I’ve been around long enough to be able to say that, which means I’m “seasoned”), Railway Age had a rather substantial section called “Letters.” We used to get a lot. All were mailed the “old-fashioned way,” in an envelope with a 29¢ stamp. We had to retype them (imagine that!).

These days, with email, chat groups, blogs, etc., we get bombarded. Lots of people have lots to talk about, regardless of whether they have anything meaningful to say. Those who do have something useful to contribute— usually the “old heads”—often write volumes.

Though I’ve gotten quick with my “delete” key, every once in a while something interesting lands in my inbox that’s worth sharing.

Some of those emails become commentary pieces on our website. Some are in response to opinions expressed in this column, whether they’re mine or someone else’s. Lately, with all the scrutiny to which this industry finds itself subjected, and the current contentious state of management/union relations, the comments have grown in volume. Here are a couple of observations based on my June and July From the Editor columns, “Railroading 101” and “Lines on Labor,” respectively.

“Your back-to-back columns in June and July quoting Mike Haverty and Gil Lamphere are what railroads—or any service industry—are all about: telling the customer what to expect, then delivering on those expectations,” writes industry consultant and long-time Railway Age contributor Roy Blanchard. “The genesis of Precision Scheduled Railroading was Hunter Harrison’s idea to schedule cars, not trains. This was for

SUBSCRIPTIONS: 1 (402) 346-4740

Burlington Northern (well before the merger with Santa Fe) in the mid-1980s. He and Lamphere showed what could be done when they ran the Illinois Central in the 1990s.

“Customers and employees are the railroads’ two primary stakeholders. Deliver on commitments to both, and the shareholders will be rewarded, handsomely. Give customers or employees short shrift and the shareholders lose long-time customers and dedicated, experienced employees. Yet somehow, the focus has shifted from those stakeholders to shareholders, where management acts as though lower headcounts, lower operating ratios and increased earnings per share can only be achieved at the expense of customer and employee commitments. Keep it up long enough and you lose both—forever.

Then where are your shareholders?”

And from Marcus Wood, president of an engineering firm and a rail advocate from Texas: “The Class I’s cut back their engineering staffs a few years ago in a move to cut costs and satisfy Wall Street. The costs for project engineering reviews and approvals were shifted to private entities and increasingly so to state and local governments. Such costly reviews are being made by consultants with their own bottom line and legal liability concerns. Additionally, getting decisions takes forever! The delays are partially caused by a lack of institutional knowledge on the part of consultants and within the railroads.

Governments are beginning to ask questions about delays, which impact safety and stall projects—increasing costs. I hope and expect this subject to receive close attention in the near future at the federal and state legislative levels.”

No need to wait. That’s already happening.

WILLIAM C. VANTUONO Editor-in-Chief

Railway Age, descended from the American Rail-Road Journal (1832) and the Western Railroad Gazette (1856) and published under its present name since 1876, is indexed by the Business Periodicals Index and the Engineering Index Service. Name registered in U.S. Patent Office and Trade Mark Office in Canada. Now indexed in ABI/Inform.

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Industry Indicators ‘RECENT RAIL TRAFFIC FIGURES DON’T OFFER DEFINITIVE ANSWERS’ “As conjecture grows about the direction of the U.S. economy, recent rail traffic figures don’t offer definitive answers one way or the other,” the Association of American Railroads reported last month. “In June, total U.S. carloads fell 1.5% from last year, their third consecutive monthly decline. Total carloads were down 2.7% in Q2 2022 (their first quarterly decline since Q1 2021) and were down 0.1% in the first half of 2022. Since 1988, when our data begin, only 2020 had fewer first-half carloads. That’s obviously not ideal, but the full picture is more complicated. Some rail commodities tend to rise or fall for reasons that have little to do with the state of the economy. Coal (down 2.2% in Q2 2022), grain (down 7.9%), and petroleum products (down 10.9%) are in this category. If they were excluded, rail carloads would have been down 1.5% in Q2 2022 from Q2 2021, not 2.7%. Some rail commodities are trending higher—autos and steel scrap are examples. Others had been doing well, but their momentum seems to have slipped—chemicals are an example.”

Railroad employment, Class I linehaul carriers, June 2022 (% change from June 2021)

TRAFFIC ORIGINATED CARLOADS

MAJOR U.S. RAILROADS

BY COMMODITY

TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 116,251 % CHANGE FROM JUNE 2021: +0.28%

Transportation (train and engine) 48,080 (+1.34%)

Executives, Officials and Staff Assistants 7,763 (+5.73%)

FIVE WEEKS ENDING JULY 2, 2022

Grain Farm Products excl. Grain Grain Mill Products Food Products Chemicals Petroleum & Petroleum Products Coal Primary Forest Products Lumber & Wood Products Pulp & Paper Products Metallic Ores Coke Primary Metal Products Iron & Steel Scrap Motor Vehicles & Parts Crushed Stone, Sand & Gravel Nonmetallic Minerals Stone, Clay & Glass Products Waste & Nonferrous Scrap All Other Carloads TOTAL U.S. CARLOADS

JUNE ’22

JUNE ’21

% CHANGE

111,944 3,395 46,253 30,028 164,396 49,237 324,929 6,069 16,213 26,648 27,854 16,950 40,863 21,054 65,621 103,610 18,928 38,910 19,633 25,020

107,150 3,599 45,411 28,227 164,480 50,745 335,155 5,157 17,527 28,864 32,515 17,690 46,251 20,586 61,782 96,582 19,980 42,127 19,145 32,552

4.5% -5.7% 1.9% 6.4% -0.1% -3.0% -3.1% 17.7% -7.5% -7.7% -14.3% -4.2% -11.6% 2.3% 6.2% 7.3% -5.3% -7.6% 2.5% -23.1%

1,157,555

1,175,525

-1.5%

382,313

382,021

0.1%

1,539,868

1,557,546

-1.1%

CANADIAN RAILROADS TOTAL CANADIAN CARLOADS

COMBINED U.S./CANADA RR

Professional and Administrative 9,859 (-2.29%)

Maintenance-of-Way and Structures 28,492 (-0.53%)

Maintenance of Equipment and Stores 17,382 (-1.57%)

Transportation (other than train & engine)

Intermodal

FIVE WEEKS ENDING JULY 2, 2022

MAJOR U.S. RAILROADS

BY COMMODITY

JUNE ’22

JUNE ’21

% CHANGE

Trailers Containers TOTAL UNITS

78,098 1,245,021

102,614

1,323,119

1,283,988 1,386,602

-23.9% -3.0% -4.6%

0 350,872 350,872

0 355,583 355,583

— -1.3% -1.3%

102,614

CANADIAN RAILROADS Trailers Containers TOTAL UNITS

4,675 (-1.60%)

COMBINED U.S./CANADA RR

Source: Surface Transportation Board

Trailers Containers

78,098 1,595,893

1,639,571

-23.9% -2.7%

TOTAL COMBINED UNITS

1,673,991

1,742,185

-3.9%

Source: Rail Time Indicators, Association of American Railroads

4 Railway Age // August 2022

railwayage.com

BEFORE YOU INVEST IN ANOTHER AIR BRAKE CONTROL VALVE,

TOTAL U.S./Canadian CARLOADS, JUNE 2022 VS. JUNE 2021

1,539,868 JUNE 2022

STOP & CONSIDER:

1,557,546 JUNE 2021

Short Line And Regional Traffic Index CARLOADS

BY COMMODITY Chemicals Coal Crushed Stone, Sand & Gravel Food & Kindred Products Grain Grain Mill Products Lumber & Wood Products Metallic Ores Metals & Products Motor Vehicles & Equipment Nonmetallic Minerals Petroleum Products Pulp, Paper & Allied Products Stone, Clay & Glass Products Trailers / Containers Waste & Scrap Materials All Other Carloads

ORIGINATED JUNE ’22

ORIGINATED JUNE ’21

% CHANGE

51,429 16,923 27,105 11,920 27,709 8,336 10,222 2,961 19,949 9,242 2,872 2,276 18,770 14,798 43,336 11,709 75,189

53,747 21,916 21,275 10,687 24,433 8,067 10,830 3,047 18,169 9,268 2,040 2,073 17,647 14,537 58,135 11,289 78,679

-4.3% -22.8% 27.4% 11.5% 13.4% 3.3% -5.6% -2.8% 9.8% -0.3% 40.8% 9.8% 6.4% 1.8% -25.5% 3.7% -4.4%

Copyright © 2022 All rights reserved.

TOTAL U.S. Carloads and intermodal units, 2013-2022 (in millions, year-to-date through JUNE 2022, SIX-WEEK MOVING AVERAGE)

Proven Reliable:

Over 700,000 DB-60 control valves in operation worldwide.

AAR railroads the world over rely on DB-60 and DB-60 II control valves from New York Air Brake.

It’s no wonder, when you consider reliabilityfocused features like precision machined aluminum construction and improved rubber “K” seals for superior cold-weather performance. Highly engineered composites reduce internal contamination and fretting common to alloy-based valves. To learn more about the proven and ongoing legacy of the DB-60 family of control valves,

visit www.NYAB.com or initiate a conversation with NYAB Sr. Product Line Manager Vince Moore at Vincent.Moore@nyab.com or 315.786.5271.

748 Starbuck Avenue, Watertown, New York 13601 315.786.5200 | www.nyab.com railwayage.com

August 2022 // Railway Age 5

FRA Issues Crew Size NPRM; AAR Calls it ‘Politics Over Sound Safety Policy’ THE FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION ON JULY 27 ISSUED A NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING (NPRM) ON TRAIN CREW SIZE that basically mandates a minimum of two people in the locomotive cab, with limited exceptions. The Association of American Railroads, echoing many industry observers, is calling the potential rule a politically motivated move with “a complete absence of safety justification.” The NPRM also applies to most passenger trains that come under FRA jurisdiction.

“This proposal would … enhance safety nationwide by replacing the existing patchwork of State laws regarding crew size with a uniform national standard,” FRA said.

“Without consistent guidelines, railroads may be subjected to disparate requirements in every state in which they operate, resulting in potential safety risks, operational inefficiencies, and significant costs. The NPRM also proposes requirements for the location of crewmembers on a moving train, and would prohibit the operation of some 6 Railway Age // August 2022

trains with fewer than two crewmembers from transporting large amounts of certain hazardous materials. The risk assessment and annual oversight requirements in the NPRM are intended to ensure that railroads fully consider and address all relevant safety factors associated with using less than two person crews.”

“We are committed to data-driven decision making,” said FRA Administrator Amit Bose. “In cases where railroads wish to operate with fewer than two crewmembers, we are proposing that they perform a rigorous, thorough, and transparent risk assessment and hazard analysis, and FRA will provide an opportunity for public comment on these submissions.”

The AAR, in its statement, implied that Bose’s comments on data-driven decision making are an “about-face” with “no new safety data justifying it.” The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association said the proposed rule is “a solution in search of a problem.”

“The FRA proposed rolling back the clock

on train crew staffing—with no safety justification—and took steps to lock in two person crews into the future,” AAR said.

“Though the rule proports to offer a path toward single-person operations, the FRA’s proposal effectively reserves to itself unfettered discretion to disapprove such proposed operations, which removes any regulatory certainty or predictability and may make it nearly impossible for carriers to move beyond the current staffing paradigm.”

“The proposal prioritizes politics over sound, data-driven safety policy,” said AAR President and CEO Ian Jefferies. “In 2019, [under the leadership of Federal Railroad Administrator and career railroader Ron Batory], the FRA thoroughly reconsidered a rule that was very similar to the one being put forth today and retracted it after finding a complete absence of a safety justification for that rule. We knew then, and we especially know now with the full deployment of Positive Train Control technology, that there is no plausible safety justification for regulating the number of individuals physically located inside the cab of a locomotive.

“As has always been the case, railroad staffing and duty assignment decisions belong at the bargaining table [under the Railway Labor Act]. In fact, this issue is being negotiated right now across the industry in the current round of collective bargaining, and that process should be allowed to conclude without attempted interference in an area never before regulated.”

“In revisiting the crew size issue, the FRA provides no new safety data justifying its about-face,” AAR noted. “Instead, the FRA reverses its prior assessment of the relevance of some pre-PTC research studies and simply disregards the substantial evidence of safe one-person operations here and abroad. While other Department of Transportation modal agencies are working to support greater automation and the safety benefits that accompany such technology, the FRA stands alone in its efforts to lock in yesterday’s regulatory approaches. This regulatory approach puts freight rail at a long-term competitive disadvantage to other, less fuel efficient modes of transportation. AAR and the freight railroads will strongly encourage the FRA to reconsider this misguided political proposal that would stand in the way of future progress in the industry.” railwayage.com

BNSF

Industry Outlook

Market UP: 600 Wabtec Upgrades Worth $1B Union Pacific has selected Wabtec to modernize 600 locomotives in a deal worth more than $1 billion. Wabtec will upgrade 525 AC4400s and AC6000s, as well as 75 Dash-9s. This is Wabtec’s third major power-upgrade order from UP since 2018, covering more than 1,030 locomotives through completion in 2025. The upgraded units will feature Wabtec’s FDL Advantage engine and Modular Control Architecture, a next-generation controls technology that is said to be applicable throughout Wabtec’s locomotive installed base.

NORTH AMERICA

ETIHAD RAIL has awarded ENSCO RAIL a contract to supply a track inspection vehicle for the national railway network in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The vehicle will be manufactured by SOCOFER, France, and will be equipped with a rail flaw detection system supplied by Ensco. Ensco is also supplying an inspection system for point assets such as turnouts. The company will provide data analysis services over the 15-year term of the contract.

Classification yard process control system provider TRAINYARD TECH has signed a two-year contract with U.K.-based ASITE, whose “open construction platform enables organizations working on capital projects to come together, plan, design and build with seamless information sharing across the entire supply chain.” Trainyard Tech will use the Asite Data Platform, “a central repository that provides a single source of information for the project,” and Field for Site, Asite’s field management solution, “to streamline and standardize its project management processes, putting the correct features in place to achieve the ISO standard,” the companies said. The Asite Data Platform will allow the Trainyard Tech team and its railroad customers “to better manage electronic assets and collect electronic data, and provide effective collaboration in a secure environment.” Trainyard Tech Director of Operations Paul Johnson said: “Trainyard Tech has developed ways to keep our files in order and to keep our projects organized. Asite will help us elevate these processes and create a standardized way to manage and track our projects, keeping our internal teams and clients happy. It is important to us to stay

Wabtec

WORLDWIDE

railwayage.com

organized and to ensure that the customer is up-to-date on every portion of the project.

The last thing we want to do is make more work for our teams. Asite is a system that will help us organize our project management and keep the version control up-to-date, so we are getting the right products and the right plan sets out to our customers.” Asite Chief Revenue Officer Dan Lehman said: “We are delighted to welcome Trainyard Tech to Asite and become its project management software partner.”

EQUANS, through its subsidiary ICOMERA, has teamed with AMTRAK on behalf of the Amtrak Midwest states (Illinois, Michigan, Missouri and Wisconsin) to install, maintain and monitor onboard mobile Internet service for 88 new SIEMENS “Venture” single-level passenger cars, which are jointly owned by the Midwest states and will be operated under contract by Amtrak. EQUANS said that Icomera first began work with Amtrak in 2015, when it was contracted to supply “next-generation passenger Wi-Fi” for 20 Acela Express trainsets operating on the Northeast Corridor.

August 2022 // Railway Age 7

Watching Washington

Will SCOTUS Ruling Chill STB, FRA?

W

hether the Surface Transportation Board (STB) and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) will suffer from a June 30 Supreme Court (SCOTUS) trimming of regulatory agency authority to interpret their own governing statutes and remedy ambiguities remains to be seen.

The case is West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a 6-3 decision written by Chief Justice John Roberts on behalf of himself and the Court’s conservative bloc—Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil M. Gorsuch, Bret M. Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas. Dissenting were justices Elena Kagan, Stephen G. Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor.

The case turned on a Major Questions Doctrine that the dissenting justices said was the first time the Court used the term.

Although Executive Branch agencies headed by single administrators reporting to the President were singled out, agencies such as the STB, whose members have decisionmaking independence, may not be excluded.

More consequential is that while many conservatives hoped the SCOTUS would do more to “destroy the administrative state,” it was less aggressive, drawing a bright line between regulatory agency rulemakings having significant economic and political impact, and those less impactful.

The Court termed the former “major questions” on which Congress must “speak clearly” before granting a regulatory agency authority to, in the words of activists, “change the plot line of its governing statute.” The Court’s majority assailed “agencies asserting highly consequential power beyond what Congress could reasonably be understood to have granted.”

A logical conclusion for now is that so long as the STB and FRA do not stray from functions Congress clearly delegated to them—in violation of the now established Major Questions Doctrine—their rulemakings should be safe. That presumed protection flows from the so-called Chevron Doctrine, which the SCOTUS majority left intact.

The Chevron Doctrine was established by a 1984 SCOTUS decision (Chevron USA

8 Railway Age // August 2022

Expect conservatives to remain persistent in their effort to erode the Chevron Doctrine en route to their desired destruction of the administrative state.” v. Natural Resources Defense Council). It instructs courts to grant regulatory agencies—Executive Branch and independent— deference in their interpretation of a statute “unless it appears from the statute or its legislative history that the accommodation is not one Congress would have sanctioned.”

The bright line drawn by this conservative Court in its June 30 EPA decision also suggests how the Major Questions Doctrine may someday be used as an exception to the Chevron Doctrine. That exception ensnared the EPA—the Court saying it created a vast new regulatory regime by expanding “vague language of a long-extant, but rarely used, statute.”

Chevron Doctrine supporters argue that society has grown so complex as to justify expert agencies curing statutory ambiguities and filling in details, as Congress has neither the time nor expertise to do so. Opponents cite an 1803 SCOTUS decision (Marbury v.

Madison) that “it is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is.”

Expect conservatives to remain persistent in their effort to erode the Chevron Doctrine en route to their desired destruction of the administrative state. Special interests might do their bidding by using the Major Questions Doctrine to target STB and FRA rulemakings alleged to have significant economic impact.

An STB rulemaking at risk might be the setting of standards for mandating reciprocal

switching whose cost to railroads could be in the billions of dollars—a major economic impact requiring review under the Major Questions Doctrine exception to the Chevron Doctrine. An STB defense could be that its governing statute clearly allows shippers to seek reciprocal switching, thus requiring the STB to establish standards for granting it.

Perhaps also at risk, were the Major Questions Doctrine invoked, could be a pending FRA rulemaking mandating that railroads retain two crew members on freight trains, which would impose on railroads a significant cost—an economic burden— even though evidence suggests one-person crews are at least as safe, given advances in technology.

If there is a certainty to be embraced in predicting the future, it is that the current SCOTUS conservative majority possesses hostility to government regulation and has, by recent decisions (abortion, gun laws and separation of church and state), abandoned judicial restraint and tossed precedent to the wind.

FRANK N. WILNER Contributing Editor railwayage.com

Financial Edge

Why the Labor Dispute Doesn’t Seem to Matter to Railroads

R

obert DeNiro, playing Al Capone in The Untouchables, pontificates on the balance between individual achievement and the need for teamwork on a baseball field. It is an engaging story until (big spoiler alert! For a movie from 1987!) Capone uses the prop bat he is holding to smash in the skull of an adversary.

That scene feels like the state of negotiations between the railroads and rail labor.

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen voted early in July for a nationwide strike. Soon after the strike vote, President Biden named a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) to avert a strike and bring resolution to the more-than-30-month dispute, which feels generational when the impact of the pandemic on livelihood, commerce and lifestyle is contemplated.

Labor disputes are often long, drawn out dramas. Most labor negotiations make Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen (a 17-hour, four-opera series) feel like a 15-minute YouTube video summarizing Sunday’s NFL highlights.

The delay in completing negotiations will work against the railroads. Between current hiring difficulties and the changing employment landscape, the railroads stand to pay more today to resolve this than in 2020. The PEB is comprised of people who have careers in labor academia, legal matters and arbitration. The members of the PEB are going to have multitudinous labor market input. It’s difficult to imagine that works in favor of the railroads.

Labor matters have been flummoxing the railroads, and they make headlines. Whether it is BNSF’s Hi-Viz attendance policy, having to combat the STB’s public disclosures and the pillorying (and not undeservedly so) of railroad officials in all-day hearings, all the general public hears about the railroads and the railroad system is underperformance, unsupportive labor practices and money being funneled to Wall Street.

Somewhere along the way, as an industry, there has been an evolution from the idea of teamwork and the things it can bring to the table—success, accolades and monetary gain—to the need for individual achievement. railwayage.com

The North American rail network is, at its most basic level, a system of interchange. The whole concept of interchange requires cooperation among the parties and agreement with a system of enforceable rules that creates an equivalency avoiding favoritism and profiteering at the expense of the other parties.

Pretty much that is where the cooperation ends.

Railroads and their investors have benefited from Sherman Anti-Trust Act exemption.

This is the golden goose of business-favorable rules. It has fueled incredible hutzpah from the railroads in the way in which they manage their franchises. As a result, it often feels like there are hands and fingers locked around that goose’s neck ready to bring an end to the railroads’ munificent legislative environment.

Circumstances for change are on the table.

There is the bad press, the STB hearings, and the existence of a Congressional report proposing to end the anti-trust exemption from 2007. These are all higher-profile-thannormal attacks on the railroads and their performance. It feels like they are having an impact; each time one looks away from the scene, the walls seem to creep in a little closer.

Industry observers note that opportunities for loadings growth exist if the railroads would devote the resources necessary to capture market share. It would increase revenue and profitability, but increase operating ratio and reduce EBITDA margins.

These are metrics prioritized by railroad executives and Wall Street.

So, you have to ask yourself: Why do railroad executives seem apathetic about the state of affairs, loadings growth, service disruptions, labor issues, and the threat of reregulation, especially in the face of overwhelming conviction regarding greener grass on the other side of the railroad tracks?

Railroad executives are nothing if not astute. While it is often said they do not “read the room,” they are likely reading the political landscape. Yes, the activities of the STB, the state of the current labor dispute and the chance for reregulation all have a progressive feel to them. However, the railroads are most certainly watching midterm elections that will alter current congressional majorities, and they have their eye focused on the U.S. Supreme Court. It is virtually impossible to believe that the lineup of a conservative-leaning SCOTUS will support reregulation, price controls or more rail service oversight.

Batter up! There’s nine innings left to play and the railroads are at the plate. Try to fare better than the jamoke in the movie.

Got questions? Set them free at dnahass@ railfin.com.

DAVID NAHASS President Railroad Financial Corp.

August 2022 // Railway Age 9

LIGHT RAIL

METROLINX ON THE MOVE

10 Railway Age // February 2022

railwayage.com

T

Alstom Citadis Spirit LRV undergoing dynamic testing on the Finch West line.

here are currently four LRT lines in various stages of construction in the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area (GTHA): Eglinton Crosstown, Finch West, Hurontario (Mississauga) and Hamilton. Of these, the Crosstown is the closest to being ready for passengers.

However, at press time Metrolinx was still unable to confirm whether the line will be opened in Fall 2022, or early 2023.

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Metrolinx

Despite a few bumps in the road, Metrolinx is making progress on four light rail transit projects in the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area.

BY JOHN THOMPSON, CANADIAN CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

LIGHT RAIL

FINCH WEST This line, located in the northwest sector of Toronto, is proceeding well, thanks to a predominately surface alignment. It, like the Crosstown, is located on a major east-west thoroughfare. However, Finch Avenue West was widened in the postwar era, and has ample space for a center reservation. The terminal stations are the only underground structures.

This line will link Finch West station, on the TTC Spadina Subway extension, with Humber College, a major educational facility. The western terminal is located beside provincial Highway 27, a major road.

There are numerous high-rise apartment complexes at several locations en route.

Excavation at the terminal stations was completed some time ago; structural and track work is in progress at both stations.

Humber College station will be partly open air, yielding a significant cost savings. Finch West is above the existing subway station; a portion of its roof was reinforced during construction for this purpose.

Construction of the maintenance and storage facility is almost complete, allowing staff to move in soon. Two units of the 18-car LRV order have been received from Alstom’s Brampton plant, with dynamic testing in progress. A section of track has been completed along Finch for about three-quarters of a mile east of the yard and electrified to permit at-speed testing. Additional LRVs will be delivered by truck in the coming months.

Station construction is mainly complete on the section between Keele West and the maintenance yard, as is track installation.

There will be 16 surface stations; concrete and structural work for 11 should be finished by year’s end.

Track installation is under way at three separate locations westward from the yard, nearing the halfway point. It proved necessary to rebuild the existing Humber River bridge August 2022 // Railway Age 11

LIGHT RAIL

for tracks. The majority of the trackwork is planned for completion by the end of 2022.

Opening of the Finch West LRT is tentatively planned for 2023.

EGLINTON CROSSTOWN This project has been plagued with numerous construction delays, and as a result, relations between Metrolinx and the contractor have been strained.

Connecting links with the three existing subway stations, Cedarvale (Eglinton West on the Spadina line), Eglinton (Yonge line) and Kennedy (Bloor-Danforth line) have been built, and finishing work (tiling, etc.) is under way. The elaborate above-ground station structures have been essentially completed structurally, with some finishing work still required.

About three-quarters of the line is in bored tunnel, due to the street’s narrow width; a short section at the western end is elevated, while several miles of the Don Mills and Scarborough sections are in a surface center reservation.

The 76 Alstom Flexity Freedom LRVs ordered for the Crosstown are all on the property, at the Mount Dennis storage and maintenance facility at the western terminal. The property, incidentally, was formerly 12 Railway Age // August 2022

occupied by the head office and plant of Kodak Canada, which became redundant due to the digital revolution. Testing of the train control and signal system continues, with LRVs operating at full speed for the length of the line.

Testing and commissioning of the Central Communications System is occurring across the entire project. This includes the public address system, transit information signs, and closed-circuit TV. TTC’s David Gunn Operations Control Centre (named for the former TTC Chief General Manager) at the Hillcrest complex at Bathurst and Davenport, which will oversee Crosstown operations, can now monitor the CCTVs, make announcements and observe vehicle testing. The LRVs, by the way, carry TTC heralds.

The Crosstown will serve a generally densely built area, including numerous apartment complexes that are likely to be increased in number after the LRT opens.

HURONTARIO This project is the least advanced of the three, due to a later start. It will extend from the Port Credit GO Transit station, just north of Lake Ontario, northward to an on-street terminal just north of Steeles

Avenue, in the adjacent city of Brampton.

It is a basically straight-line, north-south alignment in the center of Hurontario Street (Provincial Highway 10).

The LRT will be essentially a surface operation, except for certain highway crossings. That said, an elevated section takes the tracks off Hurontario, connecting to the City Centre station on Rathburn Road. It was originally planned to have a loop encircling the large City Centre business-shoppinggovernment complex, but this was deleted as a cost-saving measure.

The Hurontario LRT line has four major east-west highways to cross. This will be accomplished via underpasses, new bridges and use of an existing bridge across Highway 401, the major road across Southern Ontario.

The Port Credit station is an underground facility. Crews are preparing to pour concrete for the first portion of the service level base of the station. The station will connect with GO Transit’s Lakeshore West rail line to Union Station, to which it is situated at right angles. The short tunnel section that takes the LRT out onto Hurontario is essentially complete, after being pushed beneath the railway tracks.

Following a lengthy process of utilities relocation, Hurontario is ready for track railwayage.com

Metrolinx

Finch West Sentinel Road to Driftwood Avenue section.

LIGHT RAIL

Metrolinx

installation. This has already begun on a short section between Britannia Road and Matheson Boulevard. Upon completion, rails will be extended northward to the terminal at Steeles Avenue.

Work on the surface stations will start later in 2022. All will be center platform, apart from the side platform City Centre station.

The maintenance building is finished, with track installed. Work is following in the yard area. The new facility is located, for reasons unknown at present, in a field about three-quarters of a mile east of Hurontario. A lengthy access track will therefore be needed. There is room on the west side of the property for future expansion.

The first of 28 Alstom Citadis Spirit LRVs is due to arrive in 2023. They will be trucked over from Alstom’s Brampton plant, located a short distance away.

Hurontario is, generally, a very wide thoroughfare, except for its southern end. The surrounding area is densely built up, with office and apartment towers, although there is still a small amount of vacant land, available for development. Mississauga is a very large area bounded on the east by Toronto.

It is an amalgamation of several existing towns, supplemented by considerable new construction over the past 50 years.

A tentative opening date of late 2025 has been announced for the Hurontario LRT line.

HAMILTON The fully approved, 14 km (8.7-mile) Hamilton LRT project will likely not have shovels in the ground until late 2023. It could be negatively affected by record inflation rates, some of which, such as gasoline, relate partly to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The result could be that the C$3.4 billion budget is exceeded. The federal government has offered to cover any cost overruns, but there are obviously limits.

Little work has yet commenced; contract awarding will not take place until 2023. This is partly due to Metrolinx’s decision to break up the project into numerous small contracts, for better oversight. This is an attempt to avoid the major problems that occurred with the Eglinton LRT project, which was carried out with a single major contract.

To date, many of the small properties required for station sites have been bought and demolished, with more remaining to be acquired. A start has been made on railwayage.com

utilities relocation, as the route is primarily on city streets. The storage and maintenance facility will be on the site of the former Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway roundhouse, currently a brownfield with the residue of decades of occupation by steam and diesel locomotives.

The two major projects to be started will be the Longwood Road LRT/motor traffic bridge, and the LRT-only bridge across the Chedoke Valley at Dundurn Street. The latter will be a complicated structure, crossing not only provincial Highway 403, but also several access ramps as well.

The existing Longwood Road bridge dates back to the 1930s and is at the end of its lifespan. In fact, as this is written, emergency repairs are being made to the road deck. It will be demolished, and the new bridge, again crossing Highway 403, will be built on site. The tracks are required here for LRV operations and maintenance facility access.

However, the contract for design work for these structures has yet to be awarded. The same is true of the operations and maintenance facility, although presumably the plans for existing Metrolinx LRV structures can be used.

The LRV supply contract may likely be awarded to Alstom, which has three plants in Ontario (Brampton, Thunder Bay and Millhaven). The Brampton plant is the closest to Hamilton, about 60 miles away. If

the cars come from Millhaven or Thunder Bay, delivery could be by rail, as the maintenance yard is bordered by a Canadian Pacific line. The number of cars to be ordered will be influenced by the design chosen, Flexity or Citadis, the latter being significantly longer. A section of track on Main Street West is a likely testing location, as it is close to the shop.

Rail will likely be sourced in the U.S., as it has not been rolled in Canada for decades.

If delivered by train, it could be unloaded at a level crossing in the east end, and at the maintenance yard site. Standard LRT rail in Canada at present, with exceptions, is 115 pounds. Products such as reinforcing steel, girders, etc. could be obtained locally, as Hamilton still has a steel industry.

It is to be hoped that the well-documented supply chain issues that have been plaguing North America in recent years will not significantly delay the LRT project, and result in major cost increases.

One possible joker in the deck could be the Hamilton mayoral election taking place in October 2022. One of the candidates, Robert Bratina, a former mayor and federal Member of Parliament, has traditionally held a very strong anti-LRT stance. The current pro-LRT mayor, Fred Eisenberger, is not running, although the three other candidates—Ejaz Butt, Steven Hencze and Keanin Loomis—may be in favor.

Eglinton Crosstown

August 2022 // Railway Age 13

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winter preparedness

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RRVW’s Jordan Spreader in action near Gwinner, N.D.

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Railroads are proactive when it comes to countering winter weather effects. They work together and with suppliers to reduce risk and ensure that traffic keeps moving—safely. ailroads must ready themselves for Mother Nature’s twists and turns—from this month’s extreme summer heat that can cause track buckling or catenary sagging, to the upcoming winter snows and ice that coat both. Being proactive is key to providing safe service in any weather.

Canadian Pacific has been railroading in challenging winter conditions since 1881, particularly through the steep mountain ranges of Alberta and British Columbia. The 16 Railway Age // August 2022

Class I railroad’s winter contingency planning begins each summer analyzing upcoming winter weather data and forecasts. Then, it develops specific plans for each region, subdivision, rail yard and facility, and for its Train and Engine employees, Engineering and Mechanical personnel, and Operations Centers in Calgary and Minneapolis.

Plans are summarized in a report that’s submitted each fall to the Ministry of Transport. The 2022-23 edition was nearing completion this month. The 2021-22 report

highlighted safety performance; winter forecast and modeling for the season; systems in place that monitor winter conditions (such as hotbox detectors) and mitigate impacts (such as snowfighters, snowplow/snow spreader consists, railway switch heaters, and weather stations); work with external organizations, including customers, supply chain partners, and government departments and agencies (like Avalanche Canada, Parks Canada and the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure); and capital expenditures railwayage.com

RRVW photo by David Badgley

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BY MARYBETH LUCZAK, EXECUTIVE EDITOR

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winter preparedness

and capacity-boosting projects.

Among CP’s initiatives last year to keep ahead of the weather were expanding air brake flow monitoring and the application of cold wheel detection technology; completing a switch heater installation and renewal program (359 of 914 switch heaters had been replaced since 2016); extending sidings on the Brooks, Maple Creek, Broadview and Laggan subdivisions; installing 18 miles of Centralized Traffic Control from Red Deer to Wolf Creek; and continuing a locomotive modernization program (386 high-horsepower main line units had been upgraded since 2012).

Anacostia Rail Holdings (ARH)—owner of six railroads in seven states, including Illinois, Minnesota and New York—and the 500-plusmile Red River Valley and Western (RRVW) in North Dakota shared with Railway Age how they keep ahead of winter weather. ARH has a checklist that is updated regularly to assist railroad affiliate managers. While it is customizable by location, the company focuses on eliminating injuries and train accidents through preventative action.

The list includes briefing personnel on footwear (anti-slip and overshoes), clothing and vehicle safety; ensuring snow removal equipment is in good condition and that there is an 18 Railway Age // August 2022

adequate supply of switch brooms and shovels; making sure hazard signs, such as end-of-track and other markings, are not impaired by snow accumulation; painting switch points yellow to improve position visibility, marking clearance points, and clearing switch tie rods; checking locomotive cab door gaskets and heaters; and providing lightweight brake sticks to minimize railcar climbing in slippery conditions.

“Cold weather slips and falls are a leading cause of injuries in this industry,” points out Tom Leopold, ARH’s soon-to-be-retired Chief Safety and Compliance Officer. “We are zealots when it comes to having good footwear. We pay 70%-80% of the cost of safety boots, traction devices and overshoes with tungsten carbide studs.” The Chicago-based short line holding company’s anti-slip footwear program is mandatory and applies primarily to personnel at its Northern Lines Railway (NLR), Chicago, South Shore & South Bend Railroad (CSS), Louisville & Indiana Railroad, and New York & Atlantic Railway. ARH replaces boots as they wear out.

“Our policy helps ensure employees always have boots that are in good condition on their feet,” Leopold says. “Good footwear and antislip devices can prevent a fractured elbow, wrist, dislocated shoulder or concussion.”

For RRVW—Railway Age’s 1997 and 2005 Regional Railroad of the Year—preparing for winter is about adapting to changing conditions and talking into account lessons learned, according to President Victor Meyers. The railroad officials debrief after each winter season, gathering feedback from the Transportation, Mechanical and Maintenance-of-Way teams, and meet again the following fall to discuss and implement plans for the upcoming winter.

Plans include performing scheduled and preventive maintenance on key snow removal equipment, such as the Jordan Spreader and Snow Fighter; positioning snow removal equipment in the required locations; and making sure switches are cribbed, and shovels and brooms are at the ready for switch cleaning.

The regional also plans and forecasts operations seven days in advance, providing “forward-looking insight as to what our operational and snow removal needs will look like,” Meyers says.

“Typically, wind and blowing snow combined with cold temperatures create difficult and hazardous conditions in North Dakota,” Meyers points out. “This means that in addition to planning for snow events, RRVW has to plan for wind, as the snow will blow and create very large drifts across the network that railwayage.com

New York & Atlantic photo by Gregory Grice

New York & Atlantic crews offloading switch cleaning equipment—snow shovel, backpack blower and fuel for switch heaters—at the Fresh Pond Yard, just west of the New York City Transit overpass.

winter preparedness trains cannot pass through.”

RRVW’s two primary pieces of equipment for railroad snow removal are a Jordan Spreader and a ballast regulator with Snow Fighter apparatuses. It also uses a punch plow and Bros Snow Blower, as needed. “None of this equipment is new,” Meyers says, “but RRVW has made investments over time to ensure that it is reliable and can support snow removal operations.” The regional also uses third-party contractors with excavators to help clear cuts and snow drifts.

Additionally, idle-reduction technology has been added to eight locomotives over the past two years, which supports effective and efficient operations in cold weather months, Meyers notes.

ACH’s NLR in central Minnesota recently added a Kubota SVL 75 tracked skid steer tractor to its winter equipment arsenal. The 74-hp machine has a snowplow that can be adjusted as wide as 14 feet. Riding between and adjacent to the rails keeps yard track, switch leads and access roads clear of snow, according to Track Supervisor Joseph Kedrowski, who adds that the unit is more maneuverable than a four-wheel-drive truck.

CSS uses a skid steer plow to clear snow on walkways, parking areas and in front of overhead doors. A m/w vehicle plows roadways, access roads, and satellite parking areas for crews and vendors, and a contractor handles large parking areas and walkways. The short line also uses an ice melt product that’s environmentally friendly and won’t damage concrete pavement, locomotive steps and walkways.

Prioritizing snow removal in advance of service is another step CSS takes to keep traffic moving. M/w personnel are assigned to ride with train crews or to regions of the railroad, according to Vice President of Operations Mike Shore. They use compressors and snow-blowing backpacks to clean out switches, minimizing delays due to snow accumulation.

To ensure overall network fluidity, RRVW’s Meyers says the regional coordinates daily with connecting railroads.

“This might mean that we hold a unit train at origin for a day or two so that we do not create congestion at our interchange locations,” he reports.

Railroads also team with suppliers on winter prep. Railway Age provides a roundup of their latest equipment offerings, informed by railroad requirements. railwayage.com

FRAUSCHER SENSOR TECHNOLOGY USA INC. Prior to winter’s arrival, railroads benefit from evaluating how train detection systems in at-risk areas have performed during previous winters, Frauscher says. The company offers wheel sensors that are IP68 rated (meaning they are waterproof and dustproof), run in a wide range of temperatures, and are not reliant on shunting to function.

Frauscher also provides train detection solutions for vital and failsafe operation, as well as for non-vital applications. “In addition to increasing safety of signaling and grade crossings systems with consistent uptime, use of Frauscher wheel sensors for triggering track-

“Since cold weather slips and falls are a top cause of injuries, We are zealots about having good footwear.”

— Tom Leopold, ARH side equipment such as AEI readers, hotbox detectors and vision monitoring systems keeps these crucial pieces of equipment functioning throughout the difficult winter months,” according to the company.

As part of Frauscher’s continuous product improvement program, features have been added to allow for remote diagnostics and adjustment of the wheel sensor. The company says the advantage is two-fold: “the convenience of remote capabilities year round, and the ability to handle issues or receive information from the comfort of an indoor location.”

Frauscher tells Railway Age that it “invests heavily” in R&D, based on feedback collected regularly from customers. Several projects are currently in the pipeline.

HOTSTART “Ensuring new equipment installations are done properly, performing any needed

maintenance on existing equipment, having common replacement parts on hand and training appropriate personnel is key to a smooth transition into winter,” Market Manager for Railroad Michael Mustradi says. “Taking the time to evaluate equipment ahead of time allows for maximum savings during the winter months. In today’s world, this preparation is even more crucial as fuel costs continue to rise.”

Hotstart offers a range of products designed for locomotive idle reduction. “Our APU5 product line runs off the onboard locomotive fuel supply to provide the locomotive with coolant and oil heat, battery charging and cab heat without the need for shore power,” Mustradi says. “Additionally, we supply shore power systems and battery chargers in numerous configurations for a variety of applications.”

Customers have used grant funding to equip their locomotive fleets with EPA “SmartWay”verified Hotstart equipment, according to Mustradi. “Government funding, such as the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA), financially assist railroads to procure idle reduction technologies that decrease fuel costs, emissions and engine wear,” he says.

“With high fuel costs and pressure to be ‘green,’ product reliability is of upmost importance for our customers,” Mustradi adds. Ease of product installation, operation and maintenance is also significant “in keeping labor costs down, while freeing up mechanical crews to address other locomotive needs.”

NEW YORK AIR BRAKE (NYAB) Freight train brakes depend on reliable and high-quality compressed air to ensure safety and performance under all operating conditions—including the winter months’ belowfreezing temperatures. That’s why NYAB offers the VV1000-T Oil Free Compressor, which prevents freeze-ups, and the LD-1000 Air Dryer, which includes a filtration system that removes compressor-produced impurities and humidity.

The manufacturer also offers the DB-60 II Control Valve with Brake Cylinder Maintaining (BCM). If there is a leakage in the brake cylinder, the BCM feature will allow for continued air supply. Since railroads are now required to upgrade, or return for upgrade, control valves after 14 years of service, NYAB has materials available for a quick turnaround, according to Vince Moore, Product Line Manager for Freight Products. The goal is safety, he says, so any aged rubber is replaced to avoid potential August 2022 // Railway Age 19

winter preparedness air leaks in the seal.

On the R&D side, NYAB is working to advance rubber and composite technologies to further improve seal reliability at lower temperatures and over longer time periods. Additionally, it has partnered with Nexxiot on the “digitalization” of brakes for remote monitoring and predictive maintenance. “This is about allowing our products to be remotely accessed and

providing health and status information, so customers can make decisions about maintenance in a timely manner,” Director of Marketing Deepak Kumar tells Railway Age. “This will go a long way to helping railroads prepare for winter operation.” He says NYAB is currently developing a “smart” Air Dryer, for example, that will allow for remote diagnostics in 2023.

NYAB is also developing an enhanced

Vital axle counting systems A reliable and robust boost to rail safety and availability

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20 Railway Age // August 2022

version of its CCBII locomotive electronic air brake system, called CCBIIE. No longer would a railroad or NYAB service tech have to hook up a laptop to a locomotive to diagnose an issue; troubleshooting would be performed remotely.

NYAB is evaluating customer requests to develop parking brake technology. “Once brakes are set on trains, the constant brake force from the parking brake will ensure trains remain secured,” explains Moore. “What the parking brake would do is provide a secondary level of securement, an additional layer of safety, to ensure that if a train were to have excessive leakage that was unknown, it could still be safely secured.”

POWER DRIVES, INC. (PDI) Railroads and rebuilders alike have concerns with fuel usage, emissions, maintenance and noise pollution due to idling in the winter months. Because of this, PDI developed the PowerHouse™ idle reduction system, which allows for locomotive shutdown even in the coldest temperatures. The system heats engine oil and circulates heated coolant through the locomotive engine block and cooling system to maintain a fluid temperature above 100°F, via a diesel-fired heating unit, according to PDI. Based upon customer input, the company recently developed the PowerHouse™ Hybrid, which “completely eliminates the engine as part of the APU and powers itself directly from the locomotive battery bank.” No engine on an APU was a message PDI “heard loud and clear” from its customer base. A Class I installed 10 hybrid test units during the past winter season and the results prompted additional units to be installed over the next three seasons.

The Hybrid runs off the locomotive batteries for up to seven days without starting the engine, PDI tells Railway Age. When plugged into an external 120 VAC power source, it charges the locomotive batteries.

The Hybrid requires, on average, less than 5 amps to power a diesel-fired burner to keep coolant and oil warm while the locomotive is shut down. It also monitors locomotive coolant system and battery health, sending warnings via text messaging to railroad personnel.

Because water can wreak havoc on locomotive systems, PDI says, it designed a compressed air water separator. This drop-in solution works with standard locomotive air dryers to remove water for proper locomotive function.

The Diesel Dehydrator™ also removes water and filters particulates from diesel fuel. railwayage.com

winter preparedness PROGRESS RAIL, A CATERPILLAR COMPANY Progress Rail offers the Kershaw® Model 60 multi-purpose machine platform, Rail Blaster and EMD® AESS™ (Automatic Engine Start/ Stop) to help railroads maintain operations during the winter. The Model 60 can be used not only as a heavy-duty snow fighter, but also as a ballast regulator or brush cutter in the warmer months. The Rail Blaster rail conditioner system uses compressed air to blow snow from the rails to improve tractive effort.

For locomotives, the EMD® AESS™ is “a fully integrated software solution that monitors critical operating parameters during locomotive idle operation—safely and effectively shutting down the engine when all factors are satisfied,” Progress Rail tells Railway Age. “When any one of the predetermined limits falls outside of the target range, AESS™ will restart the engine. The system maintains engine water temperature and air pressure and other characteristics to hold the locomotive in a ready state during cold temperatures so it can set to work when needed.”

The company, in collaboration with a Canadian customer, more recently developed the first of a new generation of high-output snow fighters. Powered by a 415-hp Cat® C9.3B diesel engine coupled to upgraded drive train components, it is said to transmit 30% more tractive effort than previous models.

RAILWAY EQUIPMENT COMPANY (RECO) RECO offers electric- and gas-powered switch heaters from 2 hp to 5 hp that can produce up to 900,000 BTUs, keeping switches clear of accumulated snow and ice. Its Sno-Net® product allows railroads to remotely monitor, adjust settings and troubleshoot switch heaters without having to be on location in harsh winter conditions. Also available are the 922 cal-rod switch heater with controller as well as hot- and cold-air blowers.

The company says it is constantly evolving its products to meet railroad needs. For example, its gas hot-air blowers (GHAB) now offer a burner access panel and an improved over-temperature sensor; and

its fixed fiberglass cover that contains heat from switch heaters and reduces snow in the switch point can now be mounted to the lateral track ducts for easier installation and removal come springtime.

Also new is RECO’s GHAB Concentrator, which links all blowers in one area so railroad personnel can communicate with them from a control house. It not only shows switch heater status, but also indicates faults. “This can be tied into your communication database through SNMP protocol,” RECO tells Railway Age. “This would be ideal in yards, where the dispatcher can see the status of all the units and turn them all on at the same time. This product line is compatible with 922s, EHABs (electric hot-air blowers) and GHABs.” Now in R&D is an induction heating solution. “We are very excited about this new product line that will be on test this coming winter,” RECO says.

As winter fast-approaches, RECO recommends that railroads inspect their switch heaters, checking all ductwork to ensure it is free of debris and offers a clear airflow. Having

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winter preparedness spare parts such as control modules, ignition transformers and flame spark plugs on hand is also important. With the recent supply chain challenges, the company suggests placing parts orders as soon as possible, so they are delivered well before the first storm. RECO notes that its Engineering and Operations teams are also “dedicated to ensure parts are available and ready to ship for any time-sensitive requests.”

SPECTRUM INC., A DIVISION OF ASPEQ HEATING GROUP Spectrum offers track heaters, crib heaters and hot air blowers as well as custom heating solutions. “Proper track heating (snow/ice removal and prevention) is a must to avoid delays,” says Director of Sales, Railroad Division Glen Baker. The company has increased the levels of track heaters and crib heaters in stock, and now offers both 300 watt/foot and 500 watt/foot track heaters. “Also, we have increased factory testing procedures to ensure the heaters are going to work when they arrive at the site and last in the most rugged

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conditions,” Baker says.

Spectrum has teamed with Class I railroads on several projects this spring and summer that include new track switch heaters (cal-rods), cribs, control panels and electric hot-air blowers. Many are for new switches, Baker says. Customers are looking for quality (longevity), and “we build-to-stock for quick shipping,” he adds.

What’s new in R&D? “We have several prototype solutions for special applications we are testing,” Baker tells Railway Age. They are: a knife heater for railroad bridge connections; a wheel detector heater with controls; a short, compact 30-inch crib heater with quick disconnects for ease of installation; and some variations of track heaters (shorter versions) for switch-point snow issues.

THERMON Thermon works closely with customers to understand what they need to protect track switches and other wayside assets throughout the year, ensuring that the company has the right products available at the right time.

“This collaboration has become even more important during the supply chain disruptions experienced in the past couple of years, and has allowed Thermon to change from a buildto-order manufacturer to a build-to-stock model,” the company tells Railway Age. It recently debuted the HF905, 5-hp track switch heater. “During development of this unit, we utilized simulation software and trial and error to maximize its switch-clearing capability,” Thermon says. “Our customers have been very receptive to this new design and are tasking it with keeping switches clear in the worst winter environments in North America.” The company also has reduced the variability of its Fastrax product line to shorten manufacturing times and the learning curve for field personnel.

New in R&D is Thermon’s next-generation Hellfire. The company has two primary aims: to maximize heat output and even air flow distribution to all areas of the switch, which will further minimize the time required to fully clear snow and ice accumulation; and to modernize and consolidate controls,

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winter preparedness improving the user interface and allowing for integration with wayside edge processors.

THERMOMEGATECH The GURU Valve from ThermOmegaTech is a water-sensing thermostatic drain valve that automatically responds to engine coolant temperature. “When the water temperature falls to the GURU’s set-point, the Plug snaps open and drains the system before freeze damage can occur,” the supplier explains. “Depending on the locomotive model, this can save customers up to a half-million dollars.”

The company recommends replacing the GURU DL and GURU Magnum valves every 18-24 months, and getting winter orders in as early as September.

ThermOmegaTech’s GURU Flag and Clip Tool allows refilling of the locomotive cooling system with cold water without tripping the GURU Plugs. The clip is attached to the valve stem to keep it from “popping,” and the flag goes onto the locomotive’s outer wall, letting mechanics know that the GURU Plug is

“disarmed,” according to the company.

ThermOmegaTech also offers the GURU Passenger Car valve, which it says protects potable water-bearing systems from freezing when railcar heat is turned off during a layover, locomotive change or power outage.

On the R&D side, the company recently partnered with a customer for a new JIC (joint industry council) configuration of its valve.

during braking applications.”

Additionally, its AESS systems allow locomotives to remain off longer during colder temperatures (20°F versus 43°F) without the risk of water-system freezing.

Wabtec tells Railway Age that it recently initiated the validation of bio-derivative fuels in winter operations to understand the impact before fleet-wide implementation.

WABTEC The key to winter preparedness is to start early and make sure all winterization programs are complete before the snow flies, Wabtec tells Railway Age. “This approach will ensure the most efficient use of the labor available,” the company adds.

For the winter season, Wabtec offers Advanced Rail Cleaner (ARC) to improve adhesion and related tractive effort, and the Traction Antilock Braking System (TABS), which it describes as “a software solution that actively prevents wheel lock-ups and associated defect formation (wheel slides) by powering stalling axles to keep wheels turning

ZTR CONTROL SYSTEMS ZTR offers railroads the Locomotive Battery Saver System; SmartStart®, an AESS system; and KickStart™, “a supercapacitor technology that augments the lead acid starting battery,” providing “standby” energy, according to the company. It is also introducing the ability to monitor SmartStart® and KickStart™ through telematics.

What’s new in R&D? ZTR tells Railway Age that it continues to research alternative battery chemistries that are stable, don’t require maintenance and could be combined with its supercapacitor technology in a single unit.

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August 2022 // Railway Age 23

TECH FOCUS – MECHANICAL

Hitachi Rail’s full rail telematic solution provides gateways and sensors with proven technology and data processing capabilities.

HEALTH MONITORING

IN REAL TIME Artificial Intelligence, supported by continuous communications, is rapidly turning “fix it before it fails” into the industry’s mantra.

W

BY CAROLINA WORRELL, SENIOR EDITOR

hen railroads, either in-house or through suppl ier-prov ided contracted services, perform remote train health monitoring, potential equipment problems on freight cars or locomotives can be identified and reported back to a control center in real time by Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based onboard technology before they become catastrophic. This is especially important for railcars carrying hazardous materials—the more information the user has while the car is in transit, the safer it is.

Among the suppliers providing this health monitoring technology are Wabtec, Hitachi 24 Railway Age // August 2022

Rail, Amsted Digital Solutions (ADS), Progress Rail, Wi-Tronix and ZTR. WABTEC Wabtec conducts freight locomotive monitoring at its four Global Performance Optimization Centers (GPOCs) located in Erie, Penn.; Fort Worth, Tex.; Brazil; and Kazakhstan.

Collectively, the four centers serve more than 50 customers operating in 20 different countries and monitor 17,000 locomotives worldwide.

The GPOCs, which operate 24/7 and are manned by a team of three to four experts (per shift) who average more than 15 years of handson troubleshooting experience and provide true condition-based repair instructions, address

about 80% of failures that can impact a locomotive. Experts issue about 300 Rx’s (a detailed troubleshooting instruction for a specific issue on a specified road number) per day covering the engine, propulsion, auxiliaries, computers, communications, crew interfaces and train control systems. Various field teams then execute the Rx and provide feedback on the work done.

The centers receive approximately 2.5 million messages a day. Digital tools (knowledge rules, digital twins and machine learning) process these messages into around 500 “cases” a day, which are then reviewed by onsite experts. The time between when an alert message is received to when an Rx is issued is railwayage.com

TECH FOCUS – MECHANICAL no more than 15 minutes.

The GPOCs then review feedback from the field—key to keeping the system “learning” and improving every day—and close each Rx case.

The centers also field approximately 150 calls a day to work with the field on troubled locomotives. Calls are addressed in the native language of the country where the GPOC is located.

In addition to Wabtec locomotives, Wabtec also provides services on non-Wabtec locomotives, off-highway vehicles, marine vessels and stationary power systems.

According to Wabtec, benefits of remote health monitoring to customers include: • Precise, accurate repair recommendations improve service quality and “repeat failures” are dramatically reduced.

• Advanced notification of imminent failures allows customers to proactively route locomotives for repair and avoid main line failures and train delays.

• Having advanced notices allows shops to pre-plan labor, parts and locomotive placement, dramatically reducing “unavailability.”

• The computer- and GPOC-generated Rx also saves shop labor by reducing troubleshooting time.

• All customers benefit from the GPOC’s centralized learning capability. The GPOC is like a central “doctor” that analyzes all failure modes. This knowledge is shared with all customers (independent of fleet size or age).

• These benefits improve locomotive reliability and availability by more than 20%.

HITACHI RAIL Hitachi Rail has partnered with Dutch supplier Intermodal Telematics (IMT) to offer a railcar telematics solution, combining technology from IMT and British rail technology firm Perpetuum, which Hitachi acquired in April 2021, “with the global scale and rail expertise of Hitachi Rail,” the company says.

Hitachi Rail is using remote condition monitoring systems on fleets in North America, Australia and across the world. By installing digitally connected sensors on a variety of critical train components, the company says it is helping operators identify wear and tear remotely, provide insight into the performance of critical assets, and pinpoint and fix faults before they impact operations.

“Our technology is helping passenger and freight rail operators to improve performance, railwayage.com

Amsted Digital Solutions Bogie IQ™ installed in a bolster.

Example of Progress Rail’s PR Uptime™ dashboard.

reduce their maintenance costs and enhance safety,” the company notes. “Hitachi Rail is pioneering an entirely digitally connected transport system that can be optimized to be more efficient, reliable and sustainable.”

“We are excited to be bringing our new railcar monitoring solution to North America with our partner, IMT,” adds Miles Metschke, Head of Freight Rail for Hitachi Rail, North America.

“The combined products, software and capabilities of both companies creates a best-in-class solution for railcar owners, rail shippers and railroads.”

Both Hitachi Rail (Perpetuum) and IMT, which have been working together for several years as co-members of the IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Society (ITSS) practice group for railcar telematics in Europe, say they see close collaboration as the means of bringing a broader suite of telematics driven benefits to

the freight rail market in a faster and more costefficient manner.

The full rail telematic solution provides gateways and sensors with proven technology and data processing capabilities. It includes: • Communications Gateway (CLT20-Ex) – a communication terminal (gateway) that monitors the geographic position of the railcar, the movement and motion (shocks and normal movement) of the railcar, and the temperature of the gateway device.

• OC19-Ex – a hatch, door and brake sensor that detects the position of hatches and doors on tank cars and covered hoppers by measuring the angle of the sensor on the door, and on the position of hand brakes on bell crank style brake systems.

• LU19-Ex – a load/unload sensor that detects the loading state of railcars by August 2022 // Railway Age 25

TECH FOCUS – MECHANICAL

Experts conduct freight locomotive monitoring at Wabtec’s Forth Worth, Tex., GPOC.

measuring the displacement of a railcar on its trucks, which is usually determined by the weight of the material in the railcar.

• WASN2-43 – a truck condition health (vibration) sensor that monitors the condition of the railcar wheels, bearings and axles at the truck level. This sensor, which is powered via harvested vibration energy from the railcar and converted to electrical energy, uses vibration data to determine the overall health of the truck components and can determine when a component needs to be inspected, maintained or replaced.

• WT19-Ex – a digital, non-intrusive temperature sensor for tank cars used to monitor the temperature of a tank’s contents and send the measured temperature values wirelessly to the CLT20-Ex, which in turn transmits the sensor data to the software platform back-end where it can be accessed remotely via a web application.

• PS20-Ex – a pressure sensor that is to be used together with third-party, compatible pressure transmitters to create a digital pressure sensing solution for tank cars. Its purpose is to monitor the pressure inside of a tank car and to send the measured values wirelessly to a CLT20-Ex, which in turn transmits the sensor data to the software platform where it can be accessed remotely via Hitachi’s web application.

As part of the overall system architecture, the software backend platform is used to collect and manage data from the CLT20-Ex Gateway 26 Railway Age // August 2022

devices. This software, which is designed to be integrated in the existing IT infrastructure of Hitachi Rail customers, is described as “a mature platform that provides several capabilities required for railcar telematics.”

A two-way flow of data is made possible by the RESTful Application Programming Interface (API), which allows its customers to feed in other IT systems, such as TMS, ERP, CLM and asset base data. The software API allows access to all device and sensor data together with processed data, such as statuses and events.

AMSTED DIGITAL SOLUTIONS (ADS) ADS, a subsidiary of Amsted Rail based in Chicago, released in 2Q22 the Bogie IQ™, a global internet of things (IOT) technology focused on freight rail leveraging its SCV™ (Supply Chain Visibility) software, which provides a “quick and easy” means to identify individual railcars within one of three categories: typical, atypical and inspect.

Bogie IQ™, part of the ADS IQ Series of devices, is an onboard telematics device capable of monitoring the changing wheelset conditions and brake system performance by analyzing vibrations. One device per bolster can provide real-time onboard health monitoring while also delivering the GPS benefits of dynamic ETA, first- and last-mile validation, and accurate mileage. Key features include reporting up to every 15 minutes, a proprietary power supply that provides a minimum of seven years of device life, and forward compatibility with 5G technology so an organization’s investment

Wi-Tronix’s connected Violet event and digital video recorder solutions.

in the onboard technology is protected. They are ruggedized, low profile ATEX Zone 1 and Class I, Division 2 devices. ADS says installation and association of the IQ Series takes only a few minutes per railcar using built-in object character recognition (OCR) and barcode scanning.

“This first-of-its-kind technology delivers 80% of the value for only 20% of the cost,” says Dr. Todd Snyder, ADS Director of Sensors and Analytics. “We have been evolving our design and field testing for years now, both at the Transportation Technology Center (TTC) and in captive revenue service with key strategic railroad and shipper partners, knowing that the freight rail operating environment is a tough one. We are excited about our initial release and other future innovations already in development that can be pushed out to our devices through a firmware over the air (FOTA) update.”

“We recognize that multiple sensors distributed around a truck system can be costly, as well as difficult to deal with in the field because they could be damaged or displaced,” says Byron Dickey, Vice President-Strategic Development.

“We quickly determined that we needed to ensure our development path considered the practicality of how the North American free interchange system works in terms of the maintenance of running components. We cannot impede railroad operations.”

ADS and Amsted Rail combine research and development facilities, which are utilized to support ADS’s innovations and product developments, across North America, including its impact test tracks located in Camp Hill, railwayage.com

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TECH FOCUS – MECHANICAL

ZTR’s dashboard assists in understanding fleet in-for-service time and utilization.

Penn.; its bearing test facility located in Petersburg, Va.; and a proprietary multi-axis load (MAL) machine, which allows Amsted Rail to apply loads across multiple axes to an entire assembled freight car truck system, located in Granite City, Ill. Notable ADS products include Motion Control® truck system, Brenco® tapered roller bearings, Griffin® cast steel wheels, former Ellcon-Faiveley conventional brake systems, and Axis axle components. “This valuable and unique relationship makes ADS the global leader in merging onboard IOT technology with real-world freight railway experience in diagnosing component health,” says ADS. “ADS is focused on the shipper and the maintenance responsible parties (MRPs) so that these segments of the market can benefit from what the Bogie IQ™ device platform can deliver,” says Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Brad Myers. “We provide the MRP with visibility into the health of freight car components, while delivering GPS location data for our shipper customers to manage inbound empties, outbound high priority loaded cars, and firstand last-mile verification. This can impact invoicing, demurrage and detention billing.

This is the first wave of maximizing value from a transportation software platform like ADS’s Supply Chain Visibility solution.”

The information provided from the SCV™ software application for Bogie IQ™ wheel and brake health is merged with GPS and waybill data, providing users with “an efficient way to manage by exception and have actionable information immediately,” ADS says.

The entire SCV™ platform leverages the ADS OneVue™ business intelligence tool, a custom 28 Railway Age // August 2022

reporting tool that allows users to create relevant views inside each software application that summarizes their key data sources. Once a user builds a custom view it can be shared across their organization.

“We are leveraging our latest technology stack built on Microsoft Azure. It’s a scalable, flexible and secure platform that allows us to bring in data from multiple data sources or push data to systems like an ERP,” says Evan Weiner, Vice President-IOT Technologies. “If needed, we can also consume third-party onboard device data.

These are just a few areas where we deliver real value for our customers.”

“This is an exciting year for ADS,” adds Myers. “We are rolling out our newest version of the SCV™ software platform and integrating key software capabilities that are very shipperfocused from our acquisition of the GeoMetrix Rail Logistics assets, among other exciting additions to our capabilities.”

ADS says it has also expanded its offerings to include professional services for customers, such as fleet management resources to assist in managing a railcar fleet, from shopping events to scheduled maintenance programs or analyzing fleet utilization and all related costs. In addition, ADS offers engineering and regulatory compliance services with “decades of technical expertise and extensive industry knowledge for all specialized technical services for freight cars and tank cars.” ADS adds that its “comprehensive professional services can supplement or entirely support shipper customers by alleviating tedious and complicated tasks, allowing them to shift their focus to other areas of their business to generate even

greater value to their organization.”

PROGRESS RAIL PR Uptime™ from original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and integrated rail solutions provider Progress Rail, a Caterpillar Company, allows railroads to make proactive mission decisions based on predictive alerts and reduce service delays caused by mission failure. By enabling planned maintenance to replace unscheduled repairs, locomotives can generate more revenue at lower cost, the company says.

The PR Uptime™ Suite provides railroads with advanced asset monitoring by combining expertise from the company’s Locomotive Monitoring Center (LMC); Uptime Cloud for secure data distribution and storage; Uptime Connect for secure data collection and transmission; and Uptime Analytics to create measurable value in the shop, in the yard and on the track. PR Uptime™ dashboards give locomotive health indicators, locomotive utilization metrics and data that can lead to cost savings.

According to Progress Rail, PR Uptime™ has been implemented across numerous fleets, both in the U.S. and internationally, with thousands of locomotives currently being monitored.

The data science process used to create the analytics models for PR Uptime™ runs on a powerful suite of proprietary technology. The process leverages various machine learning engines to solve various problems in the rail space. Uptime Analytics helps shops fix locomotives the first time they enter, leading to fewer repeat and unnecessary shoppings. The target repair and troubleshooting guides from Uptime Analytics focuses the repair work to the source of railwayage.com

TECH FOCUS – MECHANICAL the problem, decreasing shop cycle times. User feedback and repair closeouts facilitate machine learning, allowing Uptime Analytics to continuously improve. All of this leads to improved availability of locomotives, the company says.

“We have strong rail industry knowledge, combined with available data to positively impact our customers’ bottom line,” Progress Rail says. “By delivering insights quickly, PR Uptime™ can alert users to a potential—or real—problem. Instead of stagnant data, the data is presented in an intuitive, actionable way.”

Progress Rail says it will continue to invest in technology to support its customers and Precision Scheduled Railroading, along with Positive Train Control (PTC) and other measures being taken to make railroads more efficient and safer in their operations. “We’ve established a core agnostic analytics platform to help improve reliability and maintainability to support our customers’ assets,” the company adds.

WI-TRONIX Wi-Tronix’s advances in remote health monitoring include its next-generation connected Violet

event and digital video recorder solutions. All event recorder data is continuously synchronized to the cloud, enabling a self-monitoring event recorder solution with continuous signal level validation and reporting, reducing or eliminating maintenance time. Using powerful AI technology, video and audio data from a DVR is validated using sophisticated machine learning (ML) models. Images are automatically reviewed for quality and camera obstructions to provide real-time actionable notifications for immediate corrective action so that cameras record the data when it is needed most. Violet’s automated microphone performance validation occurs using real-world data combined with AI-based analysis to detect that the microphone and bell/horn is working as expected.

With the Connected Diagnostic System, operations centers and maintenance personnel are enabled to remotely see the real-time health and operating state of the vehicle for more accurate virtual troubleshooting of critical over-theroad incidents. With visibility to the exact same screens as the operator and to historical and active faults, Wi-Tronix says maintenance teams

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TIMEOUT FOR TECH

IDENTIFY, INVEST, INNOVATE, IMPLEMENT, IMPROVE Derailment safety in the U.S., 1975 to 2021—and goals for the future.

W

By Gary T. Fry, Ph.D., P.E., Vice President, Fry Technical Services, Inc.

elcome to “Timeout for Tech.” Each month in this series, we examine a technology topic that professionals in the railway industry have asked to learn more about.

This month, we focus on high-level derailment safety statistics, including the most recent complete year, 2021. Each year going forward, we will dedicate an article to 30 Railway Age // August 2022

providing a derailment safety update.

I am often asked about safety in the railway industry and why it is such a conspicuous topic with railroaders. Safety is priority number one—the first objective to secure—no matter the setting. A safety briefing is the first item of business on every meeting docket in the industry. A safety briefing is the first work task on every rail jobsite. Truly, “Safety First” is a way of life for railroaders.

With such an emphasis on safety, I have

been asked if a railroad is an especially unsafe environment. When asked, I explain my definition of a safe environment: a place where a responsible person can leave an active and alert toddler unattended for half an hour. There aren’t too many places like that anywhere in the world, and everywhere else is a place where safety is a concern that should be assessed and planned for. From that point of view, the railroader’s special emphasis on safety is not an indication that a railroad is railwayage.com

Gary T. Fry

TIMEOUT FOR TECH an unusually unsafe environment. Rather, it’s an indication that railroaders are especially aware—they “get it” and are committed to finding ways to make their industry safer— for all their stakeholders.

With that introduction, let’s look at some railway-specific safety statistics. The data sets used in this article are publicly available from the Office of Railroad Safety in the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). We will focus on a safety issue unique to the industry—train derailments. Figure 1 is a graph illustrating the number of reported derailments per million train-miles for each year from 1975— the beginning of the FRA data set—through 2021—the last full year of data available.

In the data sets, we observe remarkable past progress but recent stagnation. As seen in Figure 1, there was substantial improvement between 1975 and 2010. From a high of 11.7 derailments per million train-miles in 1978 down to 1.89 in 2010 represents an 84% reduction. Since 2010, there has been no further reduction trend in derailment rate. It has ranged narrowly between 2.0 and 1.7 derailments per million train-miles while averaging 1.8.

The period between 1975 and 2010 deserves some emphasis in discussion. Over this period, maximum allowable interchange axle loads increased from 25 tons to 36 tons. That’s a 44% increase in direct loading that gives rise to a 200% increase in fatigue demand on critical steel components such as rail, rail welds and wheelsets. (Roughly for steel, fatigue demand increases with load raised to the third power, giving 1.44 x 1.44 x 1.44 = 3.0.)

This remarkable safety outcome—tripling fatigue demand while reducing derailments by 84%—is the result of comprehensive, coordinated, multinational research efforts. The work accomplished by the many research and development teams representing industry, government and academia had a dramatic impact. Guided by the research results, suppliers around the world innovated and developed new rail steel, new rail welding materials and procedures, new alloys for special trackwork castings, new wheel alloys and wheel plate designs, new axle designs, new bearing alloys and designs, new designs for bogie systems, new railcars and more. Of equal and critical significance, the railway companies were able to make the necessary investments to implement the innovations, which made the safety improvements possible. railwayage.com

After more than a decade of inertia, it might be time to consider renewed efforts to materially move the safety needle further, and there is a direction to focus those efforts.

Every derailment has associated likelihoods of serious, undesirable outcomes. Derailments in yards primarily impact system fluidity causing temporary, short-lived economic losses while also posing injury risks to train crews and workers in the yards. Derailments at main line track speeds, however, are especially likely to be consequential in both human and economic terms. Hence, to substantially improve safety on an annual basis, it is necessary to reduce the total number of annual main line derailments.

Safety improvement, in this sense, is not

a question of derailment rate; rather, it is an issue of derailment occurrence, especially at main line train speed. For a given year to be safer than another, it must have fewer main line derailments. Figure 2 is a graph very similar to Figure 1, except that it illustrates a future derailment rate trend that approaches 1.3 by the year 2030. This target represents eliminating all main line derailments, i.e., 30% of the current total number of derailments. It might be beneficial from a safety point of view to do more, but eliminating all main line derailments is a direct and impactful challenge goal to identify.

Derailments can be caused by many factors that can occur individually or in

Figure 1: U.S. derailments per million train-miles. (Courtesy of Gary T. Fry)

Figure 2. U.S. derailments per million train-miles, including a recommendation for improvement goals. (Courtesy of Gary T. Fry) August 2022 // Railway Age 31

TIMEOUT FOR TECH

Figure 3. Chart showing annual breakdown of factors causing all reported derailments over the most recent 10-year period. (Courtesy of Gary T. Fry.)

Figure 4. Chart showing annual breakdown of factors causing main line derailments reported over the most recent 10-year period. (Courtesy of Gary T. Fry.)

combination—usually the latter. Traditionally in the U.S., the causal factors are grouped into five categories: Track Factors, Human Factors, Equipment Factors, Signal Factors, and Miscellaneous Factors. Figure 3 is a chart representing the most recent 10 years of all reported derailment events in the U.S., including derailments on main line, yard, siding and industry tracks.

The chart shows the annual breakdown of causal factors. In general, Track Factors and Human Factors are the predominant causes of recent derailments, together being consistently responsible for more than 70% of the total. What if we want to pursue the focus on improving main line derailment numbers?

32 Railway Age // August 2022

The years 1975 to 2010 were remarkable in terms of the challenges undertaken and answered by the global heavy-haul freight rail transportation industry and its research partners. Though a desire to further increase axle loads does not exist into the foreseeable future, many opportunities remain that offer potential to enhance the safety, efficiency and efficacy of rail transportation. Creative attention and time, and support for innovation, investment and implementation are essential as we look to future safety improvements, perhaps guided by the red markers in Figure 2—elimination of all main line derailments by 2030.

Toward this objective, the “Five-I” model is simple but very effective and has served the rail transportation industry well for many decades—Identify, Invest, Innovate, Implement and Improve.

Dr. Fry is the Vice President of Fry Technical Services, Inc. (https://www.frytechservices.com/). He has 30 years of experience in research and consulting on the fatigue and fracture behavior of structural metals and weldments. His research results have been incorporated into international codes of practice used in the design of structural components and systems including structural welds, railway and highway bridges, and high-rise commercial buildings in seismic risk zones. He has extensive experience performing in situ testing of railway bridges under live loading of trains, including highspeed passenger trains and heavy-axle-load freight trains. His research, publications, and consulting have advanced the state of the art in structural health monitoring and structural impairment detection.

Over the past 10 years, there has been an annual average of 328 main line derailments reported—nearly one per day. While Figure 3 covers all reported derailment events, Figure 4 is a chart representing the number of main line derailment events reported over the most recent 10 years. Figure 4 also shows the breakdown by causal factors. Consistently over this period, roughly 70% of main line derailments have been caused by Track Factors and Equipment Factors, which is a change from the analysis of all derailments. Improvements to main line derailment safety are expected to be heavily weighted on improvements to track and equipment causes. railwayage.com

TELEMATICS

—AND NOT MUCH NEW

RMS:

ONE-STOP SHIPPING

TransmetriQ, the commercial products unit of Railinc, introduces Rail Management System (RMS), which offers shipment tracking and ETA information, electronic bill of lading capabilities and analytics, all in one platform.

N

BY DANNY DEVER, PRODUCT MANAGER, TRANSMETRIQ

orth American rail shippers have long sought better information about the status of their cargo.

That’s why in early 2021 our team of experts in product, technology, UX (user experience) design and data science embarked on a focused effort to provide shippers with a more effective shipment tracking solution. railwayage.com

Applying more than 20 years of advanced rail technology, along with Railinc’s vast repository of rail data, the TransmetriQ team developed its new Rail Management System (RMS) starting in early 2021. Mission-critical support to RMS developed by Railinc includes: • Single-source access to data from more than 600 railroads.

• High quality, near real-time data

protected by Railinc’s trusted secure data access policy.

• Insights developed by a team with more than two decades of rail experience.

Today, RMS provides powerful shipping data and insights, and it will continue to evolve as machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are applied.

The story of the team’s work is an August 2022 // Railway Age 33

example of the rail industry’s determination to continuously improve customer service.

The rail industry already provides shippers with safe, sustainable, and efficient supply chain services. The challenge for TransmetriQ was to make those services more user-friendly with improved shipment management and tracking.

The solution started with the creation of a team consisting of TransmetriQ experts along with rail service users and providers. The goal was to develop and prioritize ideas that would benefit all industry participants.

others have decades of experience. Levels of familiarity and comfort with technology also range widely.

TransmetriQ then built a business case for what could be done to successfully address the key needs identified by customers.

In addition to the important business challenges, we sought to address, our team also launched its work in the midst of the pandemic. Fortunately, we had been developing remote work protocols and practices prior to the onset of COVID19. This allowed us to pivot quickly and continue to effectively communicate and

information. For example, railroads rely on Standard Point Location Codes (SPLC) that are assigned to every station to manage operations. In cities of any significant size, there are likely dozens, scores, or even more SPLCs. A shipper in Indianapolis, for example, likely does not know the SPLC that would apply to the specific location of a plant, warehouse, or other shipping location. Until now they had to look up the code, or request that information from their railroad or third party to initiate a shipment. The advisory council made RMS developers aware that this

The solution started with the creation of a team consisting of TransmetriQ experts along with rail service users and providers.

LOOKING THROUGH SHIPPERS’ EYES We soon found that shippers were ready and willing to help with their experience and insights. Initially we were supported by some 25 shippers, large and small and whose shipping needs covered a wide range of commodities and products. This group participated in voice-of-the-customer sessions that yielded valuable guidance for our efforts. Based on this group’s input, we were able to quickly identify primary pain points, mostly having to do with the need for more timely data, a common desire to reduce or eliminate the need to gather data from multiple sources, and to make RMS more intuitive than available rail management systems.

After extensive briefings from these customers, we developed customer personas that helped us understand what they needed from RMS. These personas revealed that the system would need to encompass a wide range of customer demands. One shipper might have a very complex shipping system involving multiple commodities to and from many locations, while another ships one or two products between a few origin-destination pairs. Some are new to logistics while 34 Railway Age // August 2022

develop a mutual understanding with our shipper partners in the new environment of Zoom meetings and other remote collaboration methods.

Internally, and as COVID-19 guidelines evolved, our business development team was also able to safely assemble in person at Railinc’s Cary, N.C. headquarters for valuable whiteboard visioning sessions.

We also started developing screens that would present data to customers in meaningful and easy to understand graphics and dashboards. As development accelerated, our internal team was meeting twice weekly to continue giving the development team timely input and feedback that would permit them to work without interruption.

KNOCKING DOWN THE JARGON BARRIER Based on customer input, we recognized that the success of RMS would depend on more than timely and actionable data. It would also need to minimize the use of industry jargon and, instead, provide language and terminology that customers were already comfortable using.

Safe and efficient railroad operations rely on complex internal systems, terminology, and location identification

was time consuming and frustrating. As a result, RMS incorporates a more intuitive feature that allows customers to start typing an address, and the system immediately identifies the SPLC that serves that location and fills it in.

Similar easy-to-use features are provided to specify commodities for shipment and customer identification codes, all of which are maintained in Railinc’s Reference Files and linked to RMS. ENVISIONING A BUSY FUTURE RMS developers realized early in their work that the initial roll out of RMS would be far from the final result. They crafted the highest-priority components first, and initiated work on subsequent versions as soon as RMS was launched early in 2022.

The next significant offering is the RMS bill of lading (BOL), which will be available before the end of 2022.

When shippers tender a BOL to a rail carrier, the message is—essentially— “our shipment is ready, come and get it.”

Historically, BOLs have been created in a number of ways. Larger shippers often have created systems for this purpose, but others need to visit the originating railwayage.com

TELEMATICS

The rail industry already provides shippers with safe, sustainable, and efficient supply chain services. The challenge for TransmetriQ was to make those services more user-friendly with improved shipment management and tracking.

William C. Vantuono

railroad’s website, as well as one or more connecting railroads if the shipment is an interline move (which most are).

The new RMS BOL incorporates the intuitive features discussed above and can easily be created from a shipper’s smart phone, tablet, desk top computer, or enterprise system.

Further down the road, we plan to introduce an RMS virtual assistant that will handle many routine inquiries to save customers even more time as they tender, manage, and track rail shipments.

All of these capabilities are developed to be fully compatible with shipper systems. RMS is fully customizable and can be tailored to the needs of each user.

Customers can choose different product modules and data insights and easily build a system that fits the unique business practices of any enterprise.

EYE ON THE ONE-STOP SHIPPING PRIZE RMS is designed to serve as the TMS for rail shippers. Just as shippers have come to expect ease of use from highway carriers, railroads understand the need to minimize customer touch points—to provide a shipment management system that keeps things moving seamlessly railwayage.com

and then quickly identifies and provides options to resolve exceptions in real time.

As the most powerful, adaptive rail freight management system, RMS allows shippers to make shipping by rail even more efficient and reliable, with these key features: • Personalized control that enables users to adapt RMS as needs change over time.

• Embedded industry-leading expertise.

• Comprehensive perspective, with a modular design that allows for data integration with other platforms.

• Increased accuracy by leveraging Railinc’s direct connection with railroads to provide high-quality data, fast.

In addition to providing the industry with a higher value freight rail management system, it has been extremely rewarding to work with the dedicated, bright, and diverse TransmetriQ team that was challenged with the profound task of developing RMS. Those who have never worked in the railroad industry might not realize what a rich and resourceful talent pool exists within our ranks. It is the work of our team—individually and collectively—that will support the success of North America’s railroads and its customers for years and decades to come.

ABOUT TRANSMETRIQ TransmetriQ is a group of Railinc (www. railinc.com) transportation experts, product managers, UX designers, software developers, data scientists, and critical thinkers developing insights and solutions that help customers build businesses that compete and win. Our teams work to improve our current products and develop the next generation of businessoriented transportation solutions. Visit us at www.transmetriq.com.

Danny Dever August 2022 // Railway Age 35

People JENNIFER RUMSEY Cummins

HIGH PROFILE: Jennifer Rumsey became President and CEO of Cummins, effective Aug. 1, succeeding Tom Linebarger. Rumsey is the first women to serve as leader of Cummins, founded in 1919.

Since March 2021, Rumsey has served as President and Chief Operating Officer, overseeing global operations.

She was elected to the Board of Directors in February 2022, and will maintain her seat on the Board. Rumsey is a member of the Society of Women Engineers, Society of Automotive Engineers, the Purdue Engineering Advisory Council and Women in Trucking Association. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Prior to her current role, Rumsey was Vice President and President of the Components Segment, comprising Cummins Filtration, Cummins Turbo Technologies, Cummins Emission Solutions, Cummins Electronics and Fuel Systems, and Eaton Cummins Automated Transmission Technologies. She previously served as Vice President and Chief Technical Officer. Rumsey began her Cummins career in 2020 working in Research and Technology, primarily focused on advancing technology to reduce criteria pollutants from diesel engines. Since then, she has held numerous positions of increasing responsibility, including bringing new platforms and technologies to the market, driving improvements in product quality, and developing the capability of global teams.

T

he Association of American Railroads (AAR) last month named Norfolk Southern Director of Fuel Efficiency Jamie Helmer as recipient of the 2022 John H. Chafee Environmental Excellence Award. According to NS, Helmer is “integral in driving key improvements in fuel sourcing, efficiency and conversions that move the railroad closer to its science-based target of reducing emissions intensity 42% by 2034. Under her guidance, NS has experienced a 7% improvement in fuel efficiency, saving approximately 47 million gallons of fuel and avoiding more than 470,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in the past two years.” Part of NS’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint include analyzing different fuel alternatives and low-carbon fuels and the long-term planning of the future locomotive energy source in place of ultra-low sulfur diesel. In May 2022, Helmer and a team from the sourcing, mechanical and fuel planning departments introduced biofuel at a major NS fueling location that, according to the railroad, is anticipated to increase the overall amount of biofuel used in 2022 up to millions of gallons annually. In addition to Helmer, seven other railroaders were nominated for the 2022 John H. Chafee Award: 36 Railway Age // August 2022

Curtis Fernandez, Electrician-Facility Management, CN; David Kosla, Senior Manager–Coals and Piers, CSX; Karen Monroy, Coordinator, Community Relations and Social Responsibility, Kansas City Southern de México; Grace Olsen, General Director of Locomotive Engineering and Quality, Union Pacific; Devon Parson, Director of Equipment Engineering, Amtrak; Danny Rodriguez, Shop Superintendent II–Mechanical, BNSF; and Dan Sabatka, Director of Projects and Public Works U.S., Canadian Pacific.

HDR named Christopher LaTuso, P.E., Transportation Market Strategy Director. In his new position, HDR said, LaTuso will “help set the vision and develop strategies to drive the continued growth of HDR’s global transportation program of more than 4,400 employees across all transportation modes and markets.” HDR added that LaTuso will work with market and client development leaders to “implement programs focused on client service, anticipate transportation market trends, and deliver holistic and streamlined solutions.”

LaTuso most recently served as Director of HDR’s global transportation infrastructure advisory services practice and as East

Region Transportation Market Development Director. He has spent the majority of his three-decade career developing transportation projects in the New York metropolitan area, and is experienced in every phase of project delivery from concept and scoping to construction inspection.

Robert D. Coleman has joined Road & Rail Services LLC as President, succeeding Kevin Brandon, who remains as Executive Vice President and will work to transition company leadership over the coming months. Coleman previously served Restaurant Supply Chain Solutions, LLC, holding financial and process transformation roles.

STM (Société de transport de Montréal) has elevated Marie-Claude Léonard to a five-year term as CEO, a position she’s held on an interim basis since March. Léonard has served STM for 30 years, getting her start as an agent when she was a student. She rose through the management ranks and was named Executive Director, Bus and Métro Operations in September 2021, before becoming interim CEO. Léonard has been a member of the STM Executive Committee for the past six years, and serves on several international committees, including the Policy Board of the International Association of Public Transport (UITP).

The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) appointed Jennifer DeBruhl as Director.

She had served as Acting Director of the agency since March. DeBruhl also serves as a member of the Commonwealth Transportation Board, Chair of the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA) board, and as a Board Member for several transportation organizations around the Commonwealth.

DeBruhl joined DRPT in 2016 as Chief of Public Transportation following more than 20 years of distinguished public service to the transportation community at the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). At DRPT, DeBruhl led the evaluation, assistance, and execution of public transportation, commuter assistance and congestion management programs throughout the Commonwealth through times of significant change, the agency said.

She played a significant role in implementing reforms to Virginia’s Making Efficient + Responsible Investments in Transit (MERIT) program. railwayage.com

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August 2022 // Railway Age 37

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railwayage.com

Ad Index COMPANY

PHONE #

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PAGE #

AMSTED RAIL GROUP

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27

DANELLA RENTAL SYSTEMS, INC

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MARMON RAIL LEASING/RAILSERVE

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PROGRESS RAIL A CATERPILLAR CO

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bbrundige@sb-reb.com 28,29,C3

RAILWAY EQUIPMENT CO

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23

SIEMENS TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

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22

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The Advertisers Index is an editorial feature maintained for the convenience of readers. It is not part of the advertiser contract and Railway Age assumes no responsibility for the correctness.

STAY IN GEAR WITH RAIL GROUP NEWS RAIL GROUP NEWS brings you a daily round-up of news stories from Railway Age, RT&S, and IRJ. This email newsletter offers North American and global news and analysis of the freight and passenger markets. From developments in rail technology, operations, and strategic planning to legislative issues and engineering news, we’ve got you covered.

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RAIL GROUP NEWS

ROUND-UP of NE

RAILWAY

1/26/22 1:25 PM

August 2022 // Railway Age 39

Perspective: ASLRRA

Our Industry Must Present a United Front

L

ast month, I was honored to receive the OneRail Coalition’s newly established Canby Award. Named for the Coalition’s founder and former director, Anne Canby, the award recognizes an individual’s “dedication to preserving and improving the U.S. rail network.”

Michael Davisson, Professional Staff for the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, was also selected as a recipient.

While I am grateful for the recognition, Anne is the individual deserving of the most recognition. Anne dedicated her life’s work to transportation and promoting rail at all levels of government, serving as the New Jersey Commissioner of Transportation, Delaware’s Secretary of Transportation, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. DOT. After leaving government service, Anne founded OneRail in 2009 as a non-profit organization to create a strong and unified group of stakeholders in support of a robust U.S. freight and passenger rail industry. Over the years, she continued to expand and strengthen the coalition to include Class I, II, and III freight railroads; Amtrak; state DOTs; rail labor unions; commuter rail; rail suppliers; engineering companies; and rail passengers. Her work raised awareness of the many economic, environmental, and safety benefits of freight and passenger rail.

We have a great story to tell regarding those benefits. Regretfully, we don’t always tell it as effectively as we could, and part of the reason for that is we don’t always capitalize on the inherent strength of our very diverse stakeholders.

The rail industry is so much more than trains crisscrossing the country. It is a critical workforce representing hundreds of thousands of employees who earn above-average wages and enjoy excellent health and retirement benefits. It is a robust and growing rail supply industry that also employs a huge workforce and that is responsible for developing many of the technological innovations that reduce harmful emissions and improve

40 Railway Age // August 2022

rail safety. It is supporting organizations that provide safety education and training such as the Short Line Safety Institute and Operation Lifesaver. It is a lynchpin partner to local economic development officials who need rail service to implement their development projects. It is millions of commuters who depend on rail to get to and from work. It is transportation for tens of thousands of shippers whose ability to grow and prosper depends on efficient and competitive rail service. And it is an “All-American” proposition. All of our employees, all of our billions of dollars of capital investment, and all of our service to shippers takes place here in the United States.

It is no secret there are issues that divide us, and we often air those differences in the press, in the Halls of Congress, and before the agencies that regulate us. More often than not, those exhortations result in stalemate. It is when we exhort together that we are the most successful. I know that was the case with the short line’s effort to enact the 45G rehabilitation tax credit, in which we were provided invaluable support from all the rail industry’s stakeholders.

When I first became a railroad lobbyist, I was struck by the success of the Highway Trust Fund lobby. Like the railroad industry, the Trust Fund has a diverse group of stakeholders with significant differences over the issues of gas tax levels, state funding formulas, transit allocations and project eligibilities. Yet, when it came time to rescue the Trust Fund from financial peril, every related association and individual stakeholder got into the same boat and rowed in the same direction to get to the finish line.

Anne noticed this dynamic long before I did, and getting everyone in the railroad industry into the boat and rowing in the same direction was her goal and remains today the primary objective of the OneRail Coalition.

I have no doubt the rail industry’s stakeholders will continue to disagree, debate, and rock the boat on specific

transportation policy issues. But, I believe there are issues where we can and surely should present a united front and push as forcefully as possible. I believe fully funding and expediting delivery of the various rail programs such as CRISI in the newly enacted infrastructure bill is one of those issues. Being vigilant about maintaining a strong financial foundation for the Railroad Retirement system is another. Getting young workers into the industry, and keeping them here, is another.

Speaking from the short line perspective, we believe next year’s reauthorization of the Farm Bill represents an opportunity to improve rail transportation and infrastructure in rural areas where so many shippers are dependent on the rail network, and we look forward to actively engaging our customers and many partners in that effort.

As important as supporting individual policies is, our collaborative effort is to always be educating policymakers on who we are, what we do, and how we benefit the country. In 2023, there will be a new Congress with scores of new members and hundreds of supporting staffers who have little if any knowledge about railroads or understanding of our economic and environmental benefits. Our industry’s ability to educate on those subjects will be much more effective if the first time they hear that message, it is delivered by a united front of stakeholders that make up the entire railroad industry.

Short lines are the ultimate connectors. Like Anne Canby, we pledge to do our part to aggressively seek opportunities to bring all rail stakeholders together to move our industry forward.

CHUCK BAKER President ASLRRA

railwayage.com

We’re current, are you? FRA Regulations Mechanical Department Regulations

Now Include Part 22 s 4

A combined reprint of the Federal Regulations that apply specifically to the Mechanical Department. Spiral bound.

Part Title 210 Railroad Noise Emission Compliance Regulations Updated 4-15-19.

215 Freight Car Safety Standards Updated 3-21-22.

216 Emergency Order Procedures: Railroad Track, Locomotive and Equipment Updated 3-21-22.

217 Railroad Operating Rules Updated 3-21-22.

218 Railroad Operating Practices - Blue Flag Rule Updated 3-21-22.

221 Rear End Marking Device-passenger, commuter/freight trains Updated 3-21-22.

223 Safety Glazing Standards Updated 3-21-22.

224 Reflectorization of Rail Freight Rolling Stock Updated 3-21-22.

225 Railroad Accidents/Incidents Updated 3-21-22.

229 Locomotive Safety Standards Updated 3-21-22.

231 Safety Appliance Standards Updated 3-21-22.

232 Brake System Safety Standards Updated 3-21-22.

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.

Part 213: Track Safety Standards 49 Part 213, Subparts A-F. Classes of Track 1 through 5: Applies to track required to support passenger and freight equipment at lower speed ranges. Includes Defect Codes and Appendices A, B, and C to Part 213.

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Each

RR Safety Enforcement Procedures & Rules of Practice Track Safety Standards (Subpart A-F) Track Safety Standards (Subpart G) RR Workplace Safety RR Freight Car Safety Standards RR Operating Rules and Practices

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