Railway Age February 2019

F E B RUARY 2 0 1 9

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

10 40 under

“Fast Trackers” Bring New Perspectives to a Legacy Industry

Angie Leonard

Kansas City Southern

BIG DATA

Artificial intelligence, analytics—and science

TTCI R&D

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Modeling, simulation for August detectors 2017 // Railway Age 1 hot bearing

CONGRATULATIONS TO KANSAS CITY SOUTHERN MARKETING DIRECTOR

Angie Leonard for being honored

by Railway Age as a FAST TRACKER 10 Rising Industry Stars Under 40

kcsouthern.com

AILWAY GE

JUNE 2018 2019 FEBRUARY

35 FEATURES

16

Big Data

24

10 Under 40

32

Analytics Drive Big Results

Railway Age’s Fast Trackers

TTCI R&D HBD Research Developments

DEPARTMENTS 4 6 8 36 36 36 37 38 38 39

Industry Indicators Industry Outlook Market People 100 Years Ago Events Products Professional Directory Classified Advertising Index

NEWS/COLUMNS 2 10 14 15 48

From the Editor Update Watching Washington Financial Edge Short Line/Regional Perspective On the Cover: 10 Under 40 honoree Angie Leonard, Kansas City Southern. Photo: KCS

Railway Age, USPS 449-130, is published monthly by the Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation, 55 Broad St., 26th Fl., New York, NY 10004. Tel. (212) 620-7200; FAX (212) 633-1863. Vol. 220, No. 2. 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© 2016 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 1407 Cedar Rapids, IA. 52406-1407, Or call toll free (US Only) 1-800-553-8878 (CANADA/INTL) 1-319-364-6167. Printed at Cummings Printing, Hooksett, N.H. ISSN 0033-8826 (print); 2161-511X (digital).

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February 2019 // Railway Age 1

FROM THE EDITOR

AILWAY GE Subscriptions: 800-895-4389

Confessions of a Car Guy

Y

es, I know that I’m supposed to talk about railroads in the monthly space alloted here, but I have another passion of which some of you may be aware, or in which some of you may share. It has to do with wheels—not the steel kind, rolling on steel ribbons of rail—but the rubber kind, though not trucks, or even the oversize SUVs that so many of us prefer to drive these days.

Yep, I’m a “car guy” (a name that applies to both sexes). Been one since my uncle took me for a ride in his rusted-out 1959 Alfa Romeo when I was a kid. Back in 1977, I bought my first car, a 1967 Pontiac LeMans V-8 powered hardtop coupe, from my aunt. Today, my daily driver is a 2004 Pontiac GTO, and my weekend toy is a fully restored 1969 Pontiac Firebird 350 HO convertible, bright red with a white top.

The ’Bird slurps gas through a Holley fourbarrel carb like there’s no tomorrow, with zero emission controls and a dual exhaust you can hear coming from quite a distance.

The GTO doesn’t do much better in the fuel conservation department. No matter.

She’ll smoke the rear tires without much effort. See ya later, big, boxy aircraft carrier with the high center of gravity and the handling ability of a cement block!

So what does this have to do with rail?

Plenty. I may be a car guy, but if I, and others like me, want to continue to enjoy driving our performance cars and classics

on open roads while inhaling breathable air, we as a civilization have to get more freight, and more people, back onto the rails. We’ll save the planet by not dumping tons of pollution into the atmosphere. It’s that simple. And it can be done.

I offer you some startling figures released in a new International Energy Agency study, The Future of Rail, prepared in cooperation with the International Union of Railways (UIC).

The report says that “aggressive, strategic deployment of rail” would enable global transport CO2 emissions to peak in the late 2030s, and then begin to fall. Oil consumption could fall by 10 million barrels a day by 2050, with an 0.6 gigaton reduction in CO2 emissions and a 220 kiloton drop in particulate emissions. Nice!

What must be done? “Minimize cost per km by maximizing network usage, removing technical barriers and integrating seamlessly with other modes. Maximize revenues, for example, by exploiting land value capture around stations to finance rail investment. Implement policies that ensure all modes pay for the impacts they generate through road pricing, fuel taxes and congestion pricing in urban areas.”

All of this will cost megabucks. But it’s worth the investment. I’ll pay my fair share, gladly. Will you?

ARTHUR J. McGINNIS, Jr. President and Chairman JONATHAN CHALON Publisher jchalon@sbpub.com WILLIAM C. VANTUONO Editor-in-Chief wvantuono@sbpub.com PAUL CONLEY Engineering Editor pconley@sbpub.com Contributing Editors: David Peter Alan, Roy Blanchard, Jim Blaze, Alfred E. Fazio, Bruce Kelly, Ron Lindsey, Ryan McWilliams, David Nahass, Jason H. Seidl, David Thomas, John Thompson, Frank N. Wilner Art Director: Nicole D’Antona Graphic Designer: Aleza Leinwand Corporate Production Director: Mary Conyers Digital Ad Operations Associate: Kevin Fuhrmann Production Director: Eduardo Castaner Marketing Director: Erica Hayes Conference Director: Michelle Zolkos Circulation Director: Maureen Cooney Western Offices 20 South Clark Street, Suite 1910, Chicago, IL 60603 312-683-0130; Fax: 312-683-0131 Managing Editor, Railway Track & Structures Kyra Senese ksenese@sbpub.com

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 A Record Month and Year for Intermodal U.S. railroads originated 1.10 million containers and trailers in December 2018, up 5.0% over December 2017. Weekly average intermodal volume was 274,029, “easily the highest weekly average for December in history,” the AAR noted. “In fact, the first and second weeks of December 2018 were the highest volume intermodal weeks in history for U.S. railroads, regardless of month, with 303,225 and 301,407 units originated, respectively. That’s the first time ever that originations exceeded 300,000 in a single week. So much for intermodal peaking in September or October. The top 10 weeks in history were all in 2018, as were nine of the top ten months.”

Railroad employment, Class I linehaul carriers, NOV. 2018 (% change from NOV. 2017)

TRAFFIC ORIGINATED CARLOADS

MAJOR U.S. RAILROADS

by Commodity

Total employees: 148,981 % change from NOV. 2017: 2.07%

Transportation (train and engine) 63,280 (4.94%)

Grain Farm Products ex. Grain Grain Mill Products Food products Chemicals Petroleum & Petroleum Products Coal Primary Forest Products Lumber and Wood Products Pulp and 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

Executives, Officials, and Staff Assistants 8,290 (0.96%)

CANADIAN RAILROADS

Professional and Administrative 11,827 (-2.91%)

COMBINED U.S./CANADA RR

Maintenance-of-Way and Structures 32,389 (-2.02%) Maintenance of Equipment and Stores 27,495 (3.14%) Transportation (other than train & engine) 5,700 (0.52%) Source: Surface Transportation Board

it takes people to move freight It takes more than cars and locomotives to haul freight. That’s why data for Train & Engine crews showed an increase that actually outpaced total commodity and intermodal volume gains through November. As difficult as railroads and trucking have found the market for recruiting new employees, that didn’t stop monthly employment from rising by better than 2%. Note: These figures are repeated from the January issue, as the STB was among those agencies shuttered for more than a month by President Trump.

4 Railway Age // February 2019

FOUR WEEKS ENDING dec. 29, 2018

total CANADIAN carloads

Intermodal

DEC. ’18

DEC. ’17

% CHANGE

87,979 3,739 34,995 23,644 128,942 51,877 342,236 3,815 11,918 24,023 25,024 16,581 36,264 14,752 62,682 75,693 14,192 26,454 14,714 22,454

85,443 3,402 35,647 23,072 125,593 41,002 329,854 4,534 12,128 23,683 26,426 16,749 33,908 13,281 61,898 78,809 14,664 27,392 13,586 21,768

3.0% 9.9% -1.8% 2.5% 2.7% 26.5% 3.8% -15.9% -1.7% 1.4% -5.3% -1.0% 6.9% 11.1% 1.3% -4.0% -3.2% -3.4% 8.3% 3.2%

1,021,978

992,839

2.9%

326,015

308,254

5.8%

1,347,993

1,301,093

3.6%

fOUR WEEKS ENDING DEC. 29, 2018

MAJOR U.S. RAILROADS

by Commodity

DEC. ’18

DEC. ’17

% CHANGE

108,163 987,953 1,096,116

103,052 940,949 1,044,001

5.0% 5.0% 5.0%

2 271,108 271,110

3,791 253,050 256,841

-99.9% 7.1% 5.6%

Trailers Containers

108,165 1,259,061

106,843 1,193,999

1.2% 5.4%

TOTAL COMBINED UNITS

1,367,226

1,300,842

5.1%

Trailers Containers TOTAL UNITS

CANADIAN RAILROADS Trailers Containers TOTAL UNITS

COMBINED U.S./CANADA RR

Source: Rail Time Indicators, Association of American Railroads

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TOTAL U.S./CANADIAN CARLOADS, DEC. 2018 VS. DEC. 2017

1,347,993 DECEMBER 2018

AILWAY GE

1,301,093 DECEMBER 2017

Short Line And Regional Traffic Index CARLOADS

by Commodity

ORIGINATED DEC. ’18

ORIGINATED DEC. ’17

% CHANGE

51,586 20,832 23,300 10,801 26,171 7,019 8,448 2,801 18,582 10,959 2,425 2,072 18,363 11,957 49,404 9,831 75,253

45,417 22,523 24,816 10,932 25,477 5,889 8,282 2,471 15,650 8,360 1,536 1,973 16,417 12,052 36,263 8,753 82,615

13.6% -7.5% -6.1% -1.2% 3.2% 19.2% 2.0% 13.4% 18.7% 31.1% 57.9% 5.0% 11.9% -0.8% 36.2% 12.3% -8.9%

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

Copyright © 2018 All rights reserved.

average weekly U.S. Rail Carloads: all commodities (not seasonally adjusted) 280,000 2018

270,000 260,000

ARE YOU A RAILROAD OR SUPPLIER SEARCHING FOR JOB CANDIDATES?

250,000 2017

240,000

2016

230,000 220,000

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Data are average weekly originations for each month, are not seasonally adjusted, do not include intermodal, and do not include the U.S. operations of CN and CP. Source: AAR

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Visit http://bit.ly/railjobs To place a job posting, contact: Jeanine Acquart 212-620-7211 jacquart@sbpub.com

February 2019 // Railway Age 5 RA_JobBoard_1/3Vertical.indd 1

8/17/17 10:59 AM

Industry Outlook Virgin Trains USA Readies For NASDAQ IPO

“Rail Service Improving”: Cowen Survey Among Class I railroads, BNSF was rated highest in service quality, according to a fourth-quarter 2018 survey of rail shippers conducted by Cowen and Company.

“BNSF maintained its position as the most favorably rated railroad, with a 76% positive rating, up from 70% in 3Q18, which was also the largest change in rating among the railroads,” the survey noted. “Second was KCS, with a 73% positive rating, up from 69%. NS received the lowest percentage of positive ratings. Three of the seven Class I’s received better ratings than in 3Q (BNSF, CSX, and KCS), two received worse ratings (CP and NS), and two received roughly the same rating (CN and UP), with the average improvement in ‘positive’ rating about +1%, compared to +9% the last survey.

“Indications are that service is improving.

Those citing improved service as reasons for why they shifted to rail this past quarter increased to 18% from 8%, while average ‘positive’ service ratings increased marginally.

The number of people who said they would push 15%+ more freight to the rails should service levels improve rose to 10% from 6%.”

Shippers are anticipating price increases of 3.4% over the next 6-12 months, down for the second consecutive quarter and below the survey’s long-term average—down 30 basis 6 Railway Age // February 2019

points from Cowen’s 3Q18 survey, though at a slower rate of deceleration than 3Q18 vs. 2Q18.

On a same-shipper basis, pricing expectations declined “even more substantially.

Economic confidence sunk below the survey’s long-term average, while recent business trends remained above. We view these results as a slight negative for railroads.

On a same-shipper basis, pricing expectations fell about 70 bps sequentially.”

Rail shippers expect their businesses to expand at an average rate of 2.6% over the next 12 months, down 30 bps for the third consecutive quarter and well below the survey’s 4.5% long-term average. Only 32% of shippers are more confident in the direction of the economy than they were in 3Q18.

Business levels decreased by 7% for the third consecutive quarter, though they remained slightly above the survey’s longterm average. “We attempt to quantify whether the pre-tariff pull-forward, inasmuch as it may have helped business in 3Q18 and 4Q18, will conversely hurt business in 2019,” Cowen noted. “16% of shippers in our survey answered that their first-half 2019 rail shipments will be negatively impacted by pre-tariff actions they took. This could mean a slightly more negative first-half 2019 volume outlook.”

Virgin Trains USA LLC is launching an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of 28,334,000 shares of common stock.

The NASDAQ Global Select Market listing is expected to raise $17 to $19 per share—between $482 million and $538 million—resulting in the company having market capitalization of up to $3.2 billion. The company also plans to grant underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 4,250,100 shares. This means the IPO could raise up to $619 million.

Virgin Trains USA filed a prospectus with the U.S. SEC on Nov. 16, 2018, the same day it announced its strategic partnership and rebranding initiative with Brightline, Florida’s privately funded passenger rail operator.

Prior to the start of trading, Virgin Trains USA LLC will be converted to a Delaware Corporation named Virgin Trains USA Inc. After the offering and concurrent private placements, private equity funds managed by an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group would own approximately 81.6% of the common stock, or 79.5% if the underwriters’ overallotment option is fully exercised. A Virgin Group affiliate has agreed to purchase less than 2% of the shares outstanding following the offering. Lead book-running managers are Barclays, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley. Other book-running managers are BofA Merrill Lynch and Allen & Company LLC. Co-managers are JMP Securities, Raymond James and Stephens Inc. Brightline, now a subsidiary of Florida East Coast Industries and Virgin Group, operates 79-mph service on the Florida East Coast Railway main line, linking Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. There are plans to extend service westward to Orlando and then to Tampa.

The company in September 2018 acquired XpressWest, a high-speed passenger rail project linking Southern California and Las Vegas. railwayage.com

5th Annual

RAILWAY AGE CONFERENCE & EXPO

JUNE 5-6 Union League Club of Chicago Chicago, IL

EXPLORE THE CHALLENGES, ISSUES, AND TRENDS AFFECTING THE NORTH AMERICAN RAIL MARKET

SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

Patrick Ottensmeyer

President & CEO Kansas City Southern

Ian Jefferies

President & CEO Association of American Railroads

REGISTER NOW WWW.RAILWAYAGE.COM/INSIGHTS • Precision Scheduled Railroading: Is it Working?

• Regulation in the 116th Congress

EXHIBITS & SPONSORSHIPS AVAILABLE 212.620.7224 | jchalon@sbpub.com

• Suppliers and Emerging Technologies • Short Line and Regional Insights • Pressure from Wall Street • The Car and Locomotive Market

SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS

Market Amfleet I Replacements Sought Amtrak on Jan. 18 released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a new fleet of single-level passenger cars to replace its dependable but decades-old, 470-unit stable of Amfleet I and ex-Metroliner cars, which were converted from electric-multiple-units years ago. The Amfleet I cars date to 1975, while the ex-Metroliner equipment entered service in January 1969 for Amtrak predecessor Penn Central (PC predecessor Pennsylvania Railroad ordered this equipment in 1966). A base order will include “75 trainsets or their railcar equivalents,” with options to provide equipment numerous services.

WORLDWIDE

NORTH AMERICA

Tunisian National Railways (SNCFT) has taken delivery of an initial batch of 10 Progress Rail GT42AC diesel locomotives, which will be used to haul phosphate trains. SNCFT awarded Progress Rail a $54 million contract in December 2016 to supply 20 of the six-axle, meter-gauge locomotives, which are being built at the Progress Rail plant in Muncie, Ind. The order is being financed by a consortium of Tunisian and international lenders.

The New York MTA will build four new stations in the East Bronx for MetroNorth commuter rail service on the Northeast Corridor, after Governor Andrew Cuomo brokered a deal between the agency and Amtrak. The deal hinges on a plan to postpone a bridge replacement that was called “beyond a state-ofgood-repair” nearly a decade ago. The MTA will pay to build stations in four East Bronx neighborhoods: Hunts Point, Parkchester, Morris Park and Co-op City.

Metro-North trains will carry passengers along Amtrak-owned right-of-way to Penn Station New York.

R. J. Corman Switching Company, LLC was awarded work as the automotive loading provider at four of Toyota’s North American’s locations: Georgetown, Ky.; Tupelo, Miss.; Princeton, Ind.; and San Antonio, Tex. Corman has performed work for the past seven years at the Tupelo plant and six years at the Georgetown plant; the new contract runs through 2021. The company commenced work at the Princeton and San Antonio locations on Jan. 1. The rail services

8 Railway Age // February 2019

provider performs switch, prep and loading of railcars, as well as track maintenance. R. J. Corman began working with Toyota when it started a turnkey operation for the Tupelo plant. Since 2011, R. J. Corman has handled approximately two million Toyota vehicles, and will be handling all new vehicles produced by Toyota nationwide, as well as providing rail switching and track maintenance services under the new contract. The company is providing and maintaining locomotives, work trucks, fleet vehicles and additional pieces of specialty equipment among all four locations. Staffing is expanding at Georgetown by 40 employees, 85 at Princeton and 75 at San Antonio.

The first Bombardier Flexity Freedom LRV for Toronto’s new Eglinton Crosstown LRT arrived Jan. 8. on the property. Delivery of the first vehicle was made to the nearly complete yard and maintenance facility in west Toronto after a journey by flatbed trailer from the Bombardier Millhaven plant, some 136 miles eastward. It is the first unit of a 76-car, C$392 million order; another five LRVs were scheduled to arrive by Feb. 1. The Crosstown LRT is scheduled to open in September 2021. railwayage.com

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Update

“Bullish View on

Railcar OEMs”: KeyBanc

K

eyBanc Capital Markets analyst Steve Barger attended the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers (MARS) conference and came away “believing our bullish thesis on the railcar space is correct.”

Barger said the conference tone “was generally optimistic,” with discussions revolving around the impact of emerging technology and the implementation of PSR (Precision Scheduled Railroading). Barger predicts “modest impact from these initiatives to our bullish view on railcar OEMs in the near-term. Long-term, we see potential for a more meaningful impact if successfully implemented.”

Some railcar suppliers noted that elevated backlog visibility and expectations for additional industry orders “provide some confidence through the first half of the year,” Barger noted. “A few participants expressed a more cautious view around long-term commitments, given ongoing trade discussions, the government shutdown and other political issues.”

With regard to emerging technology, “we heard about multiple use cases for artificial intelligence, machine learning and blockchain technologies to increase transparency, efficiency and accountability of shipped 10 Railway Age // February 2019

products and rail assets,” Barger said.

“Regarding the latter, there were mixed opinions on the merits and near-term impacts of PSR, though most participants viewed the system as having long-term potential to improve asset efficiencies and returns.”

Railroads and shippers “are increasingly embracing the idea and use of technology to improve asset efficiency and returns,” Barger noted. “As the implementation of PTC has become substantially complete across the Class I fleet, there has been some shift in thinking from ‘the unfunded mandate’ to ‘the backbone of the digital railroad.’”

Some presenters discussed a shift toward moving-block train control (so-called “PTC 2.0”), which would enable tighter headways and, at least theoretically, increase network capacity. Additionally, autonomous trains are “inevitable and necessary to offset share loss stemming from heavy investments in autonomous trucking. We think this is a long-term issue, given technical, regulatory and cultural issues that will need to be addressed,” Barger said.

Opinions on PSR’s near-term impact were mixed, “though most participants agreed on the long-term opportunities for improved

asset efficiencies,” Barger said. “While definitions of PSR vary, the underlying model focuses on improving customer service, efficiency and asset utilization. The process of achieving those goals is widely debated among constituents. While some railroaders look forward to more precise scheduling of fewer, longer trains, shippers fear load rationalizations and loss of flexibility, which could make it harder to respond to swings in demand, such as the crude-by-rail spike in 2012-2014.”

The near-term focus on improving asset utilization and financial returns via PSR and advanced technology “could have a modest impact on equipment orders, though we don’t expect a major structural change this cycle,” Barger concluded.

“Long-term, it will be harder to predict how the increased use of technology will reduce equipment requirements, particularly if population growth fuels higher volume to offset equipment rationalization.

As such, we remain bullish on continued cycle improvement for railcar OEMs driven by improving pricing, stabilizing lease rates and avenues for improved capital deployment supported by substantial liquidity” for Trinity and Greenbrier, which KeyBanc rates as Overweight. railwayage.com

Update Chuck Baker ASLRRA’s Pick for President The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association has named Charles H. “Chuck” Baker as President, effective Feb. 4.

Baker is well known in the railway industry as a partner at Chambers, Conlon & Hartwell (CC&H) where, in addition to ASLRRA, he represented clients such as the National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association (NRC), the OneRail Coalition, the American Railway Development Association (ARDA), CN, Norfolk Southern, and McHugh Construction. During his tenure at CC&H, Baker served as President of the NRC, responsible for the core financial, operational, and legal programs, including its federal legislative and regulatory program.

For OneRail, Baker coordinated activities and messaging, and its interface with Congress and various Presidential Administrations.

Prior to joining CC&H, Baker worked with the Surface Transportation Policy Project in Washington, D.C. He has also worked for Deutsche Bank Securities in San Francisco as an investment banker specializing in corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Coalition for America’s Gateways & Trade Corridors (CAGTC).

“Chuck Baker brings a wealth of talent and rail industry experience to the position,” said ASLRRA Chair Judy Petry, President and General Manager of Farmrail System, Inc. “As the lead partner on government affairs efforts for ASLRRA while at the rail lobbying and association management firm of Chambers, Conlon & Hartwell, including on our key priority, permanence of the Short Line 45G Tax Credit, he has showcased his keen understanding of the needs of our industry. In addition, he has led multiple industry associations and high-performing teams. Finally, he has the respect of our members and practical knowledge of how work in Washington is accomplished via legislative and regulatory channels.”

“America is blessed with the world’s premier freight rail system, and I look forward to doing our part at ASLRRA to ensure the industry is prepared to meet tomorrow’s challenges,” said Baker. “Along with the ASLRRA board, staff and most important, the members themselves, I’m eager to tell the short line story, including the significant safety, railwayage.com

infrastructure investment, congestion reduction, environmental improvement and economic development benefits we provide throughout the country.”

The NRC released this statement about Baker’s new post at ASLRRA: “After nearly 15 years of dedicated service, the NRC proudly, but bittersweetly, announces the departure of Chuck Baker as President …

Chuck started his career with the NRC as our Manager in February 2004, working to become Vice President, Executive Director, and, eventually, President. During the course of his career, the NRC grew substantially in many ways, including a doubling of membership to nearly 430 companies; conference attendance increasing to more than 1,100; the establishment of the annual rail construction and maintenance equipment auction; the successful launch of education and scholarship initiatives; and the creation of the NRC’s government affairs and grassroots programs.

Additionally, the financial position of the association is more sound than ever.”

“The NRC is now the premier association representing the entire rail construction and maintenance industry, and we eagerly look forward to maintaining and expanding that position,” NRC Board Chairman Mike Choat, Wabtec, said. “After having worked with Chuck over the past 10 years, it is clear we will all miss him. He has worked extremely hard with the Executive Committee to move the organization forward and operate it like a business. The past year has been one of

change, with new NRC staff at CC&H coming aboard, the appointment of four strong new Board members, the most successful conference on record, and, now, Chuck’s departure. We are pleased that, as Chuck has stated, he will “not be far away” in his new position at ASLRRA. On behalf of the entire NRC Board of Directors and all of our member companies, we wish him all the best. Thank you, Chuck, for your service.”

“It is with a heavy heart that I leave the NRC, as I truly love the rail construction and maintenance industry, NRC’s contractor, supplier, and associate members, the Board and the NRC staff at Chambers, Conlon & Hartwell,” Baker said. “However, I leave confident that the NRC is in better shape than ever and poised nicely to continue to improve. The staff at CC&H, including Matt Bell, Mike McGonagle and Chana Elgin, is absolutely world-class. The Board, particularly the tireless Executive Committee of Mike Choat, Jim Hansen, Steve Bolte and Chris Daloisio, is extraordinarily committed, and the NRC’s brand is unmatched. I’m also not going far. The NRC maintains close relationships with multiple other rail associations, including ASLRRA, and ASLRRA will look forward to maintaining, and even strengthening, that relationship.

Many short line railroads are heavy users of the contracting services and materials provided by NRC member companies, and I look forward to the opportunity to work with those companies in a different role.”

chuck brings a wealth of talent and industry experience to the position.”

February 2019 // Railway Age 11

Update New Short Line President, Other Key Appointments at R.J. Corman Railroad Group R. J. Corman Railroad Group, LLC on Jan. 17 announced appointments of 10 key executives to leadership positions within its companies. “With the new leadership our company has in place, and the many opportunities that we have realized, 2019 is off to a great start for R. J. Corman,” Ed Quinn, President and CEO, stated. “We have an extremely talented leadership team stepping into key roles, and are bringing on experienced, highly respected individuals to complement their capabilities.”

Ray Goss now leads the R. J. Corman Railroad Company as President. He succeeds Brian Miller, who resigned. Goss joins R. J. Corman after 15 years at Genesee & Wyoming Inc., where he was Senior Vice President Engineering and Chief Engineer, Senior Vice President Northeast Region, and Senior Vice President New York and Pennsylvania Region. Goss brings to the

position experience in operations, engineering and safety with freight and passenger operations. In his new role with R. J. Corman, he leads all aspects of the company’s short line railroads, including transportation, engineering, mechanical and economic development of all 13 properties.

“I am looking forward to this new opportunity and I feel honored to lead such a great company,” Goss said. “I am committed to providing our customers the first-rate service that they have come to expect from R. J. Corman, while also maintaining high safety standards and efficient operating practices.”

Mike Philpot and John Phillips have been appointed Vice President Operations of the South and North regions, respectively, reporting to Goss. They will oversee day-today operations, safety, training, and ensuring compliance with FRA regulations. They will work with all railroad personnel and

facilitate customer satisfaction from an operating standpoint.

Jimmy Spencer now leads R. J. Corman Signaling as Vice President, following the retirement of Ray Sipes at the end of 2018.

Spencer joined R. J. Corman in July 2017 as Director Signal Construction. Prior to that, he worked at CSX Transportation for 20 years, serving as a Terminal Superintendent, Electronics Engineer, Signaling Supervisor and Signal Construction Foreman. In his new position, Spencer will be responsible for day-to-day operations, overseeing all signaling personnel, and will create and maintain customer relationships.

“Ray Sipes was an asset to R. J. Corman and was especially strategic to the growth of the Signaling company,” said Ed Quinn. “The success the company has seen under Ray’s stewardship is the result of his leadership and knowledge. We wish him the best in his

ATTENTION ALL COMPANIES AND FIRMS WITH EXPERTISE IN RAIL OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE The Metrolink Board of Directors has declared its intent to combine the operations and maintenance contracts to improve the customer experience and service reliability while maintaining the agency’s strong commitment to safety. This will result in the agency securing the biggest operations contract in the agency’s history. In preparation for the RFP, Metrolink is inviting companies of all sizes to attend industry days to get more information on this opportunity to tour Metrolink, network and to provide feedback on a draft of the RFP.

EVENT DETAILS: Friday, February 15th & Saturday, February 16th

2700 Melbourne Ave., Pomona, CA 91767

For more information, visit

metrolinktrains.com/bigRFP 12 Railway Age // February 2019

railwayage.com

Update well-deserved retirement.”

Chris Stevens is promoted to Vice President Operations for R. J. Corman Railroad Switching Company, filling the role most recently held by Mike Philpot. Stevens has been with the company for six years, previously as Assistant Vice President Operations, General Manager Operations and Assistant General Manager Operations.

In his new role, he will be responsible for overseeing terminal and yard operations for all R. J. Corman Railroad Switching Company locations, as well as strategic planning of logistics and production.

Additionally, Greg Miller joins R. J. Corman Railroad Switching Company as AVP Mechanical Operations. Miller brings more than 40 years of railroad experience, most recently serving 18 years as President and CEO of Mid America Rail Storage, a company he co-founded in 1997. Miller entered the railroad industry in 1976 at United Industries Corp., an independent car repair facility in Louisville, Ky. In his new role, he will be responsible for railcar repair

operations for customers of R. J. Corman Railroad Switching Company.

“I look forward to working closely with Chris Stevens and Greg Miller,” said Vice President Transportation Paul Lauritzen.

“Chris has proven to be an asset to our company for many years, and we look forward to seeing how he will continue to build on the company’s strong foundation.

Greg comes on board with new ideas and experiences, and will work with Chris and me to continue the trend of growth and innovation within the company.”

Finally, the company made organizational changes to its Commercial Development team “to better serve customers,” R. J. Corman said. “The commercial efforts have been segmented into three divisions, each led by a knowledgeable and experienced professional.” Justin Broyles, Mike Robinson and Chase Armstrong were appointed to new Vice President roles. Noel Rush moves to Senior Vice President and will work closely with the President and CEO to develop and implement the company’s

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February 2019 // Railway Age 13

Watching Washington

Beware the Operating Ratio Trap

S

izzle sells product. No wonder the sizzle of ever-lower operating ratios is leading to remarkably higher railroad share prices. But as operating ratios—operating expenses as a percentage of operating revenue—flirt with a sub-60%, the meaning for the longer term is unclear.

While operating ratio is the most commonly used performance metric, it is not the Holy grail. Equal to operating ratio as a performance measurement are earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), and return on invested capital (ROIC).

A broader range of metrics is essential to assessing trade-offs, such as between operating and capital expenses; productivity, skilled labor and technology; static margins and growth; and impacts on safety.

In fact, an obsession with lowering the operating ratio can feed a perverse result.

While deferring maintenance and shedding locomotives, employees and track-miles reduces operating expenses and improves operating ratio, such actions can discourage new business, irritate existing customers and labor partners, adversely impact safety, and attract unwelcome meddling by lawmakers and regulators.

Consider (using fewer zeros) a railroad with revenue of $1,000 and operating expenses of $500, producing an operating ratio of 50% and an operating profit of $500. By increasing operating expenses by $400 to attract new business that boosts revenue to $1,500, the railroad increases operating profit from $500 to $600 even

matt rose, on long-term growth yielding to short-term gain:

less is not

BETTER 14 Railway Age // February 2019

though the operating ratio has climbed to 60%.

A higher operating ratio can deliver better service and improved profits. For example, a focus on lower expenses rather than value-added impedes the imperative of replacing vanishing coal in the traffic mix. Intermodal is perhaps the best and most available replacement, but attracting it likely will increase operating ratio rather than lower it.

An instance of undue emphasis on reducing operating ratio is the straightening of track curvature to save fuel expense—but declining to invest in additional track or motive power to grow business and revenue because it would increase operating expense and operating ratio.

A significant refutation of Hunter Harrison’s addiction to lowering the operating ratio came from Jim Vena, hired in January from CN to implement Union Pacific’s (UP) version of Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR), “UP2020.” In 2014, Vena said that following Harrison’s departure from CN, the railroad reinstalled the second tracks on double-track lines to remedy capacity problems resulting from Harrison’s obsession with beating down operating ratio.

Following that line of reasoning, consider BNSF, the lone Class I railroad not hitched to Wall Street’s quarter-to-quarter operating-ratio myopia. BNSF pursues the long-term building-the-business strategy of its investment conglomerate parent, Berkshire-Hathaway. Not coincidentally, BNSF CEO Matt Rose—Railway Age’s 2010 Railroader of the Year—said in a December 2018 discussion of PSR with Editor-inChief William C. Vantuono, that “less is not better.” The implication is a criticism of trading long-term growth for short-term financial reward.

In the long-term, the raison d’etre for PSR should be to improve service quality, not take a hatchet to operating expenses to trim operating ratio. Already, this shortterm hatchet approach and its adverse impact on service quality is attracting interest at the Surface Transportation Board (STB).

Not long ago, captive shippers, who are

OBSESSION WITH LOWERING THE OPS RATIO CAN FEED A PERVERSE RESULT.” considered by railroads as a legion of peasants with pitchforks, descended on Capitol Hill with schemes to reregulate railroads.

A growing perception among them now is that railroads are using PSR to disinvest so as to create artificial scarcity to facilitate rate increases.

Captive shipper solutions pitched to Congress and the STB are not the stuff railroad executives or investors care to swallow.

Now-retired railroad economist Robert E. Gallamore, co-author with John R. Meyer of American Railroads, suggests, as an alternative to a singular focus on lowering operating ratio, going in another direction: “Improve infrastructure and operating plans to attract more intermodal traffic; hire and train employees to be truly dedicated to customer service; invest in, and train, employees to use advanced systems for forecasting demand; develop pricing methods and systems to match demand and supply; offer new and more valuable services; and make the workplace safer.”

Perhaps PSR should be rebranded: Proper Service Reliability.

FRANK N. WILNER Contributing Editor railwayage.com

Financial Edge

First Thing We Do is File All the Liens

O

ne danger of writing for a monthly periodical is that high-profile situations (say the ongoing shutdown of the federal government) might begin and end between two issue publication dates.

In a word, to tackle the risk of balancing remaining contemporary without becoming dated, one must be “fearless.”

Unless a member of the reading public is sequestered as a juror of the “El Chapo” trial, watching the daily news reports regarding the stalemate in Washington and the ongoing battle over “The Wall” or “The Barrier” or whatever President Trump is currently calling it is purely purgatorial in the most modern way.

One can only hope that a federal budget funding the salaries of the people who inspect jet engines, guide aircraft into airports, inspect the nation’s food supply, keep passenger firearms off airplanes at airport security (oops! failed that one already), and keep watch over the national energy grid and our nuclear power plants will be achieved before we reach the super adult version of “it’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye,” and that the lovely people responsible for this crisis make resolution out of guilt and remorse rather than pragmatism and conscience.

Man, that’s a long sentence!

The shutdown placed newly appointed members of the STB on furlough for quite a while (two are finally on duty) and affected the businesses of people in associated industries. As soon as Congress approved enough STB members to make a quorum, the shutdown began.

Certainly, this has put a significant damper on the STB’s progress investigating increases in surcharges imposed by Class I railroads for customer delays in timely equipment unloading.

In industry parlance, demurrage is a payment due from a shipper for delinquency in returning a railcar to the railroad. It’s a mixture of gentle pressure and an economic last straw applied to a customer by the servicing railroad requiring a car be unloaded and returned to the railroad. As a result of Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR), fewer railcars on railwayage.com

line means that there is more need to have a railcar unloaded quickly to keep it in service. At issue is the implementation of additional charges to shippers for railcar return delays, while there seems to be no concomitant charge to the railroad for loaded delivery tardiness.

Perhaps some charitable soul can offer to buy dinner at the local McDonald’s or Wendy’s Cluck-U Chicken (or Bobby’s Burger Palace, if you want upscale fast food) as a peace offering to resolve this matter during these critical times—sterling silver Presidentially embossed serving ware not required.

In addition to handling rate- and servicerelated disputes, the STB also manages the filing of liens for all water vessels (nonocean-going), railcars and locomotives.

For those not involved in owning and leasing railcars and locomotives, other than the reporting mark and number used in disposition, transportation, reparation and billing associated with it, the equipment does not have a unique identifier. In other words, there is no way to tell (and no system that records) who owns which railcars and locomotives running in the North American railroad network.

Each railcar and locomotive reporting mark and number is fed into the Universal Machine Language Equipment Registry (UMLER), but UMLER, maintained by the good folks at Railinc, is a user-operated system, and Railinc is not responsible for insuring that every piece of data entered into the system is 100% accurate.

Although UMLER maintains an owner field, the data capable of being included in that field is limited to companies that own a reporting mark. Many financial investors (banks and insurance companies) do not own a reporting mark.

When railcars are purchased or sold, leased or financed, parties involved in the transaction turn to the STB to confirm not ownership, but whether there is an existing lien on a particular railcar or locomotive at the STB. Unlike other types of equipment where liens are perfected using UCC Financing Statements filed in appropriate jurisdictions, liens on railcars and locomotives are perfected at the STB. In a

the big shutdown impacted a fragile, recession-prone economy.” financing, lenders file liens against railcars at the STB; lessors file a memorandum of lease to show that they own a railcar and are leasing it to a lessee; buyers look to the STB to confirm that no other party has filed a document claiming a lien on a railcar they are looking to purchase.

A nonscientific annual estimate of the rail equipment transaction (new and used) market is about $7.5 billion per year. In January 2018, 136 rail-equipment-related filings were completed at the STB. These filings covered thousands of pieces of equipment. Being unable to search for existing liens is a critical fault in most rail equipment transactions. Add in the inability to file a lien properly, and it is likely that railcar and locomotive sales are for the most part at an unsustainable standstill right now.

Unfiled liens are not going to cause human catastrophes, but the extended shutdown impacted a fragile economy already teetering toward recession. Watching the President and Congress fighting for control of the bully pulpit while 800,000 federal workers languished without pay was embarrassing and painful. And it may repeat.

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

DAVID NAHASS President Railroad Financial Corp.

February 2019 // Railway Age 15

BIG DATA

Big Data

Drives Big Results The increasing use of data analytics and big data in railroad maintenance management.

A

s railroads continue to expand their data collection technologies across all of their operational areas, they simultaneously continue to expand their ability to analyze this data and convert the data into actionable information—in other words, to generate information that can be directly used in their operation or maintenance activities.

This was clearly evident at the 2018 Big Data in Railroad Maintenance Planning Conference, held at the University of Delaware Dec. 13-14. With more than 250 registrants for this year’s conference, railroads, suppliers, data scientists and university researchers came together to talk about what is being done in this exciting new arena of Data Analytics or “Big Data.” Furthermore, it was clearly apparent that the focus was no longer on what is needed or should be done, but rather what is actually being developed and implemented.

Equally impressive was the presence of

16 Railway Age // February 2019

railroad and supplier attendees with titles such as Chief Data Scientist, Manager of Advanced Analytics, Data Analyst, etc.

Clearly, the railway industry has taken note of the need for this type of advanced analytics approach, which can extract value from data. This is a very practical part of the newly emerging field of Data Science.

Data Science is an interdisciplinary field using evolving analysis tools and techniques to extract knowledge or insights from data in various forms, either structured or unstructured [1]. Data Science has all of the characteristics needed by railway engineering and maintenance personnel to address and handle the enormous amount of data generated by the various technology platforms currently in place [2]. This includes all of the current and emerging data collection systems being used by railways to help monitor infrastructure and equipment condition, optimize and plan maintenance and improve safety, as well as the predictive analytics tools being developed

within the field of Data Science and now being implemented in the railway industry.

This is illustrated in Figure 1, which shows current and future data acquisition systems integrated with enhanced data analytics and decision support tools with a goal of “lean” and “effective” maintenance, i.e. effective maintenance at a minimum cost [3].

Safety, too, is a key goal, as illustrated in Figure 2, which shows a clear reduction in track caused derailments directly associated with increased track miles tested [4].

This was further illustrated in the development of a prediction model by one Class I railroad to predict which “Yellow Tags” will turn Red; i.e., which maintenance “exceptions” will develop into Red or safety defects usually requiring immediate intervention or corrective action [4]. A Yellow Tag refers to an exception identified by an inspection system, such as a track geometry car, that exceeds a railroad’s maintenance threshold but not a safety threshold. A Red Tag refers to railwayage.com

Bruce Kelly

By Allan M Zarembski, Ph.D, P.E. FASME, Hon. Mbr. AREMA; Professor of Practice and Director Railroad Engineering and Safety Program Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Delaware

big data an exception that exceeds a safety threshold, thus usually requiring immediate action.

The range of analytical tools currently being used by railways and their suppliers, as well as by researchers, was equally impressive. They ranged from predictive analytic tools such as Logistic Regression and Bayesian Inference to Machine Learning and Deep Learning techniques using such techniques as Image Recognition, Blockchain Technology, Language Recognition, Text Analytics, etc. [5, 6, 7 and 8].

Figure 3 illustrates how Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA), a Language Recognition technique used to analyze relationships between a set of documents and the terms they contain, can be integrated with a broad range of railroad collected data into an overall predictive modeling framework [8].

The keynote speaker at the conference, the Honorable Ronald Batory, FRA Administrator, gave a personal example of how use of good data can lead to safer, more efficient and cost-effective operations. When he was President and Chief Operating Officer of Conrail Shared Assets Operations, he was responsible for the major redesign of a yard for improved operations. As part of the design, he instructed his staff to collect an extensive amount of data regarding all aspects of the yard operations, down to an extremely fine level of operating detail. By analyzing this data, he indicated that they were able to redesign the yard for improved operations and improved safety.

The use of data for improved operations, maintenance and safety was an ongoing theme for the conference. This included application in all aspects of railroad operations to include track, rolling stock and transportation.

On the track side, use of data analytics addressed all aspects of track maintenance and safety, ranging from rail wear prediction, broken rail safety, tie design and inspection and prediction of track geometry degradation and associated risk of derailments. One presentation discussed a model for calculating the probability of a track geometry caused derailment as a function of a Geometry Condition Indicator (GCI) and distance from the geometry condition [5]. Prediction of rail failure to include both fatigue and wear was a recurring focus, with one class one railroad developing a rail wear modeling tool that has since been incorporated into their capital planning process. railwayage.com

Figure 1. Integration of Data Acquisition Systems and Data Analytics in Maintenance Actions [3].

Figure 2: Reduction in Track Caused Derailments as a Function of Increased Track Inspection [4].

Figure 6 illustrates another risk model, focusing on the risk of developing recurrent rail defects and rail service defects [9].

Several FRA sponsored activities [10] focusing on broken rail risk included: • Development of Artificial Intelligence Aided Track Risk Analysis (AI-Track Risk) model focused on rail failures.

• Development of an integrated broken-rail derailment risk analysis and simulation framework that included development of a Bayesian analytical framework for predicting the probability of broken rails; prediction of derailment consequence using multivariate data analyses; and evaluation of segmentspecific risk and assessment of the impacts of various track risk management strategies

Another recurring focus was one of correcting errors in position or location, associated with repeated measurements on the same section of track at different times.

This is a problem that has long plagued railway engineers trying to compare multiple measurement runs to include track geometry measurement runs, rail profile measurement runs, or any other “continuous” type of measurements. This problem was addressed by several different presenters, who dealt with such issues as: • Correcting Position Errors in overlay of multiple measurement runs to include rail profile [11, 12] (Figure 4) and track geometry [13].

• Correction of position errors such as February 2019 // Railway Age 17

BIG DATA

Figure 3: Application of Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) for Predictive Modeling of Railway Data [8].

Absolute Position Error (APE), and Relative Position Error (RPE), associated with measurement systems, wheel slip and adhesion (Figure 5) [14].

• Correction of position errors due to the use of different measurement systems or vehicles, where measurement systems or sensors are located in different locations within the vehicle (Channel-inside Position Offset (CPO), Figure 6) [14].

• Addressing “abnormal” data or data

exceptions (Figure 5) [11, 14].

Likewise on the mechanical side, use of data analytics for both passenger and freight equipment was discussed. The use of data in Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) of rolling stock is illustrated in Figure 6 [15].

Using both onboard data and data from wayside train scanners, maintenance can be performed at a number of levels ranging from threshold alerted conditions (reactive maintenance) to rules based maintenance

Figure 5: Overlay of Multiple Rail Wear Measurements before and after Alignment [11].

18 Railway Age // February 2019

to predictive maintenance using trend analysis and forecasting models with inputs from multiple data sources.

Finally, presentations on the use of data analytics for improving operations ranged from prediction of train delay (Figure 7) to predicting wheel slides.

The development of these analytical models, both on the track and rolling stock sides of the railroad, has led to the movement of the industry from Reactive maintenance, to Preventive maintenance, to Predictive maintenance with a future goal of Prescriptive maintenance as illustrated in Figure 8 [17]. Thus, while preventive maintenance, in the form of condition based maintenance, is currently the most widely accepted approach, the railroad industry is clearly moving to predictive maintenance, which takes condition-based maintenance a step further, using advance analytics to predict when maintenance should be performed.

This was clearly evident throughout virtually all of the conference presentations.

However, as illustrated in Figure 9, the future appears to be prescriptive maintenance, which uses advanced analytics to make predictions about maintenance, but with prescriptive systems not only making recommendations but also acting on these recommendations. Thus prescriptive maintenance requires that various asset railwayage.com

big data

Figure 4: Risk Model for Development of Recurrent Rail Defects [9].

management and maintenance systems be well integrated, with the prescriptive system would actually issuing a work order to field technicians and oversee the entire maintenance workflow. Thus, prescriptive maintenance systems must be ‘cognitive’, or have the ability to think, a technology that is at the intersection of big data, analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence [18].

Overall, this year’s Big Data in Railroad Maintenance conference had a much greater focus on what has been accomplished in the “mining” of the railroads’ Big Data and the implementation of data analytics to develop predictive models and tools for both maintenance and safety. Thus, the conference echoes the movement of the industry itself, from just starting to think about the use of their data, to actual development and application of tools to use the data across the spectrum of railroad operations and maintenance. The University of Delaware expects even more insightful information to be available in its next Big Data 2019 conference.

The 2019 Big Data in Railroad Maintenance Planning conference will be held Dec. 11-12, 2019, at the University of Delaware’s Newark, Del., campus. Contact Professor Allan M. Zarembski at dramz@udel.edu.

REFERENCES 1. Zarembski, A. M., “The Emerging Role railwayage.com

of Data Science in Railroad Maintenance Management,” Railway Age, May 2018.

2. Attoh-Okine, N., Big Data and Differential Privacy: Analysis Strategies for Railway Track, Wiley, May 2017.

3. Tegelberg, Erland, “Effective Asset Management and Exciting New Big Data Sources,” Managing Consultant, Strukton Rail North America, 2018 Big Data in Railroad Maintenance Planning Conference.

4. Messner, M., “BNSF Geometry Tag

Prioritization,” Assistant Director of Roadway Planning,” BNSF, 2018 Big Data Conf.

5. Smart K. and Einbinder D., “Utilizing Bayesian Inference and Machine Learning to Identify Risks to Railroads,” ENSCO, Inc., 2018 Big Data Conf.

6. Stewart, L. and Pagliuco, S., “An Artificial Intelligence Approach to Aligning Historical Railroad Data,” GREX, 2018 Big Data Conf.

7. Attoh-Okine, N., “The Future of

Figure 6: Methodology for Correction of Position Errors due to Multiple Causes [14].

February 2019 // Railway Age 19

BIG DATA

Figure 8: Using Data Analytics for Real Time Train Delay Forecasting [16].

Blockchain Technology in Railroad Track Engineering,” University of Delaware, 2018 Big Data Conf.

8. Williams, T. and Betak, J., “Using Text and Data Analytics to Study Railroad Operations,” Collaborative Solutions, LLC, 2018 Big Data Conf.

9. He, Q., “Data-Driven Rail Defect

Deterioration Modeling for Responsive Maintenance,” University of Buffalo, 2018 Big Data Conf.

10. Baillargeon, J, “Update on FRA’s Predictive Analytics Research,” Program Manager, FRA, 2018 Big Data Conf.

11. Palese, J “Application of Data Analytics to Rail Wear Forecasting,” Senior

Figure 7: Use of data in Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) of Rolling Stock [15].

20 Railway Age // February 2019

Scientist, University of Delaware, 2018 Big Data Conf.

12. Rice, J. S. and Amouie, M, “Norfolk Southern’s Rail Wear Prediction Using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning,” 2018 Big Data Conf.

13. Rome, J., “Developing Geometry Data Alignment for Amtrak,” Navigation Innovations, Inc., 2018 Big Data Conf.

14. Wang, Y., “Position Synchronization for Track Geometry Inspection Data via Big-Data Fusion and Incremental Learning,” Southwest Jiaotong University, China, 2018 Big Data Conf.

15. Flix, N., “Acquisition, processing and Storage of Rolling Stock CBM Data,” Alstom, 2018 Big Data Conf.

16. Karnik, A., “Evolution of Operational Analysis Using Discrete Data Streams and Big Data Approach: Case study: Prediction of Train Arrival Times,” Volanno, Inc. , 2018 Big Data Conf.

17. Thompson, T., “Utilizing Artificial intelligence to Increase Rolling Stock Maintenance Efficiency,” Uptake, 2018 Big Data Conf.

18. Bellias, M., “The Evolution of Maintenance,” https://www.ibm.com/blogs/ internet-of-things /maintenance-evolution-prescriptive/. railwayage.com

big data

Figure 9: Use of data to Move from Reactive to Prescriptive Maintenance [17].

Diesel-Electric Locomotives How They Work, Use Energy, and Can Become More Efficient and Environmentally Sustainable

by Walter

Simpson

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This beautifully illustrated, information-packed book, written by an energy expert, allows you to look under the hood of the most modern diesel-electric locomotives through an energy and environment lens.

• Discover how every energy producing or consuming component of diesel-electric locomotives works, including the diesel engine, alternator/rectifier, inverters, traction motors, braking systems, auxiliary energy systems, head-end power, aerodynamics, and emissions controls.

• Learn about locomotive fuel economy technologies and energy efficiency performance measures rarely discussed by the railroad industry.

• Gain insights on meeting future environmental challenges with alternative fuels and motive power options.

“Walter Simpson’s book should prove interesting and educational to a wide audience—from rail buffs wanting to know more about the inner workings of their passion to anyone working on transportation policy. Professional railroaders will benefit from this well-researched nuts-and-bolts book.”

–Dave Cook, Rail Propulsion Systems

“Here at last is a publication that addresses the technical side of diesel electric locomotives yet one that explains the many details of these marvelous electro-mechanical machines in language a lay person can understand. And all this written from the unique perspective of energy conservation, one of the true hallmarks of North American railroading.”

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February 2019 // Railway Age 21

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40 24 Railway Age // February 2019

Stephanie Anderson

Attorney, Safety Law Division, Office of the Chief Counsel Federal Railroad Administration

Stephanie Anderson is a talented, dedicated and engaging public servant who has made significant contributions to railroad safety by supporting FRA initiatives. She graduated from the University of California at Berkley with Distinction and from Georgetown University Law Center in 2014. Following law school, Anderson joined FRA as an Honors Attorney. Since joining FRA’s Office of Chief Counsel in 2015, She has played a critical role in the agency’s development and implementation of a program to carry out Congress’s mandate to implement PTC. Anderson has carried out her responsibilities in an exemplary manner, coming up to speed on the highly complex area of PTC implementation in an astonishingly short time frame, becoming FRA’s most trusted legal advisor in the rapidly evolving area of PTC. She works tirelessly to support FRA’s effective implementation of the statutory requirement by routinely providing excellent and timely advice and guidance to DOT and FRA leadership and the rail industry, often under extremely tight deadlines. railwayage.com

Jack Lindquist

Railway Age and Nick Little, Director of Railway Education at Michigan State University’s Center for Railway Research and Education, have selected our Fast Trackers–10 Under 40 honorees. These rising industry stars are making an impact in their respective fields, and represent the “best of the best.”

“We had many outstanding submissions covering the full breadth of the North American railway industry. It was difficult to select just 10 honorees,” said Little. “It’s great to see such diversity, and heartening that so many good, younger people are coming forward to carry our industry into the future.”

This year’s 10 Under 40 award recipients will be recognized at the annual Railroader of the Year Dinner, March 12, 2019 at the Union League Club of Chicago, honoring Railway Age’s 56th Railroader of the Year, JeanJaques “JJ” Ruest, President and CEO of CN.

10 Under 40

Lucas Brewer, P.E.

Jonathan Corley

Bergmann Associates

Ontario Northland

Project Manager

Lucas Brewer is responsible for leading his company’s support of CSX Engineering Services for Construction and Inspection. He is also the project manager responsible for the Short Line and Regional Railroad Grant Writing and Administration program, where he has helped railroads obtain more than $10 million in state and federal funding over the past nine years. Brewer holds a B.S. from Houghton College and an M.B.A. from Grantham University. He has served for 22 years in the U.S. Army Reserves, and has received numerous certifications and honors, among them the Security Fundamental Professional Certification, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal with two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal with four Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal with one Bronze Star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with Mobilization Device and Silver Hourglass Device, NCO Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, and Overseas Service Ribbon. railwayage.com

Director of Transportation An experienced railroader with more than 17 years on the job, Jonathan Corley started his career as brakeman, and has worked every assignment on the road. He spent many years as a union leader, working with all levels of management. He is Canadian Railway Operating Rules qualified. In 2015, Corley moved into management as a Manager of Train Service before becoming Director of Transportation in 2016. He has been improving his railroad’s freight services in northern Ontario by implementing transload services, and has lowered operational costs by optimizing freight schedules and increasing revenue. Corley is focused on securing new business and implementing a culture of continuous improvement, and has been a leader within the Rail Division for many years. As a multigenerational railroader, he continues to apply his “old school” mentality with a “new school” approach. He strives to continue to improve communication lines within the division and ensure its long-term success. Corley is a graduate of Queen’s University, Kingston, Ont., with a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering.

February 2019 // Railway Age 25

10 Under 40 Michael Garlasco

Melanie K. Johnson, P.E.

Assistant Superintendent Port Operations

Principal and Senior Project Manager

Canadian Pacific

Michael Garlasco is a true team member who played an important role during evaluations for Canadian Pacific’s Terminal of the Year award at two separate locations, St. Paul Yard in 2015 and the Port of Vancouver in 2017. While a member of the most recent Terminal of the Year award team at the Port of Vancouver, Garlasco was an intrical part of the facility’s turnaround story, specifically in Port Operations. For his outstanding efforts in helping CP to retain business in its busiest and most important service corridor, Garlasco was presented with the CEO Award for Providing Service from CP President and CEO Keith Creel. In the little amount of time Garlasco has been with CP, starting out as an Operations Management trainee (last year marked only his fourth in the rail industry), he has gained the respect of union and management employees. Garlasco comes to work with a humble approach and is willing to listen and learn from those with more experience.

Doing this has allowed him to continue to learn the railroading business while developing his natural leadership qualities with all the people he interacts. He’s faced some difficult situations in his short time at CP. In the winter of 2016, the Port of Vancouver was nearly shut down due to unprecedented traffic volumes and extreme congestion. Garlasco was brought in, with a team of others, to help remedy the situation. Within three months, the problem was resolved, and throughout the remainder of 2016 and into 2017 and 2018, CP’s Port of Vancouver terminal and its customers have seen increased volumes and record productivity.

Annually, Garlasco has been involved in the communities that CP serves, participating in the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train and the quarter-scale Mini Train (the Litttle General and the Puffer Belly Express). He has also participated multiple times in Operation Lifesaver exercises, teaching safety and awareness for pedestrians at grade crossings. Garlasco holds a B.S. in Entrepreneurship & Innovation from Clarkson University.

Quandel Consultants, LLC

One of the most significant contributions Melanie Johnson has made to the transportation industry is the work she did to implement the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act (PRIIA) of 2008 in the Midwest. As Project Manager and/ or Project Engineer on several intercity passenger rail programs, she was able to advance environmental planning and engineering on several intercity passenger rail corridors, even working on two projects that implemented improvements allowing 90- and 110-mph service. When Quandel Consultants was Program Manager on the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative, Johnson worked with state DOTs and the FRA to plan and build these enhanced intercity passenger rail corridors. She found this work immensely satisfying because the projects received the federal funding each project sought. Johnson is deeply involved with the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and its High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail (HSI&PR) Committee. She is currently on the HS&IPR Committee’s leadership team as Secretary and Programs Chair. Through APTA, she has been able to express her enthusiasm for the transportation industry by collaborating and advocating on behalf of high-speed and intercity passenger rail. She planned the HS&IPR Policy Forum, which brings thought leaders from Washington, D.C. and around the country together to discuss best practices on successful passenger rail projects, in 2017 and 2018. Johnson is passionate about transportation issues and is thrilled to work with the “movers and shakers” in the passenger rail industry. She loves the rail industry; the people, the projects, and the challenges keep her excited about coming to work every day. She strives to continue to make contributions to the rail industry and seek out opportunities to make an impact. In addition to the engineering and environmental planning work that she currently performs, she’d love to work with decision-makers in transportation policy on developing a continuous funding source for high-speed and intercity passenger rail programs.

In recognition of his dedication to Conrail’s Core Values - People, Risk, Service, Productivity, and Initiative, Conrail congratulates

Steven Hart

Director Risk & Regulatory Compliance on being named one of Railway Age’s 10 Rising Stars Under 40

CONSOLIDATED RAIL CORPORATION

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26 Railway Age // February 2019

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1/18/19 3:21 PM

railwayage.com

10 Under 40 Angie Leonard

Steven Hart

Kansas City Southern

Conrail

Director Intermodal Marketing

Director of Risk and Regulatory Compliance

Angie Leonard has been instrumental in bringing forth new service products in the industry, including KCS’s launch of a joint service with BNSF in 2016, as well as new access to the Port of New Orleans via KCS’ Dallas intermodal facility. Leonard believes transportation is “in her blood,” and is proud to be a fourth-generation railroader.

She seeks to continue development of her transportation acumen, and is always pursuing ways to add to her experience. With her education, she entered the company in Financial Planning, transitioned to Accounting, went on to Service Design, and is now in Intermodal Marketing. Her professional goal is to continue taking on new challenges, develop new functional responsibilities, and help KCS achieve its vision. Leonard’s mantra is that success is not a surprise. It is the execution of day-to-day tasks with excellence. One of her strengths is the ability to balance the need of completing a task with providing growth and learning opportunities for her staff.

Leonard holds a B.S. from Kansas State University, with majors in Accounting and Finance and a minor in Spanish.

Steven Hart developed a fully compliant new-hire conductor training program that uses a hybrid on-the-job field training regimen. The program builds on basic conductor skills over the course of three months while providing evaluation and critique to the candidate.

Hart also developed a field supervisor training course that focused on incident investigation, human attention error identification and track/equipment dynamics. As well, he designed a mobile platform for inputting operational test and inspection data compliant with 49cfr217. The application incorporates follow-up with employees that fail operational tests and inspections and are involved in human-factor accidents. Following a major train derailment, Hart took a leadership role. His contribution to the leadership team aided in the restoration of the line and passenger service 36 hours after the initial accident. While in the recovery process, which required more than 50 people, no contractors or employees were injured.

Hart holds a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University, and graduated Magna Cum Laude.

The CP family congratulates Michael Garlasco for being named an Under 40 Fast Tracker.

Connect to an exciting career at cpr.ca/careers railwayage.com

February 2019 // Railway Age 27

10 Under 40 Jamie Peters

Pallavi Saxena

Senior Director Carrier Relations, Marketing & Sales

Senior Advisor, Strategic Planning Metrolinx

Union Pacific

Jamie Peters strategically procured more than $300 million in annual trucking services to support the operational execution of multiple Union Pacific business segments. She led integration efforts during the merger of four wholly owned subsidiaries of UP. This included managing teams working on technology, new brand identity, legal filings, contract migration and process alignment. Peters specializes in strategy development and execution, pricing, competitive and market research, sales, and executive communications. She led the marketing team that developed pricing strategies on $3 billion of retained business over the associated contract terms, and developed complex new pricing structures that when implemented at four accounts were forecasted to grow the business by $188 million in revenue.

Peters has consistently challenged the status quo, in a way that engages her team. She is balanced and thoughtful; pragmatic but not dismissive of new concepts. Peters holds a B.S. and M.B.A. in Business Administration from Creighton University.

Pallavi Saxena is an adept problem-solver. Recently, she undertook a project where a consultant on a long-term contract was not performing per the requirements. Saxena managed to turn the project around by building a relationship of trust and motivation, working closely on things like getting skilled persons for respective tasks, showing samples of good work, collaborating on technical aspects, and then providing the freedom to make decisions. It seemed hard initially, but with a bottom-up approach she managed to get all the work done in a very impressive manner from a team that had not been performing for quite some time. Metrolinx senior management was happy with the results. Saxena received commendations for her ability to overcome the problem. She is adept at community meetings and stakeholder collaborations, managing projects with competing interests. Saxena holds a Bachelor of Technology in Civil Engineering from L.D. College of Engineering, India, and a Master’s of Urban and Regional Planning in Transportation from San Jose State University.

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10 Under 40 Torri Stuckey

Rail Supply Manager AmeriGas Propane

Torri Stuckey has spent his entire corporate career in the rail industry, both as a railroad employee at Norfolk Southern and as a shipper/consignee.

He has used this experience to educate and mentor younger employees throughout his career. His goal is simple yet complex: He desires to be the change he wishes to see in the world and ultimately leave this world (including the rail industry) in a better place than he found it. Throughout his career, Stuckey has been one of the youngest in his position.

He’s managed employees decades older than himself and has been able to make tough decisions. After a year at AmeriGas, Stuckey restructured the entire rail group to make it more cohesive and efficient. No stranger to adversity, Stuckey grew up in urban poverty on the South Side of Chicago. Through hard work and determination, he earned a full athletic football scholarship to Northwestern University, where, as a running back and defensive back, he earned the trust of his teammates and was named Wildcats team captain in 2003. Stuckey holds a B.S. in Communications from Northwestern University.

railwayage.com

One of the North American railway industry’s most valuable assets is the vast amount of institutional knowledge held by its people. Railroading, freight or passenger, is a complex undertaking, from many angles. We owe these young people, and countless others like them, the best of who and what we are.

February 2019 // Railway Age 29

10 Under 40 Runners-Up/Honorable Mentions Lindsay Anderson

Michael Jahaske

Michael Arena

Reed Lanham

Walter Blesser II, P.E.

Ashley Pate

Steven Bybee

Anthony Paul

Sara Garza Gonzalez

Martin Ritter

Linda Hernandez

Chris Roberts

Teresa Impastato

Dave Walker

BI Dashboard Specialist Kansas City Southern National Account manager Canadian Pacific President Senser Monitoring Technologies, LLC General Superintendent Transportation Union Pacific Director Chemical and Petroleum Marketing Kansas City Southern de MĂŠxico Industrial Development Manager Kansas City Southern de MĂŠxico Senior Director System Safety Amtrak

Market Manager U.S. Coal and Pet Coke CN Vice President Strategy and Technology Trinity Metro National Freight Marketing Coordinator TranSystems Futurist and Innovation Lab Manager GE Transportation President and CEO Stadler US Product Engineer Holland LP Director Revenue and Marketing Keolis

Congratulations to Melanie Johnson Quandel Consultants Principal honored by Railway Age as a Fast Tracker Top 10 Rising Industry Star Quandel Consultants Phone: (312) 634-6200 Website: www.quandelconsultants.com Email: Qc-info@quandel.com

1 30 Quandel_Ad_HalfPage_Final.indd Railway Age // February 2019

1/29/19 4:15 PM railwayage.com

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

FRA News:

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Part Title 210 Railroad Noise Emission Compliance Regulations 215 Freight Car Safety Standards Updated 11-27-18.

216 Emergency Order Procedures: Railroad Track, Locomotive and Equipment Updated 11-27-18.

217 Railroad Operating Rules Updated 11-27-18.

218 Railroad Operating Practices - Blue Flag Rule Updated 11-27-18.

221 Rear End Marking Device-passenger, commuter/freight trains Updated 11-27-18.

223 Safety Glazing Standards Updated 11-27-18.

225 Railroad Accidents/Incidents Updated 11-27-18.

229 Locomotive Safety Standards Updated 1-22-19.

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232 Brake System Safety Standards Updated 11-27-18.

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Federal Railroad Administration 49 CFR Part 229, 231, 236, 238. Passenger Equipment Safety Standards; Standards for Alternative Compliance and High-Speed Trainsets. This final rule amends FRA's passenger equipment safety standards using a performance-based approach to adopt new and modified requirements governing the construction of conventional- and high-speed passenger rail equipment. This final rule adds a new tier of passenger equipment safety standards (Tier III) to facilitate the safe implementation of nationwide, interoperable high-speed passenger rail service at speeds up to 220 mph. While Tier III trainsets must operate in an exclusive right-ofway without grade crossings at speeds above 125 mph, these trainsets can share the right-of-way with freight trains and other tiers of passenger equipment at speeds not exceeding 125 mph. This final rule also establishes crashworthiness and occupant protection performance requirements in the alternative to those currently specified for Tier I passenger trainsets. Together, the Tier III requirements and Tier I alternative crashworthiness and occupant protection requirements remove regulatory barriers and enable use of new technological designs, allowing a more open U.S. rail market. Additionally, the final rule increases from 150 mph to 160 mph the maximum speed for passenger equipment that complies with FRA's Tier II requirements.

DATES: Final rule was effective January 22, 2019.

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

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TTCI Modeling and simulation can determine optimal spacing between hot bearing detectors.

By Dustin Clasby and Steven Belport, Transportation Technology Center, Inc.

Testing facilities include known defective bearings for testing in “hospital trains.”

T

ransportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI) is a leader in research and development that advances safety and reliability in the rail industry.

One area of TTCI research is in roller bearing monitoring technologies. TTCI has assisted in the evaluation of many types of these tools, such as hot bearing detectors (HBD).

It was also involved in research and development of acoustic bearing detectors (ABD).

TTCI’s bearing testing facilities range from full-scale-train capabilities to laboratory facilities that offer a bearing testing rig.

In revenue service, roller bearing performance is monitored by wayside detection devices such as ABDs and HBDs. Use of these systems has resulted in reduced derailments and greater safety. The focus of the most recent detector research has been on optimal placement and spacing of these detectors to increase detector network efficiency.

TTCI installed and tested multiple HBD systems in traditional and alternative configurations, as well as alternative technologies including multi-scan and infrared technology for enhanced bearing failure mode diagnosis at its test tracks in Pueblo, Colo. Trains outfitted with known defective bearings and artificially heated plates at the bearing races

32 Railway Age // February 2019

were pulled past the detectors to compare the performance of different detection systems.

Testing and analysis is ongoing.

A recent test at TTCI’s High Tonnage Loop measured bearing temperatures on a full-scale train using similar HBDs at two configurations to determine which of the two distances from the rail for a typical HBD produced the most accurate bearing temperature readings. Testing indicated that geometric obstruction was a problem for HBD sensors placed at certain locations.

The obstructions caused the readings to become sporadic and often reported lower than the actual (reference) temperature of the bearing, an indication that at that position, the sensor has trouble distinguishing the bearing from its surroundings (ambient).

Another test used modeling and simulation to determine optimal spacing between HBDs based on relevant test data of systems currently in revenue service. For this simulation study, HBD sensor readings from revenue service were used to simulate potential HBD spacing to alert potential bearing failures. These tests are being considered by the industry to generate best practices on efficient deployment of HBDs in revenue service.

The objectives of future bearing research will focus on root causes of defects and improved reconditioned bearing performance. Part of this will also investigate differences between reconditioned bearings and new bearings in terms of removal rates, performance and length of service life.

Multi-scan and traditional HBD wayside setup for full-scale testing. railwayage.com

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MAR. 12, 2019

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People / 100 years / Events MARCH 12, 2019

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New Jersey Transit High profile: New Jersey Transit named veteran passenger rail-

road executive Raymond P. Kenny as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Rail Operations. Kenny, who began his transportation career in 1970 as an MTA Long Island Rail Road ticket clerk, has nearly 50 years of railroad industry experience, and an extensive background in managing large teams in transportation operations and capital improvements. In 1975, he entered railroad dispatching for LIRR before rising through the ranks with positions in personnel training and capital construction, prior to leading the Transportation department. A former acting LIRR President, Kenny most recently served with WSP USA as a consultant for operations and planning for agencies across the U.S. His work involved helping improve MTA MetroNorth Railroad’s business processes, including train crew availability; assisting Metrolink in Los Angeles with emergency management plans; and subject matter expertise on the Northeast Corridor Future project, among numerous other assignments.

T

he U.S. Chamber of Commerce named Kansas City Southern President and CEO Patrick Ottensmeyer as U.S. Chairman of its U.S.-Mexico Economic Council. He will preside over the U.S.-Mexico CEO Dialogue, and will oversee the Council’s agenda of engagement with public- and private-sector leaders in the U.S. and Mexico in an effort to strengthen bilateral commercial ties.

Charles R. Collins III, P.E., joined Stantec’s Chicago office as a Senior Rail Engineer.

Voith Turbo Inc. name Garrett Goll Director of Rail, North America. He will be based at the company’s York, Pa., North American headquarters.

Sandy Bushue leads the new Washington D.C. office of national passenger and freight rail and rail transit firm Quandel

Consultants. Bushue, the former Acting and Deputy Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, will identify national business development opportunities and also help the firm with strategic management initiatives.

Mike Wongkaew, Ph.D., P.E., S.E., P.M.P., has joined HNTB Corp.’s National Tunnel Group as National Tunnel Practice Lead-Northwest and Associate Vice President.

LTK Engineering Services named Eloy Martinez Manager of the Vehicle Mechanical Engineering Group, succeeding Jim Herzog.

Federalsburg, Md.-based Class III Maryland & Delaware Railroad Company promoted Cathrin S. Banks to President.

At 33, she is one of the youngest female CEOs in the railroad industry.

100 years ago in railway age JANUARY 1919

Test Should Be Made of Government Operation Government operation in the United States under war conditions was not a failure, but a success. There has been up to the present time no fair test of government operation under peace conditions. Advantage should be taken of the present situation to make such a test, and the public should suspend its judgment until the results of that test is known. – C. A. Prouty, Director of Public Service, USRA

36 Railway Age // February 2019

Union League Club, Chicago, Ill. https://www.railwayage.com/ngfr/

APRIL 6-9, 2019

American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association 2019 Connections Convention Orlando, Fla. https://www.aslrra.org/web/Events/ Annual_CONNECTIONS_ Convention/web/Events/ ASLRRA_CONNECTIONS. aspx?hkey=2fe3ac88-8157-4844a31d-ffd50e443769

APRIL 24-25, 2019

LIGHT RAIL, PRESENTED BY RAILWAY AGE AND RT&S Le Méridien Delfina Santa Monica, Santa Monica, Calif. https://www.railwayage.com/ lightrail/

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RAIL INSIGHTS 2019, PRESENTED BY RAILWAY AGE Union League Club, Chicago, Ill. https://www.railwayage.com/ insights/

SEPTEMBER 22-25, 2019

RAILWAY INTERCHANGE 2019, PRESENTED BY RSI, REMSA, RSSI, AREMA, and the Coordinated Mechanical Associations (CMA).

Minneapolis, Minn. https://railwayinterchange.org/ info@railwayinterchange.org. exhibitionsponsorships@ railwayinterchange.org. aremaconferencesponsorships@ railwayinterchange.org. mediainquiries@railwayinterchange.org.

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Products

Cloud Architecture for Big Data from VisioStack Railway infrastructure does not provide much information in and of itself.

However, high-tech inspection vehicles equipped with sensors and radars frequently perform inspections of the track. They capture millions of data points when inspecting miles of track, by measuring numerous characteristics, such as rail, track and substructure quality. Further, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), or drones, are now being used to take images and scan tracks.

In order to use this information to help guide decision making, it is essential to be able to store, visualize and analyze this data efficiently. Through its RailLinks™ platform, VisioStack utilizes a cloud architecture in order to process and analyze data in a performant manner. Clients can log in to their platform via web browser, much like accessing a social media account with a designated username and password.

VisioStack is modernizing the distribution of information within the railway industry.

Gone are the days of downloading specialized software and making sure your computer meets all the requirements to run a bulky program. Utilizing the cloud and browser access, clients are able to access information quickly, wherever they are located. Whenever more data is captured, it can be automatically sent to the RailLinks™ platform and directed to the correct personnel.

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The primary benefit of visualizing all of this information at once is that it delivers context to make accurate decisions in an efficient manner, which has significant cost savings. By improving the decision capability of both maintainers and capital planning personnel, RailLinks™ is delivering cost savings to major railways in the millions of dollars per year.

An exciting addition to VisioStack’s software is the ability to use drone imagery to support inspection and planned track maintenance. While the inspection of a single geographical region may include tens of thousands of images, VisioStack developed a model that is able to stitch the images together to give a wholistic view of the track.

These images can then be added to the workspace, providing yet another valuable input to help with decision making. Images can be analyzed to help determine the location of missing ties and other important features such as road crossings. While the capabilities of drones are just beginning to be used, VisioStack has prioritized finding valuable ways to integrate UAV data in its robust and scalable software offering.

Information: http://www.visiostack.com.

February 2019 // Railway Age 37

equipment Sale/Leasing

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ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED 38 Railway Age // February 2019

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Ad Index Company

Phone #

bergmann

800-724-1168

Fax #

Canadian Pacific

URL/Email Address

Page #

bergmannpc.com

28

Jeremy_Berry@cpr.ca

27

www.Conrail.com

26

Conrail 770-944-1930

770-944-9136

fbrown142@aol.com

12

GEORGETOWN RAIL EQUIPMENT CO

512-869-1542

512-863-0405

bachman@georgetownrail.com

C4

Greenbrier Companies THe

800-343-7188

503-684-7553

gbrx.info@gbrx.com

3

dcarlson@kcsouthern.com

C2

conferences@sbpub.com

22-23

contracts@scrra.net

12

conferences@sbpub.com

17

Dixie Precast

Kansas City Southern

816-983-1372

Light Rail

212-620-7208

212-633-1165

metrolink next gen freight rail

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ontario northland

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info@ontarionorthland.ca

29

quandel consultants

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30

Rail Insight

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212-633-1165

conferences@sbpub.com

7

402-346-4300

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bbrundige@sb-reb.com

13,21,31

railway education bureau

212-633-1165

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.

Advertising Sales MAIN OFFICE Jonathan Chalon Publisher 55 Broad St., 26th Floor New York, NY 10004 (212) 620-7224 Fax: (212) 633-1863 jchalon@sbpub.com AL, KY, Jonathan Chalon 55 Broad St., 26th Floor New York, NY 10004 (212) 620-7224 Fax: (212) 633-1863 jchalon@sbpub.com CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA, RI, SC, VT, VA, WV, Canada – Quebec and East, Ontario Jerome Marullo 55 Broad St., 26th Floor New York, NY 10004 (212) 620-7260 Fax: (212) 633-1863 jmarullo@sbpub.com

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AR, AK, AZ, CA, CO, IA, ID, IL, In, KS, LA, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NE, NM, ND, NV, OK, OR, SD, TN, TX, UT, WA, WI, WY, Canada – AB, BC, MB, SK Heather Disabato 20 South Clark Street, Suite 1910 Chicago, IL 60603 (312) 683-5026 Fax: (312) 683-0131 hdisabato@sbpub.com The Netherlands, Britain, France, Belgium, Portugal, Switzerland, North Germany, Middle East, South America, Africa (not South), Far East (Excluding Korea /China/India), All Others, Tenders Louise Cooper International Area Sales Manager The Priory, Syresham Gardens Haywards Heath, RH16 3LB United Kingdom +44-1444-416368 Fax: +44-(0)-1444-458185 lc@railjournal.co.uk

Scandinavia, Spain, Southern Germany, Austria, Korea, China, India, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Russia, Eastern Europe Baltic States, Recruitment Advertising Michael Boyle International Area Sales Manager Nils Michael Boyle Dorfstrasse 70, 6393 St. Ulrich, Austria. +011436767089872 mboyle@railjournal.com Italy, Italian-speaking Switzerland Dr. Fabio Potesta Media Point & Communications SRL Corte Lambruschini Corso Buenos Aires 8 V Piano, Genoa, Italy 16129 +39-10-570-4948 Fax: +39-10-553-0088 info@mediapointsrl.it

Japan Katsuhiro Ishii Ace Media Service, Inc. 12-6 4-Chome, Nishiiko, Adachi-Ku Tokyo 121-0824 Japan +81-3-5691-3335 Fax: +81-3-5691-3336 amkatsu@dream.com CLASSIFIED, PROFESSIONAL & EMPLOYMENT Jeanine Acquart 55 Broad St., 26th Floor New York, NY 10004 (212) 620-7211 Fax: (212) 633-1325 jacquart@sbpub.com

AILWAY GE February 2019 // Railway Age 39

Perspective: Short Line & Regional

Educating Congress: Full Steam Ahead!

W

hen ASLRRA began sponsoring Railroad Day on the Hill in the mid-1990s the most frequently asked question at our Congressional meetings was, “How many passengers do short lines carry?” In 2004, when Congress was debating our tax credit for the first time, a senior Member of the House Ways & Means Committee was apparently unaware of what a short line was, and in a moment of auditory misunderstanding almost killed the provision by telling the Committee Chairman there was no need for a shore line tax credit!

Fast-forward to 2018, when the House Ways & Means Committee decided to determine the fate of 26 temporary tax provisions. The Committee voted to eliminate 24, phase out one over a multi-year period and make one, the Short Line Rehabilitation Tax Credit, permanent. I can proudly say we have come a long way, baby.

That progress was made possible by our industry’s continuous and determined effort to educate Congress on the important contributions short lines make to keeping shippers and local communities across the country connected to the national transportation network. Unfortunately, that work is never done. This year, we have more than 100 new Members of Congress that generally have little or no understanding of the short line industry or its impact on the economy. Likewise, there are two new members of the Surface Transportation Board (STB) who will be making important decisions on regulatory matters that can

10,000 Short Lines serve more than

Customers 40 Railway Age // February 2019

have a profound impact on our industry.

Here is a summary of the message our short line companies will be bringing to the federal government in 2019: First, some important facts that those new to Washington need to know. Short lines operate 47,500 route-miles or 29% of the country’s freight rail network and serve more than 10,000 customers. We are often called the first-mile/last-mile of the nation’s railroad system, originating or delivering one out of every five railcars moving on the national railroad network. Like our Class I partners, we are the most fuel-efficient form of surface transportation. A single railcar takes approximately three trucks off the road, and a railroad moves one ton of freight 479 miles on one gallon of fuel.

The majority of short lines were created by entrepreneurs who took large financial risks to save the marginal or money-losing lines of the Class I’s. Those lines require substantial capital investment. Short lines invest 25% to 33% percent of their annual revenues in their infrastructure for maintenance and track and bridge improvements.

The need for investment spurred Congress to enact the Short Line Rehabilitation Tax Credit ,which has allowed short lines to invest more of what they earn in infrastructure improvements that provide shippers more competitive transportation and make our railroads safer. The credit has expired and needs to be made permanent. Legislation has been introduced in the House (H.R. 510), and is expected to be introduced shortly in the Senate, to do just that. Congress should enact that legislation as soon as possible.

Short lines are part of a coalition of interests including safety advocates, law enforcement officials, labor groups, Class I’s, independent truck owner-operators and even some truckload carriers who oppose longer and heavier trucks. Such vehicles inflict expensive damage to our highways and bridges, increase highway congestion and danger to the motoring public, and divert business from rail to truck.

In 2019, those who advocate for heavier, longer trucks will look to an infrastructure bill as the logical legislative vehicle to enact their agenda. The biggest hurdle to enacting

Railroad day on the hill is may 8. we urge your particpation.” new infrastructure legislation is finding the funding. Including a provision that guarantees higher infrastructure repair costs makes the hurdle all the more difficult to overcome, and makes no sense.

Just as Congressional decisions will have a significant impact on the short line industry, so too will the newly expanded STB. In many respects, the short line industry is the child of the economic freedoms and regulatory flexibility embodied in the Staggers Act of 1980, which allowed railroads to save light-density branch lines rather than abandon them. The results are quite remarkable. Short lines have grown from 8,000 track-miles in 1980 to 47,500 today, insuring that huge areas of rural America stay connected to the national network. The STB has played an important role in this, and we look forward to continuing to work with the Board on these matters.

One of the most successful ways we have brought these messages to Washington is through organizing Railroad Day on the Hill. This year’s event is May 8. For those who have not previously attended, this is an all-hands-on deck effort. Register at www. aslrra.org/RailroadDay2019. You’ll have fun and be productive, I promise!

JUDY PETRY President and General Manager Farmrail System Inc.

Chairman ASLRRA Board of Directors railwayage.com

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HOW MUCH LIFE DO YOUR TIES HAVE LEFT? ONLY GREX KNOWS FOR SURE. Using advanced machine vision technologies, GREX can now monitor the health of individual ties along your entire track. Our patented solutions scan ties and accurately forecast their effective lifespan as they age on your tracks. Once identified for replacement, we can even mark individual ties for and streamline the set out of new ties to operations for your crews.

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