Railway Age March 2025

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California HSR is Not a ‘Crappy Project’

Pa ssenger rail projects, as many industry observers have been pointing out since POTUS 45 won a second term this past Presidential election, will suffer under the POTUS 47 regime. California High-Speed Rail could likely be the first casualty. PESD (Post-Election Stress Disorder), anyone?

Chainsaw-brandishing billionares aside (you know, the guy whose business empire is reaping the rewards of nearly $40 billion in U.S. government contracts, according to the Washington Post, and who runs DOGE, the Department of Government Evisceration), high-speed rail has hit a derail, at least in California. Stessa merda, anno diverso.

The FRA on Feb. 20, at the direction of Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, initiated a review of the California High-Speed Rail Authority to “help determine whether roughly $4 billion in taxpayer money should remain committed to the proposed project to build high-speed rail in the California Central Valley...The entire San Francisco to Los Angeles project was initially supposed to be completed by 2020 and cost $33 billion. Today, the Merced-to-Bakersfield segment alone would cost more than the original total. The latest estimate for San Francisco to Los Angeles is $106 billion—more than three times the original cost estimate.”

“For too long, taxpayers have subsidized the massively over-budget and delayed California High-Speed Rail project,” Duffy said. “[POTUS 47] is right that this project is in dire need of an investigation. That is why I am directing my staff to review and determine whether the CHSRA has

followed through on the commitments it made to receive billions of dollars in federal funding. If not, I will have to consider whether that money could be given to deserving infrastructure projects elsewhere in the United States.”

Like what? Hyperloops? Sixteen-lane “freeways,” which aren’t free?

Duffy is said to have called California HSR “a crappy project” and “a train to nowhere.” Yet, his boss (the elected one) seems to think HSR is very terrific.

According to Newsweek , POTUS 47 in August 2024 praised Japan’s Shinkansen during a live audio conversation with Musk: “They go unbelievably fast, unbelievably comfortable, with no problems, and we don’t have anything like that in this country. Not even close. And it doesn’t make sense that we don’t, doesn’t make sense.”

Well, Mr. President, those nations that have true (300 kph or faster) high-speed rail— Japan, France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, China, Spain, Taiwan, United Kingdom, South Korea, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Netherlands, Morocco, Indonesia—made HSR a national priority and paid for it.

Relegating the United States to thirdworld-nation status in passenger rail? Doesn’t make sense. Not even close.

During my nearly 33 years at Railway Age, we’ve written about more derailed HSR projects than I care to remember. Well, at least we’ve got some HrSR (higher-speed rail), a baby step in the right direction. Maybe Brightline West will save us from continued humiliation on the HSR world stage?

WILLIAM C. VANTUONO Editor-in-Chief

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Industry Indicators

‘RAILROADS AT A CROSSROADS: ADAPTING TO A SHIFTING ECONOMIC REALITY’

“Strong consumer demand continues to drive strong rail intermodal movements. At the same time, industrial shipments have remained weak, signaling uneven growth across the economy,” the AAR reported last month. “U.S. manufacturing is showing signs of a reversal and is expanding for the first time in two years. Should these trends continue, demand for rail-hauled goods such as motor vehicles, steel and rushed stone could rise in the months ahead. As economic policy continues to be debated in Washington, tariffs are at the forefront. Proponents argue tariffs protect domestic industries and jobs, while critics warn that tariffs can drive up costs for manufacturers relying on imported materials and raise prices on these items for consumers. Freight rail started 2025 with a mix of stability and sector-specific volatility. U.S. railroads originated 1.03 million carloads in January, up 0.2% yearover-year, marking the first overall increase in five months. While modest, this uptick suggests steady underlying demand, particularly in non-coal shipments. Coal, historically a cornerstone of U.S. rail traffic, saw another monthly decline, falling 2.3% year-over-year. However, this was the smallest percentage decline in 13 months, signaling a potential stabilization after prolonged declines. Coal remains

the largest single carload commodity by volume, accounting for 27.3% of total nonintermodal U.S. rail shipments in January. By contrast, grain carloads surged 6.1%, marking the 12th straight monthly increase, while chemical shipments grew 4.8%, their 17th consecutive monthly gain. Intermodal traffic remained a standout performer, increasing 10.3% year-over-year in January, extending an exceptional 17-month growth streak. This strength reflects robust consumer spending and continued demand for containerized freight moving through

U.S. supply chains. Notably, January’s average weekly intermodal originations reached 265,943 units, the highest level recorded for January, except in 2021. The AAR Freight Rail Index (FRI), which aggregates intermodal volumes with carloads (excluding coal and grain), was 6.4% higher than January 2024 despite a 4.7% decline from December’s near-record level. Given that December represented an exceptionally strong freight month, the month-over-month dip does not signal a downturn but rather a return to normal seasonal trends.”

Industry Outlook

What does POTUS 47 Intend for NMB, NTSB and STB?

THE PRESIDENT ISSUED AN EXECUTIVE ORDER FEB. 18 ASSERTING DIRECT CONTROL OF INDEPENDENT (FROM THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH) FEDERAL AGENCIES, including the National Mediation Board (NMB, which administers the Railway Labor Act), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and the Surface Transportation Board (STB).

Under a unitary executive theory of government advanced by political conservatives and embraced by POTUS 47, the President has Constitutional authority (Article II) to control independent federal agencies the same as he does Executive Branch agencies—and further has license to remove from independent regulatory agencies their Senate-confirmed members and chairpersons without showing cause. Federal courts eventually will decide if all this is correct.

Notably, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is not included in the Executive Order as it already is an Executive Branch agency whose single Presidentially nominated and Senate-confirmed administrator reports to the President through the Cabinet-level Secretary of Transportation and serves at the pleasure of the President.

By contrast, independent federal agencies have Senate-confirmed multi-member boards with staggered terms and no more than a simple majority representing one political party (typically, the political party of the President). While statutes provide that Senate-confirmed members of independent regulatory agencies may be removed only for cause, this job security may be lost under the unitary executive theory. Presumably, the President would

control these agencies through the chairperson, who would serve at the President’s pleasure.

At the NMB, the chair rotates annually among Senate-confirmed members who serve three-year terms. At the NTSB, the chairperson is nominated by the President and Senateconfirmed to a three-year term from among already sitting members who serve five-year Senate-confirmed terms. At the STB, the President unilaterally appoints a chairperson from among already sitting members who serve five-year terms—the chairperson having no fixed term in that role and sitting at the pleasure of the President.

In all cases, the Executive Order contemplates decisions and rulemakings having to pass muster by the White House, which could remove almost every trace of independent decision making.

Among the NMB’s rail-specific functions is mediating wage, benefits, and work rules disputes, and determining when to release the parties if collectively bargained agreements are not reached—release typically triggering a strike or lockout. The NMB also adjudicates representation disputes among railroad craft unions.

Historically, the NMB delays releasing parties from mediation until a settlement pattern is established, or the parties are hopelessly deadlocked after displaying “good faith” bargaining—and always first assuring that Congress will be in session to impose a settlement so as to avoid an economy-damaging work stoppage.

Any injection of partisan politics into the timing of decisions, or hiring, firing and assignments of mediators, is a prescription for destabilization and erosion of trust in the NMB by parties before it. Perceptions can matter as much as deeds.

Moreover, while Congress typically imposes a settlement to head-off or quickly halt a rail work stoppage, the legislation most often is based on non-binding recommendations of a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB)—the members of which are chosen by the White House. While the President through these appointments already has the ability to insert “ringers” in the PEB process, there is no evidence this has previously occurred. But with the President having greater control over the NMB, perceptions—right or wrong—become reality, eroding stakeholder and public trust in

NMB neutrality. The representation election function of the NMB also becomes ripe for corrosive mischief when agency independence is diluted.

The effectiveness and credibility of the fivemember NTSB flows from its ability to investigate transportation accidents objectively and impartially; identify regulatory gaps and engineering flaws; and make recommendations as to improved safety practices—all absent political pressure.

Democrat Jennifer Esposito Homendy, originally nominated to the Board in 2018 by the current Republican President, and to a second term as chairperson by Democratic President Biden—the latter post expiring in 2027—has repeatedly demonstrated a John McCain-type independence by advancing positions opposed either by rail labor or rail management. Were the President to gain Executive Branch authority over the NTSB, public trust would depend on preserving its decision-making autonomy and not seeking to remove Homendy as chairperson.

As the STB chairperson sits at the pleasure of the President, independent thinking can be problematic. In theory, the threat of losing one’s chairpersonship is sufficient to bend the chairperson’s will to that of the President. However, Executive Branch influence over the STB would be constrained by four voting members other than the chairperson. The reality is that the President likely would have to fire the chairperson and other STB members, plus gain Senate confirmation of ringers to rig a voting outcome. Unlikely—even for this President, whose need for unquestioned loyalty and desire for retribution is infinite.

Where the STB’s decision-making independence is most challenged is having its rulings and decisions subject to political review by the White House, presumably by either the Justice Department (DOJ), Office of Management and Budget (OMB), President’s Council of Economic Advisers, the President’s First Pal Elon Musk’s 20-something crew members at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—or several of them—before being finalized. (The Executive Branch FRA must submit its rulemakings to OMB for such approval.) Imagine if the CPKC merger application decision had been subject to DOJ review.

—Frank N. Wilner

IRT, Forsee Power Team on Switcher Retrofit

Forsee Power’s battery system has been selected as part of a switcher retrofit project headed by Innovative Rail Technologies (IRT). The 2.3MWh ZEN PLUS will provide energy storage for a 100% batteryelectric switching locomotive, according to Forsee Power, a French company that is said to specialize in “smart battery systems for sustainable electric transport (light vehicles, off-highway vehicles, buses, trucks and trains).” The battery packs will be produced at its Columbus, Ohio-area facility. The ZEN PLUS high-energy battery system is available in five versions from 74 to 84 kWh, Forsee Power said. “Composed of lithium-ion NMC VDA modules, the battery systems deliver an excellent energy density of 180 Wh/kg,” the company noted, allowing for a “long” 5,000-cycle life. Foresee Power reported that it is working with Florida-based IRT to retrofit a switcher for a U.S. customer’s private yard in summer 2025; the customer was not named. The switcher, it said, “will provide significantly reduced operating expenses, increase in-service availability, and maximize customer productivity.” In 2024, IRT began a project to convert two dieselelectric switchers to lithium-ion battery-electric power for Palmetto Railways, a division of the South Carolina Department of Commerce and Railway Age’s 2015 Short Line Railroad of the Year.

Chicago’s METRA has selected STV to provide quality assurance, engineering and administrative services for the regional/commuter railroad’s $154 million base order for eight two-car, battery-electric single-level trainsets. Metra awarded the trainset contract to STADLER in 2024. The base order also includes engineering, training and spare parts, with options costing up to an additional $181.4 million for eight more trainsets and up to 32 trailer cars, which could be added to the two-car trainsets to create three- or four-car trainsets. The trainsets will offer low-level boarding and will be equipped with lifts to make them ADA-compliant. Each two-car set will seat 112 people, and each additional trailer car will provide seating for about 46 people. They will have open gangways so riders can move freely from car to car, and will include features such as passenger information signs, bike and luggage racks, and USB outlets. Half the trailer cars, if purchased, would include ADA-accessible bathrooms. The first trainsets are expected to be delivered in 2027-2028. “A fully charged trainset is expected to

have a range of 45 to 65 miles,” Metra noted in its award announcement last year. “Charging time will vary, but going from a 20% charge to 80%, enough for the trainset to operate, is expected to take about 20 to 30 minutes. The exact charging infrastructure and its cost is yet to be determined.” STV Senior Engineer and Project Manager Austin Longshore said: “STV has a long-standing relationship providing various engineering and advisory services to Metra and is quickly becoming a leading provider of zero-emission engineering support for bus, and now rail transit, making us uniquely qualified to assist Metra with this initiative. We’re excited to partner with Metra on this innovative procurement that will be among the very first in the U.S. to leverage all-battery-electric technology for passenger rail.”

THE CITY OF EDMONTON has shortlisted three bidders to participate in the Request for Proposals (RFPs) for the design and manufacturing of up to 53 new high-floor light rail vehicles (LRVs) for EDMONTON TRANSIT SERVICE. The City’s Evaluation Committee

shortlisted CONSTRUCCIONES Y AUXILIAR DE FERROCARRILES S.A. (CAF), HYUNDAI ROTEM COMPANY and SIEMENS MOBILITY LIMITED. In 2024, the Request for Qualifications (RFQS) received strong interest from industry. A total of six submissions were received from international bidding teams. High-floor LRVs are necessary to replace the 37 aging U2 models that have been operating on Capital Line and Metro Line for more than 45 years, according to the City of Edmonton. Up to 16 LRVs are being procured to accommodate service growth for the Capital Line South Extension and Metro Line Northwest Extension. “LRT is a key part of Edmonton’s mass transit network and a solution to move people quickly, efficiently and sustainably along transportation corridors,” said Bruce Ferguson, Branch Manager, LRT Expansion and Renewal. “Investing in new LRVs is necessary to keep transit service operating efficiently and reliably as Edmonton continues to grow.” The City hopes to award the LRV contract in late 2025, with delivery of vehicles anticipated in 2028 and 2029.

Watching Washington

STB’s New Chair Eyes Market Remedies

Am idst the societal chaos unleashed on official Washington by POTUS 47, a point of light is his choice of sixyear STB veteran Patrick J. Fuchs, age 37, to chair the independent (from Executive Branch) Surface Transportation Board (STB), whose five members are Senate confirmed with the President selecting one to control the docket.

In an Administration placing what many Americans allege to be cranks, hacks and questionables in leadership posts, Fuchs’ credentials are top tier— undergraduate and graduate degrees (University of Wisconsin) heavy in economics, political science, statistics and transportation management. His real-world experience, despite relative youth, is equally impressive—helping formulate regulatory policy at the White House Office of Management and Budget, then graduating to the Senate Commerce Committee, where he drafted various rail-related bills, including revised language defining STB’s mission.

With the President’s alter ego and First Pal—chaos enforcer Elon Musk—orchestrating a woodchipper approach to reducing the federal government’s footprint, expect Fuchs to pursue significant agency reform. Such is a de rigueur essential to avoiding his head being counted among others tumbling from the Presidential guillotine.

“There will be streamlining and reorganization to make us faster and more transparent,” Fuchs promises. His “customer focused” approach will “create internal deadlines and inform the public at every step the progress including when they can expect a decision. For small transactions and line sales, this will allow for capital budget planning and efficient allocation of resources.” Fuchs also is exploring use of artificial intelligence to boost productivity.

Few rail regulators, Fuchs included, previously earned a meaningful business, railroad or shipper pedigree. His remedy? Arrive early; stay late; read, mark and digest the entirety of pleadings; recruit

private-sector experts as key staff; be an information sponge; learn from errors; don’t lecture (“my job is to follow the law”); be tactful; and perform at the speed of business.

“Without regulatory certainty, stakeholders can’t efficiently run their own business,” Fuchs says in a rare (among bureaucrats) understanding that investment capital is a coward—that it retreats, to the disadvantage of all stakeholders, where uncertainty lurks. His no-fly zone encompasses a trio of “do nots.” Do not micro-manage carrier strategy on capital investment, headcounts and operatingratio; do not frequently and unnecessarily summon to Washington rail officials for unfriendly grillings at the expense of their running a railroad; and do not retain in perpetuity reporting requirements where data is not being used.

Manifestly, Fuchs is not a laissez-faire advocate. The STB’s mission, he says, “is to ensure customers, particularly those with limited transportation options, have access to markets on reasonable terms so

that, like railroads, they can invest, grow and prosper.”

Where railroads abuse market power or flub-the-dub on service, Fuchs prefers a competitive-based market remedy over command-and-control. Assuming he finds a voting majority, this could mean introduction of improved transparency measures such as changes to the STB performance metrics. Fail them, and a second railroad may be granted access to a sole-served shipper facility. “As a general matter, markets and competition are the more efficient regulator of rates and practices,” Fuchs says.

High among specific tasks awaiting Fuchs’ leadership are reducing the complexity of large cases and establishing an improved voluntary arbitration process.

At six-feet-five-inches tall and topped by an ink black head of hair, Fuchs is an imposing figure, but with a polite demeanor and modest attire familiar among Midwesterners. His incongruity is a rapid-fire speech pattern, but without the usually associated New York brashness.

Fuchs’ career path was influenced by his small-business-owner father. “My dad spent a lot of time on the road, and as a kid I often rode with him listening to news radio and discussing politics and current events—and the Green Bay Packers. If you can’t recite the historic roster of Packers’ quarterbacks, you’re not a true fan,” he says. Alas, he married into a family with season tickets. How about that?

Wilner is author of “Railroads & Economic Regulation, An Insider’s Account,” available from Simmons-Boardman Books at https://www.railwayeducationalbureau.com, 800-228-9670.

FRANK N. WILNER

Capitol Hill

Contributing Editor

Patrick Fuchs, following his beloved Packers to Chicago’s Soldier Field for a game against the Bears.

We are deeply honored to be named Railway Age’s 2025 Regional Railroad of the Year. Since 1984, Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAIS) has been a trusted full-service freight rail provider, delivering safe and reliable transportation solutions. We offer connectivity with all six North American Class I railroads, 24/7 customer support, rail-to-truck transloading, intermodal ramp services, loaded storage in transit locations, locomotive maintenance, railcar repair and storage, and engineering design support. IAIS - Connecting Iowa and Illinois to the world.

ADVERTORIAL

ELEVATING COVERED HOPPER PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Over the past thirty years we have experienced continual change in the covered hopper space. In the 1990s, higher capacity cars built to a 286,000 lb. gross rail load revitalized demand for equipment to move agricultural products. Today, unit train movements are pushing efforts to optimize weight, length, and capacity even further.

We’ve seen demand grow for covered hoppers for petrochemical products with their need for interior lining and specialty gates to support product purity. Energy has driven multiple cycles including the rapid expansion of demand for renewable fuels and the associated need to move distiller’s dried grains, the nutrient rich co-product of dry-milled ethanol production. Then small cube cars began moving large amounts of frac sand needed to support production of natural gas and oil.

Covered hopper demand has been a major driver of overall railcar production while elevating multiple

initiatives. Over the past three decades, TrinityRail® alone has produced over 220,000 various covered hoppers while efforts have continued to introduce new designs, enhance quality, and expand our services platform to better meet the evolving needs of our customers.

When looking at design, form follows function. The car structure considers the user interface from top to bottom. We engineer covered hoppers, and work with component suppliers, to provide cars that are easy to operate and will support a variety of customized options. Shippers may be focused on hatches and gates, and how they interface with their facilities while railroads and lessors may look more at fleet dynamics, reliability, and unit train performance.

In recent years, new concepts, further testing, and optimized cross sections saw the introduction of a family of covered hoppers with corrugated sides that helps optimize length and capacity for moving agricultural products more efficiently in unit trains.

TrinityRail’s plastics and pressure differential cars are focused on interior lining integrity. Our designs, the welding detail, and finishing are all geared toward having a high-class interior so that quality preparation can be performed consistently and return the best interior coating.

At the corporate level, Trinity partners with the Responsible Care® program, the American Chemistry Council’s environmental, health, safety, and security performance initiative. We have been a certified Responsible Care® partner since 2010, which includes self-assessments and third-party audits to confirm conformance to the Responsible Care® Management System (RC14001). In addition, the company

holds certificates of registration for the ISO 45001 and ISO 14001 Safety and Environmental standard for our uk,railcar production and maintenance facilities in the U.S. and Mexico. Trinity was the first railcar manufacturer to be certified to the ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 standards.

In addition to design and manufacturing advancements, the need for comprehensive service offerings has been elevated. Today, many shippers look for leasing options. To better meet this need, our lease fleet has grown to over 143,000 owned, partially owned, and managed cars. We stay current on maintenance needs and regulatory requirements while supporting our customers’ rail operations. We accomplish this through an experienced team that includes in-house fleet managers and field support technicians.

Our Field Support team works closely with shippers using all types of covered hoppers and are often focused on pressure differential (PD) cars. While the operation of these cars is not complex, they have several unique operational variables that require specialized training. Field Support personnel also often assist with new product introduction and can train personnel in the safe and efficient operation of all types of covered hopper cars.

Parts are available from TrinityRail’s large inventory. We provide a full line of standard replacement parts and feature proprietary products such as the EDSCO Pro-Series® pneumatic gate. With maintenance operations that include fixed locations and mobile operations, we are able to support everything from outlet gate repair and reconditioning to lining and coatings. With the leading capabilities of RSI Logistics, we also see the opportunity to develop greater transloading and maintenance synergies.

Rail shipping has seen an increased focus on optimization and efficiency. Among recent innovations, Rail Transportation Management Systems (Rail TMS) stand out as one of the most transformative digital solutions that are redefining how goods are moved across rail networks. RSI Logistics offers Rail Command®, a leading solution that offers a seamless integration of logistics data through sophisticated technology that helps shippers monitor their rail operations.

In the coming years, the ability to best meet covered hopper demand, like other car types, will require a seamless integration of quality, innovative products and customer focused services tailored to fit rail shippers’ unique needs and requirements. Learn more at trinityrail.com

SHORT LINE, REGIONAL RAILROADS OF THE YEAR

Railway Age proudly recognizes Rochester & Erie Railway LLC and Railroad Development Corporation’s Iowa Interstate Railroad LLC as our 2025 Short Line and Regional Railroads of the Year,

respectively. Earning Short Line Honorable Mention are Central Montana Rail Inc., Genesee & Wyoming’s Columbus & Ohio River Rail Road, Regional Rail LLC’s Great Sandhills Railway, and R.J. Corman Railroad Company West Virginia Line. From ingenuity in dealing

with the unexpected, safety achievements, and community initiatives to complete turnarounds, our diverse group of Honorees and Honorable Mentions represent the best in the industry. The railroads and their partners share their stories on the following pages.

Mike Parker

RER spotting empty gondolas at Rochester Iron & Metal for loading.

2025 Short Line, Regional Railroads of the Year

2025 SHORT LINE OF THE YEAR

ROCHESTER & ERIE RAILWAY LLC

Rochester & Erie Railway LLC’s (RER) motto is “Fanatical Customer Service with a Safety Focus,” and it shows. In just under two years of operation, the railroad’s team has not only rebuilt infrastructure to address years of deferred maintenance, but also expanded the customer base, providing value to local communities and promoting economic growth—exemplifying short line railroading’s grassroots spirit.

RER was established in March 2023 and awarded Surface Transportation Board (STB) approval to operate on April 21, 2023. It is owned by Jason Grube and the Operations team: James Reiner (Chief Operating Officer), Corey Tumpane (Chief Engineer Track and Structures), and Eric Thurlow (Chief Commercial Officer). The railroad runs an approximately 13-mile stretch of the former Nickel Plate and Erie connecting Rochester, Ind., and Argos, Ind., which Grube purchased in 2021. The team is committed to the success of the short line, offering rail transportation, transloading, industrial development and railcar storage services. Tumpane, based in Chicago; Reiner, based in Fulton, Mo.; and Thurlow, based in Toledo, Ohio, work on-site each weekday and only return to their families on weekends.

During the transition between the previous operator’s contract end-date and RER’s

approved STB start-date, customer Rochester Iron and Metal, Grube’s family-owned business, faced a critical challenge: 20 railcars on-site with no means to load them. In response, RER obtained a track mobile and provided in-plant switching services. This effort culminated in the successful loading and staging of railcars for RER’s official launch. Concurrently, the RER Operations team prioritized immediate track repairs, acquiring a tie crane, scarifier, and ballast regulator, and renting a tamper. RER had to immediately install more than 120 ties, tamp the track, and replace broken joint bars to ensure safety.

In its initial eight months, RER secured an Industrial Rail Service Grant from the state of Indiana, alongside a grade crossing grant, as part of its comprehensive five-year plan aimed at improving rail infrastructure and stimulating economic growth. The goal: to meet Class II track standards and bring on new customers. By the end of 2023, RER had installed 5,000-plus ties, laid ballast, surfaced track, and re-decked a bridge, bringing seven miles of the line up to Class I standards; in 2024, it started installing another 2,000 ties.

RER’s carloads grew 127% from 2022 (302 carloads) to 2023 (687 carloads) and 38% from 2023 to 2024 (954 carloads)—all achieved without incident or injury. This

impressive growth has enabled customers to pursue new business opportunities that were once out of reach. Additionally, RER’s focus on customer satisfaction and strategic marketing has successfully attracted new customer Transload Advantage LLC, which will operate an RER-constructed transload distribution facility, which spans seven acres and is capable of handling more than 100 railcars across all commodities and railcar types. This facility is projected to produce an additional 300-500 carloads annually and up to two new local job positions by fourth-quarter 2025. The RER team has also established relationships with the city of Rochester and the Fulton County Economic Development Corporation. Currently, RER is collaborating with the city to provide rail access to an industrial park located just a few thousand feet from its tracks.

“One of Rochester & Erie Railway’s greatest strengths is its ability to consistently deliver reliable service,” says Chris Guzman, Rail Logistics Manager for customer Reagent Chemical & Research LLC. “Whether it’s meeting tight schedules or handling day-to-day operations, they approach every task with professionalism and attention to detail. This dependability allows us to plan with confidence, knowing that we can count on their support to keep our supply chain running smoothly. In our experience, RER has been exceptionally accommodating. They have shown a willingness to adapt to changing circumstances, whether it involves adjusting schedules, responding to unexpected requests, or finding solutions to our operational challenges … Communication is a key component of any successful partnership, and RER excels in this area. They keep

Loading a ballast train for the next day’s work train.

Eric Thurlow

2025 Short Line, Regional Railroads of the Year

us informed every step of the way, providing updates and addressing any questions or concerns promptly. This open and transparent communication has been critical in avoiding misunderstandings and ensuring smooth coordination between teams. Our partnership with RER is rooted in mutual respect and collaboration … RER has become a valued partner in our operations.”

“The enthusiasm of the Rochester & Erie Railway team is second to none,” adds Brady Peters, Division Engineer for OmniTRAX. “I encountered the railroaders as

I live in northern Indiana, and we have crossed paths several times. There is a lot to be said for preservation of a short line road, and the RER has shown resilience in procuring track machines and materials, investing capital, and providing expanded services to line-side customers. I have watched the property go from disrepair to vibrant daily operations. The pride these gentlemen show for their investment and hard work is a testament to what short lines do. They have delivered on bridge and track work, as well as working to

IAIS 519 brings its steam engine and business cars to Des Moines to celebrate the regional railroad’s 40th Anniversary.

2025 REGIONAL OF THE YEAR

IOWA INTERSTATE RAILROAD LLC

Iowa Interstate Railroad LLC’s (IAIS) mission is to “satisfy customers by providing safe, quality transportation services, in a way that enables customers and the company to succeed.” 2024 marked its 40th anniversary.

The regional’s story started in 1984 with the newly formed Heartland Rail Corporation. The owners—customers willing to put skin in the game, including Maytag, Pioneer Seed, CRANDIC and Pella Rolscreen—purchased 553 miles of the former Rock Island Railroad that ran from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to Bureau, Ill., for $31 million, and selected IAIS as operator. Trackage rights were finalized with CSX Transportation and Metra, and IAIS moved its first train to Chicago on April 29, 1985.

This represented the first through-service from Council Bluffs to Chicago since the Rock Island’s liquidation in 1980.

Following an abortive sale in 1989 to Chicago West Pullman, in 1991 IAIS was purchased by Heartland and Pittsburgh, Pa.-based Railroad Development Corporation (RDC), which agreed to invest additional capital in the railroad and obtained an option to purchase the operation. In 2004, RDC—formed in 1987 by Robert A. Pietrandrea and Henry Posner III— purchased the company and became the sole owner of the railroad.

In 2006, IAIS began an initiative to upgrade its franchise. It leased 32 miles of track from CSXT between Utica and Henry, Ill., on

build a transload yard in an otherwise dead section of Rochester, Ind. … The operating team of the RER has not only grown the railroad but, most importantly, has done so safely and with expedience on executing repairs and placing capital into their railroad.”

The RER team thanks the Indiana Department of Transportation Rail division, Federal Railroad Administration, city of Rochester, Fulton County, Norfolk Southern, and, most importantly, their families for their support.

which it had trackage rights. The regional rehabbed the track and brought speeds up to 25 mph. It purchased OmniTRAX’s Council Bluffs Railway property, including 93 acres of rail yards and six miles of main line, adding capacity. Additionally, it bought the Lincoln & Southern Railroad between Henry and Peoria, Ill., which it had previously leased. Today, the 592-mile regional interchanges with all six Class I railroads and is proposed as a future passenger route from Chicago to Moline, Ill.

Revenue load counts have grown from 48,689 in 1992 to 159,000 in 2024—a vast difference compared to the first train in 1985 with one locomotive and one car. While grain and grain products form the bulk of IAIS business, carloads are increasing in coal (yes, coal), sand, metals and intermodal. IAIS initiated piggyback service in 1985, and double-stack intermodal service commenced in 1987; the railroad now has intermodal ramps at Council Bluffs and Blue Island. Four ethanol and two bio-diesel plants have opened on the line since 2007, along with many more new customers. This growth is consistent with IAIS’s selfdescription as a Linear Industrial Park. As a result of its efforts, IAIS earned the Short Line Growth Award for the southern region at Canadian Pacific Kansas City’s 2024 Business Development Conference in Kansas City.

IAIS continues to invest in its footprint. It has purchased property to expand transload options on its main line at Pietrandrea Yard in Carbon Cliff, Ill., and Iowa City, Iowa, and hosted a groundbreaking for the 120-acre Newton Rail Park/Renewable Energy Logistics Center, a hub to support the wind energy industry.

To support its customers, IAIS relies on a fleet of 20 ES44AC locomotives, all equipped

2025 Short Line, Regional Railroads of the Year

with PTC (Positive Train Control) and Wabtec’s Trip Optimizer. The railroad is proud to be the first Class II purchaser of new locomotives, beginning with its first GEVO delivery

in 2008. In 2024, it upgraded Trip Optimizer with advanced features and invested in Expert on Alert to help determine the root cause of failures in transit and to proactively manage

necessary maintenance and repair. Other units in its fleet include 16 GP-38-2s (four equipped with PTC and all with Auxiliary Power Units), four SD-38-2s, two slugs, and one GP-38AC.

As for its infrastructure, the entire railroad now meets the 286K GRL standard. Since 2005, the railroad has installed 114 miles of CWR and 1,091,00 ties. A comprehensive bridge analysis program was completed in 2013, which forms the basis of rehabilitating the structures on a priority basis; 30 of 320 bridges have since been replaced. IAIS received a 2024 a Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) CRISI grant to replace another four bridges.

IAIS’s continued evolution and innovation is further illustrated in the 2023 relocation of its headquarters from a one-story office building to a five-floor, 27,000 square-foot leased space in downtown Cedar Rapids. Headquarters now houses the dispatching center and other administrative departments, including accounting, human resources, and sales and marketing. Most importantly, it is home to the regional railroad’s safety and training group and features a locomotive simulator lab and

Gabe Claypool

IAIS celebrates its 40th anniversary at Des Moines, Iowa.

2025 Short Line, Regional Railroads of the Year

virtual conductor simulator training. Now, employees attend initial and annual training at headquarters, fostering connections between field and office staff.

None of this physical investment is possible, however, absent a commitment to safety. Safety is IAIS’s culture. The regional not only actively participates in RailPulse and has begun installing telemetry devices on designated railcar fleets to share real-time location, health, and condition information, but also spends thousands of hours per year training and reinforcing safe operating practices to ensure that all employees go home intact. It also maintains a comprehensive wayside detector network across the entire system, which includes hotbox detectors, hot wheel detectors, dragging equipment detectors, and one WILD (Wheel Impact Load Detector).

IAIS’s safety efforts are not just internal. IAIS dedicates resources to local first responders. Four to five times per year, IAIS conducts first responder training, which will now feature a hazmat training tank car that the railroad acquired in 2025. Annually, IAIS hosts

passenger excursion fundraising events to benefit volunteer fire departments and emergency response team services.

The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association has recognized IAIS with 12 Jake Safety Awards between 1997–2023; this award recognizes performance that exceeds the Class II and III industry average injury frequency rate as reported by the FRA during the prior year.

In 2020, IAIS entered its second generation of family ownership with Ida Posner becoming a shareholder. And consistent with RDC’s business model based on partnerships, IAIS welcomed iCON Infrastructure as a shareholder. This has brought in additional skills and best practices in the key areas of safety, finance and marketing.

Many of IAIS’s 250 employees have watched the railroad transition from the remains of the Rock Island to the competitive service that it is today.

IAIS Chairman Henry Posner III commented, “We have earned the respect of the rail community primarily due to our

safety culture and how we have translated it to results. But also respected is the IAIS story— from an abandoned main line that ‘everyone knew’ had no future to a railroad that Fred Frailey has described as ‘A Class II that looks like a Class I.’”

IAIS President Joe Parsons concluded, “The entire IAIS family is honored to be selected as the 2025 Regional of the Year. As we celebrate this achievement by reflecting on our rich history, we also look forward to continued success in safety, customer growth and community involvement along our system.”

FAST TRACK SOLUTIONS FOR LOCOMOTIVE RELIABILITY

2025 Short Line, Regional Railroads of the Year

2025 SHORT LINE HONORABLE MENTIONS

CENTRAL MONTANA RAIL INC.

Pictured: After effects of 2011 flooding. Two of CMR’s four trestle bridges constructed before World War I had to be re-aligned.

Much of the 84.2 mile-Central Montana Rail Inc. (CMR), which runs from Moccasin to Geraldine, Mont., was originally built by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, with its southern-most portion constructed by the Great Northern Railway. This co-op-owned short line has overcome flooding and fire in recent years and

COLUMBUS

exemplifies how a small operation comprising seven employees can have a positive economic impact on a broad service area.

In May and June 2011, CMR was knocked out of commission by the “100-year flood.” Two of the four major trestle bridges constructed before World War I had to be re-aligned. With the aid of grant funding, employees and contractors led by General Manager Carla Allen accomplished the work.

Fast forward to May 2016; once the bridges were repaired, inspected and returned to service, CMR received its first empty crude-byrail unit train for temporary storage from one of the largest oil refiners in the country. That business continues to this day, and CMR now supports three of the four Montana refineries with car storage, including asphalt, liquefied petroleum gas, sustainable aviation fuel, vegetable oil, and other commodities, and it receives carloads of steel, chemicals, and fertilizer to support local manufacturing, road construction projects, and the agricultural industry.

All this is accomplished by single, alternating day service by BNSF, which interchanges with CMR at Moccasin. CMR also supports BNSF field operations by manning shuttle trains loaded at grain elevators along the Class I’s main line.

CMR again endured adversity in December 2021, when Denton, Mont., and the surrounding area was ravaged by a fast-moving, windswept grass fire that burned dozens of homes, grain elevators, railroad bridges and CMR’s yard. While working days, weeks and months after the fire to restore rail operations, CMR employees assisted their fellow citizens in the clean-up and rebuilding of Denton.

Since 2019, to support customers, CMR has constructed four new 7,000-foot sidings from the Moccasin/BNSF interchange to one of its four trestle bridges. This additional capacity has helped boost resiliency by eliminating the threat of flood event impacting operations.

In 2024, CMR handled approximately 5,600 railcars (loaded and empty).

& OHIO RIVER RAIL ROAD

Against a snow-white landscape, locomotives pull a nacelle on a single flatbed car on the CUOH.

Cobbled together by Ohio Central Railroad System founder Jerry Joe Jacobson starting in 1985, the former Conrail, CSX and Norfolk Southern lines that now comprise Genesee & Wyoming’s Columbus & Ohio River Rail Road (CUOH) serve customers along 243 miles in Ohio. The railroad has grown from supporting several hundred annual carloads to nearly 100,000, while achieving a 10% volume and

11% revenue increase from 2023-2024. Adaptability has been key.

Earning the trust of a handful of former Class I customers came first. The railroad then fought in the late 1990s to build a local coal business around a major power plant that had previously relied on trucks. Around the same time came the rise of Utica Shale and the almost simultaneous decline of coal. From 2016-2020, natural gas liquids made up roughly a quarter of CUOH’s commodity base, and by 2020 coal plummeted to less than 1% of traffic. Waste traffic from two on-line landfills had been building since the early 2000s and came to eclipse the still-steady shale traffic. By 2022, municipal and construction waste and other landfill traffic had become as important as coal had been in the past. In 2024, waste accounted for 56% of the traffic base, more than doubling the carloads hauled just a half-decade ago.

Noted Chris Hanlon of Williams Energy–Utica East Ohio: “From the early days of a few hundred shipments to today where we safely

ship over 17,000 carloads of hydrocarbon-based products annually, the CUOH has consistently provided a safe, reliable, high-value service.”

To ensure that CUOH remains safe, efficient, and competitive, it has invested more than $37 million in capital over the past four years. This includes an expansion of CUOH’s main Newark yard; a new connection between the CUOH main line and North Piney Branch to reach the Apex landfill in Amsterdam; and major investment in sidings, as well as track rehabilitation, to serve the Utica East Ohio fractionation plant at Scio. In 2024, it was “injuryfree”—a testament to its 100 employees’ pledge to safely complete every task on every shift.

With an eye to environmental stewardship, CUOH upgraded most of its SD40-variant fleet with more fuel-efficient SD60 models in 2024.

What’s next? CUOH is gearing up for a resurgence of Utica Shale. Frac sand for drilling has come first with new facilities expected to generate 10,000-plus new carloads. Outbound liquefied petroleum gas and oil will likely follow.

Carla Allen (top), John Murray (bottom)

2025 Short Line, Regional Railroads of the Year

GREAT SANDHILLS RAILWAY

The pride of the fleet: GSR 2009 and 2022 draped in Saskatchewan flag livery, near Swift Current, Saskatchewan.

The 128-mile Great Sandhills Railway (GSR) in Southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada, hauls agricultural, energy, and heavy industrial products, and provides freight rail opportunities for 13 rural communities. Established in 2009, it offers railcar storage, AAR-certified car repair, switching, transloading, and locomotive and track maintenance services.

In calendar-year 2024, GSR handled record traffic volumes with zero injuries, celebrated its past, and made investments for the future:

• The railroad moved 26,896 railcars in and out of its interchange with Canadian Pacific Kansas City in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. This was not only a record for GSR, but also one of the highest annual traffic volumes ever achieved by a short line on the Canadian prairies. GSR’s dedication to business development and customer service has resulted in a near 63% increase in car movements since 2020 with 247,222,365 gross ton miles and 104,683,578 revenue ton miles logged in 2024.

• 2024 marked GSR’s 15th anniversary and owner Regional Rail LLC held a celebration. The railroad also acquired two SD38-3s: GSR 2009 and GSR 2022, both outfitted in Saskatchewanthemed green and yellow livery.

• GSR crews completed significant infrastructure and capital projects: 8,857 ties were installed along the line as part of the annual capital tie program, and a new locomotive shop

in Leader was equipped was a poured concrete floor and inspection pit.

• GSR applied for and was awarded three government grants. Transport Canada’s Railway Climate Change Adaptation Program provided $365,131 to replace a soft bank near Lemsford with geo fabric to stabilize and improve roadbed drainage along portions of track, and its Railway Safety Improvement Program–Climate Change and Adaptation Grant Program funded a $1,554,000 project to excavate, engineer, and rebuild 3,300 feet of track to boost resilience. The province of Saskatchewan’s Shortline Railway Improvement Program reimbursed $43,089 of eligible maintenance and upgrade activities.

As a participant in a Prairies Economic Development Canada marketing program to drive business in Central Canada, GSR is now exploring new digital marketing strategies to promote transloading and industrial development sites along the line and to reach customers who are new to the short line industry.

R.J. CORMAN RAILROAD COMPANY WEST VIRGINIA LINE

An R.J. Corman Railroad Company West Virginia Line coal-hauling operation train loading at the Pax, W.Va., loadout.

R.J. Corman Railroad Company West Virginia Line (RJCV) is a two-time Railway Age award honoree; it was named Short line of the Year in 2007. Situated in the heart of Appalachia, it has revitalized a region with a rich history of railroading and coal mining. Its strong relationship with Alpha Metallurgical Resources has been a cornerstone of its success, demonstrating both growth and

operational efficiency. Alpha, a Tennesseebased mining company with operations in Virginia and West Virginia, supplies metallurgical products to the steel industry worldwide. With Alpha, RJCV achieved a record 19,547 carloads shipped in 2024. This is up 9.62% from 2023 (17,832), which was an 18.49% gain over 2022 (15,049). The 2024 total is double the number of carloads since 2005, when R.J. Corman acquired the line.

The proximity of the Pax, W.Va., loadout to Dominion Terminal has also played a role in RJCV’s success. Continued improvements to increase the flow of inbound trucked coal have enabled RJCV to handle more loads. Trains have grown from 100 to 105 to 110 cars each over the past few years.

The railroad is committed to making targeted investments in infrastructure and operations. RJCV invested $380,000 on a siding expansion at Mount Hope and $280,000 at two Pax Branch crossings in 2024, and allocated a total of $2,700,000

to capital programs, including ties and rail improvements, over the past several years. Introducing two SD70Ms has been crucial to supporting the operation of longer trains and adapting to changes in service design to foster growth. They have helped to reduce the number of locomotives in operation, thereby lowering fuel consumption and maintenance costs. Also, the addition of another team member and the creation of two crews for round-the-clock coverage, have created jobs and enhanced service reliability.

RJCV’s ability to adjust and provide tailored solutions to meet Alpha’s growing needs has been instrumental in developing a mutually beneficial partnership. By working closely with CSX, RJCV has boosted the unit train size that can be handled at the customer’s site. This collaboration has reduced moves and travel time and improved overall service reliability and efficiency.

HOT MARKET HIGH EXPECTATIONS,

BY WILLIAM C. VANTUONO, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

In terms of freight car types, the North American covered hopper car interchange fleet, at 570,000 units, is the largest. Within the next eight years, approximately 53,000 will be reaching interchange maturity (“aging out”) and will require replacement. The fleet has increased capacity by 20% over the past 12 years, even though fleet size has remained relatively consistent.

Hopper cars, produced by TrinityRail, The Greenbrier Companies, National Steel Car, and FreightCar America, with components (wheelsets, couplers and draft gear, braking systems, hatches, bottom outlet gates, etc.) supplied by Amsted Rail, Wabtec, Strato, Miner Enterprises, Salco Products, ORX, A. Stucki and others, are getting shorter without losing lading capacity due to design changes. The railroads are gaining pricing efficiency in operations with these new, shorter

designs, which enable an increase in the number of cars per train without increasing train length. This is creating some “stress” for middle-aged cars as the fleet evolves, transitioning to the new designs.

In the past few years, Class I railroads like CPKC, CN, BNSF and Union Pacific have placed (or will place) orders for these new covered hoppers. Lessors such as AITX, GATX, TrinityRail Leasing, CIT Rail Division, and Wells Fargo are the primary source of hopper cars for private fleets of major shippers like ADM and Cargill. Overall— threatened tariffs on steel and products manufactured in Mexico and Canada aside—as the fleet is replaced, the market appears very healthy.

“Covered hopper railcars for grain service remain a bedrock investment and operational asset for the North American rail system,” says Railroad Financial Corp.

President and Railway Age Financial Editor David Nahass. “It is fascinating to see the industry continue to work to improve design and functionality and to use an asset like this to generate additional operational efficiency. With the significant planned retirements in the covered hopper fleet coming in the next eight years, there are opportunities for building and investment. Today’s more optimal car design predicts a better long-term desirability vs. even a 5,200-cubic-foot car built 12 to 15 years ago.

“With few exceptions, such as 2023, grain loadings have been consistent to displaying modest growth over a long history. Grain is one of the five largest carload commodity groups and represents about 10% of nonintermodal loads. However, the grain fleet comprises about 17% of the national fleet.

“What will be interesting to watch is how the newer, more efficient design impacts the

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Salco Products’ 30-inch vented hatch cover, Trinity Style, is made out of gray HDPE material, and includes a white FDA TPV gasket. It includes an arm assembly made out of aluminum and connected to the center of the hatch cover with two stainless steel bolts. This hatch cover fits a Trinity OEM arrangement.

rate of replacement for older cars. The batch of cars aging out over the next eight years are being replaced in kind by cars with up to almost 20% more cubic capacity than older cars. That should improve efficiency as projected by the railroads. It should create interesting investment opportunities for car owners, as railcar operators that have been using older and smaller cars transition to newer, larger cars and may have to adapt newer loading logistics to handle today’s more modern cars.

“In many ways, it’s the best of both worlds. Parties owning older railcars are likely to keep them fully deployed through their entire interchange life while those looking for newer covered hopper railcars will find opportunities to replace cars aging out of the system.”

America

Railroads haul 3.3 million carloads of product annually for the farm and agriculture industry. Global supply pressure and tightening profits for these key shippers drives railcar and component design.

“The covered hopper railcar market continues to evolve as railroads and shippers seek greater efficiency, sustainability and cost-effectiveness,” says Greenbrier Vice President Marketing & General Manager Tom Jackson. Greenbrier, which offers 23 different models, “remains at the forefront of this transition, providing innovative solutions for grain transportation,” he adds. “By optimizing train length, enhancing loading and unloading efficiency, and reducing material waste, our covered hoppers provide long-term value to railroads and shippers. Our innovative designs are helping shape the future of the industry.”

Greenbrier’s grain covered hoppers, ranging from 5,188 to 5,612 cubic feet, “are designed to maximize payload capacity while improving train efficiency and reducing environmental impact,” the company says. “These modern hoppers provide up to 12% additional cubic volume, enabling shippers to move more product per railcar.

“A key advancement in our covered hoppers is their shorter length—up to 7% shorter than previous designs—allowing approximately 25 more railcars per dedicated train without increasing overall train length. This enhances efficiency, reduces the number of locomotives required, and lowers railroad fuel consumption and operating costs. Sustainability is

Miner’s SaniLOK™ bottom outlet gate is designed for sanitary gravity or pneumatic unloading of sugar, rice and other food grade commodities. Available in two sizes (13 x 42-inch and 27 x 30-inch), it features a movable vacuum chamber “that is easy to clean.” The plenum hood is designed to reduce the chance of sugar clogging in the chamber, “allowing for faster and more complete car cleanout.”

a driving force in our designs. Greenbrier’s Sustainable Conversions™ repurpose existing assets, reducing steel usage by up to 65% compared to newly built railcars. We’re focused on creating more sustainable solutions by utilizing existing materials, which reduces both waste and emissions.”

Greenbrier notes its Tsunami Hatch™ automated cover “boosts safety and efficiency during loading and unloading, reducing drag and enhancing fuel efficiency. By eliminating the need for personnel to climb the hopper, it improves worker safety and terminal efficiency, making rail more competitive with trucking.”

“The integration of an automated cover system, like Tsunami Hatch™, allows railcars to operate with greater reliability and efficiency under a wider range of environmental and operational conditions, ultimately improving both operational performance and overall sustainability,” adds Senior Vice President International Engineering, Product Development & Automation Peter Jones.

TrinityRail offers 18 covered hopper designs ranging in capacity from 3,230 to 6,541 cubic feet for the agricultural products, industrial chemicals, sand, cement and plastics industries. Among the company’s newer offerings is a family of side seam covered hoppers for a wide variety of agricultural products such as corn, wheat and fertilizers. Currently, four separate designs are in service with additional offerings expected to be available to better meet the rail shipping requirements of various customers. The first side seam covered hopper introduced was a 5,459-cubic-foot car. At 55 feet, 5 inches, this

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FreightCar America, Salco Produxts, Miner Enterprises

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car features a through-sill, continuous trough hatch and gravity discharge gates. TrinityRail notes that it pioneered the side seam design “to help maximize shipping capacity and car length while maintaining structural integrity. The results are innovative, lightweight covered hoppers that enable optimized payload and car length, allowing the agriculture industry to ship more product with fewer

cars.” The company’s portfolio of side seam covered hoppers currently range in capacity from 4,300 to nearly 6,000 cubic feet, and each “is specially designed to ship agriculture products safely, securely and sustainably.”

Like the human body, what goes in at the top must come out from the bottom—but in its original form. The agricultural hopper car “digestive stream” includes hatches, linings

and coatings, and bottom outlet gates. PD (pressure differential) cars employ pressure differences to push bulk materials out of the car. The pressure differential is generated between the interior and exterior of the car, using either vacuum or air pressure.

Miner Enterprises is fulfilling an order to supply its SaniLOK™ food grade outlet gates for 450 hopper cars being built for GATX by TrinityRail that will be utilized in service of two leading sugar shippers.

“We continue to see strong demand and preference for our SaniLOK™ gate,” says Bill O’Donnell, Miner’s Executive Director of Global Sales. “It’s become a trusted mainstay among top-tier sugar shippers. It is the only sanitary stainless steel gate built with all USDA and FDA approved materials in the commodity flow path.”

The SaniLOK™ “is ideal for sanitary gravity or pneumatic unloading of sugar, rice and other food grade commodities,” Miner notes. Available in two sizes (13 x 42-inch and 27 x 30-inch), it features “a unique, movable vacuum chamber that is easy to clean. The

HI-RAIL UTILITY TRUCK

plenum hood is designed to reduce the chance of sugar clogging in the chamber, allowing for faster and more complete cleanout of cars. Easy to use, the SaniLOK™ unlocks and operates from either side of the car.”

FreightCar America says it “designs covered hopper carbodies with versatility and durability in mind. We use all-steel materials or a combination of steel and stainless steel when manufacturing our covered hoppers, ensuring they meet the highest quality and performance standards. What sets our hoppers apart is their ability to be made from virtually any standard draft gear donor car. Our railcars are highly adaptable and capable of hauling a wide range of commodities with ease. Whether hauling grain and lighter agricultural products, plastic pellets, or more dense dry cargoes like sand, cement, and roofing granules, our cars are engineered to handle the job efficiently and reliably.”

National Steel Car offers 16 covered hopper models ranging from 3,200 to 6,500 cubic feet. Its 5,431-cubic-foot car is equipped with a through center sill, designed for

SPECIAL REPORT: HOPPER CARS

transporting medium-density commodities covering a variety of agricultural products, as well as chemicals and allied products. Up top, a 24-inch-wide by nearly 44-foot-long trough opening feeds the hoppers. On the bottom, three 30-inch by 30-inch gravity discharge outlet gates “allow for easy unloading,” the company notes. “Inwardly, the car speaks volumes on design and efficiency. With an

TrinityRail 5,459-cubic-foot side seam covered hopper.

overall length of just 55 feet, 8 inches, this car provides maximum cubic capacity. With a light weight of 60,000 pounds, it provides a load limit of 226,000 pounds along with excellent durability and fatigue life.”

On top of the need to replace cars that will age out, one more key factor drives the covered hopper market (at least for ag cars): We all have to eat, right?

LOOKING BEYOND DI ESEL

Short lines and switching operations face several hurdles if they want to acquire locomotives powered by fuels beyond diesel.

For starters, the biggest hurdle for short lines and switching operations to acquire alternative-fueled locomotives is cost. They often look to the secondary market to keep costs lower. However, the regulatory trend in recent years has called for the freight transportation sector—including short line operations—to reduce GHG (greenhouse gas emissions). If short line operations were to comply with these regulations, that could potentially result in a lot of equipment changes.

OptiFuel Systems founder and CEO Scott Myers, for example, estimates there are 10,000 switchers operating in the U.S., and 90% of them are between 40 and 50 years old.

Given the regulatory landscape, several suppliers, ranging from large firms like Wabtec

and Progress Rail (a Caterpillar company) to smaller outfits like Innovative Rail Technologies, KLW and OptiFuel, have been developing alternative fuel technologies that can accommodate the varying needs of short line operations. These typically differ from line-haul rail operations since short lines might operate shorter distances, haul less tonnage or be used in shorter durations operationally.

OPTIONS ABOUND

“Wabtec is working on a variety of alternative energy solutions for railroads including batteries, biofuels/renewable fuels and hydrogen,” spokesperson Tim Bader said. “The mix of Wabtec products and technologies used by customers will vary depending on the railroad’s fleet mix, operations, routes, and energy needs. Alternative power options for short line and switching operations include biofuels, including biodiesel and renewable

diesel; battery-electric (BE), and hydrogen. As customer needs vary, Wabtec is utilizing a flexible and growing portfolio of products and innovative technologies across both our large installed base and new assets to support customers’ goals.”

To determine what type of locomotive a short line or switching operation should pursue, companies need to assess several factors, according to OptiFuel’s Myers: fuel savings and costs, the horsepower and tractive effort needed to run operations effectively, and the duty cycle, which itself depends on how a company plans to run their locomotives. For instance, a railroad might replace one diesel locomotive with two battery-electric locomotives. This is because one BE locomotive doesn’t have enough power to run a full duty cycle. When the first BE locomotive runs out of power, the railroad can replace it with a second BE unit. Myers described this approach

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as being used at Watco’s Green Port Terminal on the Houston Ship Channel. If a railroad is in an industrial area or port and needs to run its locomotive for a shorter duration, like six hours, then a BE “could work well,” he said.

The Port of Los Angeles & Long Beach is a major switching operation using BE locomotives. Short line operator Anacostia Rail Holdings subsidiary Pacific Harbor Line (PHL), which serves as the port’s rail operator and CARB (California Air Resource Board) received partial funding for five zero-emission locomotives. A Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Consolidated Rail Infrastructure & Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant will help fund the acquisition. The five zero-emission locomotives will build upon PHL’s successful first year of operations with its zero-emission Progress Rail EMD® Joule SD40JR BE locomotive. CARB applied for the CRISI grant, which will be used for PHL’s acquisition, as well as Watco’s acquisition of four BE locomotives and two battery chargers, and Sacramento Valley Railroad’s acquisition of one HFC (hydrogen

PHL is contributing $6.37 million toward the $34.2 million cost of its new locomotives and chargers. Bringing on four additional BE units is expected to reduce NOx emissions by more than 17 tons per year and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) by 0.249 tons per year, and to eliminate 459 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per year. The EMD® Joule is available in five configurations, new or repowered (“R” nomenclature)—SD70J (6 axles, 8.0 MWh maximum battery capacity); SD70J-BB (8 axles, 14.5 MWh); SD40JR (6 axles, 4.0 MWh); GT38JB (4 axles, 4.0 MWh); and GT38JC (6 axles, 4.0 MWh). These units all feature regenerative braking for battery recharging. Customers can specify what they prefer in MWh, up to the maximum rating. The modular EMD® Joule Charging Station provides stationary charging in 700- and 1,400-kW configurations.

Another small-road example is Palmetto Railways’ (PR) partnership with Innovative Rail Technologies (IRT) to convert two diesel-electric switchers to lithium-ion BE

and is providing a 35% non-federal match. The conversion is expected to reduce diesel fuel consumption by an estimated 40,000 gallons annually per locomotive and help maximize cleaner, more energy efficient shipments through the railroad’s existing North Charleston facilities and support the Navy Base Intermodal Facility currently under construction with South Carolina Ports Authority. IRT, which describes itself as “a rail solutions provider that offers proprietary propulsion technology,” will retrofit the locomotives with its proprietary ATLAS (Advanced Technology Lithium-Ion Adaptive System) technology, a “turnkey, scalable propulsion and control package. Paired with automated, high-speed charging, IRT’s ATLAS-powered locomotives maintain 24/7 availability for operators in an economically beneficial package.”

Hydrogen is another option for short lines. However, the greatest downside is the cost, Myers notes. This is because fueling infrastructure is limited. OptiFuel is building a hydrogen-powered switcher for Sierra Northern Railway (SNR, owned by Sierra Railroad Company, the principal owner of Sierra Energy Corp., which has developed a proprietary waste-to-clean hydrogen technology). OptiFuel also built a natural gas-powered unit for the Indiana Harbor Belt (IHB). SNR President and CEO Ken Beard echoed Myers’ sentiments, saying hydrogen’s high cost is limiting the rail industry from building affordable hydrogenpowered locomotives. “The biggest hurdle in the industry is finding low-cost hydrogen supply,” he said. “Right now, the cost of hydrogen is astronomical. There’s just not enough out there. We’re looking at paying $50 a kilogram for hydrogen. It needs to be less than $10 a kilogram to be cost-competitive against diesel.

MODULAR APPROACH

As OptiFuel was deciding what kinds of alternative-powered locomotives to build, it looked at Watco’s choice of using two BE locomotives to replace one diesel unit, according to Manager Cynthia Heinz. “When our engineering team was trying to decide on our recommended flagship locomotive, we said probably not battery, with two locomotives required to do the same work as one diesel. If there’s a better way, let’s see if we can achieve it better.”

OptiFuel gleaned from its experience building dual-fuel locomotives for the IHB and explored advanced dual-fuel technology. “The dual-fuel locomotives we’re building today are

a bit different,” said Heinz. “Understanding the differences is important. In the first four dual-fuel locomotives, we used a single engine. But now we use multiple, smaller engines The question was, if we wanted to achieve this outcome where a locomotive was significantly less expensive to run, has higher reliability and uptime with flexibility for future changes, ease of re-fueling and where you could achieve zero emissions, a couple of things happened. We went into this modular approach. We use smaller engines that are not only more efficient but help us cut down on emissions.”

A railroad may choose to run a 100% diesel locomotive, which OptiFuel has developed to produce lower NOx emissions and PM (particulate matter) or could replace a module with one that uses renewable natural gas to lower GHG. “We considered what would make it easier,” Heinz noted. “It’s familiar technology. A hydrogen fuel cell is complex and expensive. We also can remove a module from one locomotive and install it in another. We can replace an HFC module with a dual-fuel module. We realized that short lines need to have reliability as well as assistance reducing emissions and cost. We thought, we’ll do this for the price of a diesel locomotive and achieve better outcomes.”

The HFC locomotive OptiFuel is building for SNR utilizes this modular approach.

“Technology is rapidly changing,” said Heinz. “If we can’t update our locomotives but once every 40 years, we’re in trouble.” Using a modular approach, “we can cost-effectively upgrade anything to the next technology.”

NEXT-GEN SMALL-ROAD MOTIVE POWER

CALIFORNIA’S ROLE

One of the major factors contributing to the exploration of alternative-fuel locomotives was CARB’s push toward zero-or lower-emissions locomotives. But just this past January, CARB scrapped its plans calling for zero-emissions locomotive configurations in the state starting as early as 2030. However, that regulatory change isn’t stopping SNR, according to Ken Beard. “We started chasing zero emissions prior to CARB’s announcement several years ago. We’re just continuing what we started, and ours was all in the HFC world,” he said. Beard estimated that his railroad’s hydrogen locomotive will go into operation next month.

“We fully anticipate that CARB, if the [White House] Administration changes four years from now, is going to make another swing at

it,” Beard said. “So, that doesn’t mean we can keep our head in the sand. We’ve got to keep moving forward.”

SNR’s plan to build and use an HFC locomotive began in 2017 when it was awarded an initial state grant for the project. It abandoned that grant because it “came with too many strings attached,” Beard said. But the railroad received another state grant in 2021, which is helping it develop the locomotive.

SNR’s first HFC locomotive will operate at the Port of West Sacramento, per grant award guidelines. The next three locomotives will initially run in Sacramento but could eventually move to other portions of the railway’s network, such as in the Central Valley on the Oakdale line or in Southern California on the Ventura line. But the operational plans for these

NEXT-GEN SMALL-ROAD MOTIVE POWER

three locomotives are still tentative, Beard said. SNR isn’t building any specific infrastructure for the hydrogen locomotives; rather, they will be fueled from a hydrogen tank truck. That said, the railway could one day have a hydrogen fueling station on site.

Indeed, the company in February announced it acquired the assets of locomotive manufacturer RailPower LLC as part of its broader plan to build additional hydrogenpowered units. RailPower, which has been the short line company’s partner on a project to convert diesel switchers to hydrogen-powered zero emission units, “has a strong legacy, having produced approximately 190 locomotives, including 55 GG20B hybrid switchers, 116 RP20BD genset locomotives, and other models like the GG10B, GK10B, RP14BD, and RP20SD,” said SNR. The company said it is “poised to integrate RailPower’s hybrid innovations with its hydrogen expertise,” and plans to build hydrogen locomotives on RailPower’s platform, “initially targeting the 260 locomotives used by short line railroads in California.”

SNR began its hydrogen-powered switcher

program in 2021, when it was awarded nearly $4 million from the California Energy Commission to retire an older EPA Tier 0 diesel-powered switcher and replace it with an (HFC). In 2023, the company landed a $15.6 million grant from the California State Transportation Authority (CalSTA) to convert three additional diesel switchers to HFC. Both the California Energy Commission and the CalSTA projects “involve the integration of an advanced hydrogen fuel cell, hydrogen storage, advanced battery and systems control technologies to provide an alternative to less environmentally friendly diesel-powered locomotives.” CalSTA noted in 2023 that its funding was slated to “refine SNR’s hydrogen (H2) locomotive technology in furtherance of its desire to convert 50% of its own locomotives to H2 technology in the next decade, while simultaneously commercializing the technology and encouraging other short lines to do the same.”

In addition to RailPower, SNR has been teaming with the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, Ballard

Power Systems; Velocity Strategies; Gas Technology Institute; WHA International; UC Riverside, College of Engineering–Center for Environmental Research and Technology; and Valley Vision on its program.

As SNR readies its first hydrogen-powered locomotive, Beard noted he’s been fielding calls from Canada, Europe, and across the U.S. “We stay in contact,” he said. “We talk about best practices. Nobody is sharing their trade secrets on exactly what they’re doing. They know what fuel cell I’m using, but they don’t know how I set it up and they know what we’re doing here.” European colleagues want to talk with Beard about using hydrogen locomotives for passenger rail. “It’s very similar,” he said. “We handle more weight and go slow. They handle less weight and go fast. Can you hold enough energy on board to do the work you need? That’s why CPKC’s line-haul unit has [an Hgmotive™] tender. They’ve got a tender with hydrogen tanks, and it must be hauled everywhere. Ours doesn’t, but ours isn’t made to go thousands of miles. It’s made to go 10 or 20 miles in a switching environment.”

MAKING ‘FASTRACKS’ IN THE MILE-HIGH CITY

Denver RTD represents an impressive success story for rail transit.

BY DAVID PETER ALAN, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Few places between Chicago and the West Coast have much rail transit. Starting when most streetcar and interurban lines disappeared, rail was essentially forgotten as a means for providing urban mobility. A few cities added trains and light rail lines at the end of the past century and the beginning of this one: Dallas and Fort Worth, Houston, and Salt Lake City. Austin, El Paso, Phoenix, Kansas City and Tucson each have a line, St. Louis and Oklahoma City have a bit more, and Albuquerque has a railroad with limited service. With all that progress, only one city in that part of the West has built a large-scale rail network. That’s Colorado’s capital, the “Mile-High City” of Denver.

STORIED STREETCAR

The Rocky Mountains are part of the Denver area’s heritage. Today’s passengers

can feel that on a trip west of the city on Amtrak’s California Zephyr. The Old West is also part of the city’s heritage. You can see its influence in the State Capitol with its gold dome, the D&F Tower and other classic buildings on Sixteenth Street (an auto-free street that was built to host streetcars, but sadly, features shuttle buses instead), and the Buckhorn Exchange, a classic Western restaurant that opened in 1893, and served Buffalo Bill Cody in its early days and heads of state at a summit conference in 1997.

Denver’s streetcars from another era had a sort of “Old West” flavor, too, including some of the labor strife that characterized Colorado’s past. In a post on his blog at www.53studio.com, cartographer and transit historian Jake Berman recounted the Great Streetcar Strike of 1920 and how “a threeway battle between the Denver Tramway, the Denver city government, and the streetcar

workers’ union ultimately culminated in the declaration of martial law.” Things eventually calmed down, and the streetcars kept running until 1950. Denver Tramway, the historic (and unpopular for at least some of its history) streetcar operator kept going as a bus operator until the Regional Transportation District (RTD) took over in 1969. Rail transit did not return to the city until a quarter-century later. The first light rail line came in 1994, followed in 2006 by local trains serving the classic 1914-vintage Union Station that anchors the similarly historic Lower Downtown (LODO) neighborhood.

MONUMENTAL RAIL TRANSIT HUB

For the first 21 years after streetcar service ended, Denver still had trains on several railroads that served the classic Union Station. As happened everywhere else in the U.S. and Canada, the trains came off and, by the

PASSENGER RAIL FOCUS – DENVER

time Amtrak began its operations in 1971, the only Amtrak trains serving the city were the San Francisco Zephyr between Chicago and the City by the Bay, running three times per week on the Union Pacific’s Overland Route (later the route of the Pioneer), and the Denver Zephyr, which continued to run daily from Chicago, but no further west.

Service on the middle part of the classic California Zephyr route continued as the Denver & Rio Grande Western’s Rio Grande Zephyr, a day train that ran on a tri-weekly schedule to Salt Lake City and did not connect with the train from Chicago. It was the last long-distance passenger train in the country that was still run by a private-sector railroad. I rode it in 1982, and it was magnificent, with an eight-car consist that included four dome cars and featured Rocky Mountain Trout for dinner in the dining car.

That incarnation lasted until 1983, when Amtrak took over the operation. For a decade, Union Station hosted only Amtrak’s version of the California Zephyr, but different trains eventually came. Today, except for the Zephyr and a seasonal ski train to

Winter Park and Fraser, all the trains run locally under RTD auspices.

NEW RAIL SYSTEM IN TOWN

For almost the next two decades, Union Station was a lonely place, except for about two hours each day, when Amtrak Train 5 or 6 came through. The Great Hall no longer hosted the activity of the prior Golden Age of Rail Travel, although a small gift shop soldiered on, along with a counter that served as a good place to grab morning coffee while Train 5 was standing in the station.

In 1994, better times began for mobility in the Denver area generally. The RTD, which had been a bus-only agency for decades, opened its first light rail line on Oct. 17, 1994. Planning for light rail started about a decade earlier, following the lead of San Diego and other cities, mostly on the West Coast. The original 5.3-mile line, the Central Corridor (part of today’s D and L lines), ran between stations at I-25 and Broadway on one end, and 30th and Downing streets on the other. Siemens SD-100 LRVs made up the original fleet.

The LRT was extended over the following

23 years. The 8.7-mile Southwest Corridor to Littleton (the rest of today’s D line) came in 2000, followed by the 1.8-mile Central Platte Spur into Union Station in 2002 (on the E and W lines today). The 19-mile Southeast Corridor (extending the E line along I-25) came in 2006, along with a branch along I-225 in a northeasterly direction. The West Rail Line (W-Line) to Golden opened in 2013, and R Line, running east of the city, mostly on a north-south alignment, opened in 2017.

Then some cuts came. The C and F lines were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic and discontinued officially in 2023. Those routes combined parts of other lines that are still running, so no areas lost their service completely.

NEW TRAINS, NEW LOOK

The LRT serves the area south of Union Station, and primarily on the east side of the city and nearby towns, except for the W Line that runs west. Another rail system—not LRT—now serves areas north of the station, and it brings a bit of the flavor of Eastern railroading to this unabashedly Western city. The equipment is the same as SEPTA’s Silverliner V railcars: electric multiple-units (EMUs) built by Hyundai-Rotem. They run on the only electrified regional rail lines (as opposed to metropolitan transit) west of Chicago, except for the newly electrified Caltrain line between San Francisco and San José.

There are currently four routes serving Union Station. The first and longest, the A Line (East Rail Line), opened for service on April 22, 2016. It stretches 23.5 miles to Denver International Airport, partially on a UP rightof-way. It runs high-density service: every 15 minutes during the day and every 30 minutes in the evening, spanning 21-1/2 hours per day and running 30 minutes later on Friday and Saturday nights. The B Line (Northwest Line, however far it eventually goes) opened three months later, but it is only a 6.2-mile stub to South Westminster, with no intermediate stops. The original plan called for the line to run for 41 miles and terminate at Longmont. It would also serve Boulder, the home of the University of Colorado. Service runs hourly, as a point-to-point operation. The G Line (Gold Line) goes through the historic town of Arvada on an old Colorado & Southern line and runs on a half-hourly schedule. It is 11.2 miles long and opened in 2019. Similarly, the N Line (North Metro Rail Line) runs on a Denver RTD

half-hourly schedule to Eastlake. It opened for service in September 2020, about six months after the COVID-19 virus struck.

FASTRACKS PROGRESS

FasTracks is an ambitious multi-modal plan for expanding transit in the region, and it includes regional rail and light rail, as well as constructing new busways. The voters approved tax increases to pay for the program in 2004. Its first completed project was the W Line (West Line) light rail to Golden. Other projects in the program included all four regional rail lines serving Union Station and extensions of the E, F, L, and R LRT lines, as well as several bus projects.

In addition to federal money and sales tax revenue, the program receives private contributions, and efforts have been ongoing to encourage Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) in communities along the lines. Redevelopment at Union Station was a major project, too, as the building has changed dramatically. Instead of railroad

PASSENGER RAIL FOCUS – DENVER

offices, the historic building now houses the Crawford Hotel, with guest rooms upstairs. Rather than serving as a conventional hotel lobby, the Great Hall has been turned into a lounge, with seating and facilities open to the public. Amtrak maintains a ticket office and other functions needed for Trains 5 and 6, and there are also a few food operations there: a restaurant and bar, coffee shop, breakfast-only restaurant, ice cream store and sandwich shop.

Union Station is more than the Great Hall, platforms and tracks, though. Before it became a hotel, there was controversy about its design, and the issue has not died down completely. Only seven years after light rail service came to Union Station, the redevelopment plan proposed by the Union Station Authority planned to move the light rail station a quarter mile away and put a bus terminal in between. The Colorado Passenger Rail Association (ColoRail), the state’s passenger rail advocacy organization, sued in federal court to challenge the redevelopment plan over that issue. Charley Able of

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the Lakewood Edge, a suburban community paper, reported on May 20, 2009, that plans called for the light rail lines to be isolated from the historic station, and that ColoRail had asked the judge to set aside the plan as “arbitrary and capricious” on the grounds that citizen input was not considered sufficiently, and that the design could preclude future expansion of service to other lines. Those included the proposal for a Front Range Rail corridor (to Fort Collins and Cheyenne, Wyo., to the north and Colorado Springs and Pueblo to the south). A later proposal for the Rocky Mountain Flyer, a train between El Paso and Montana, would face the same problem: the station’s current stub-end design.

Between the old and new light rail locations is a new 22-bay bus terminal, also part of the “Union Station” complex. On May 11, 2014, the new light rail station opened for service. I happened to be in Denver that day, and asked then-Mayor Michael Hancock if he was sure that the entire FasTracks program would be completed. He answered

PASSENGER RAIL FOCUS – DENVER

with a single word: “Definitely!”

Despite the mayor’s enthusiasm, his prediction might be less likely to happen now than it had seemed back then. Beyond the recent and general anxiety about how many rail lines and transit projects the feds will be willing to fund in the POTUS 47 Administration, FasTracks is not yet completed. Despite everything that has been done so far, there are still two LRT extensions that have not been built. They are an extension of the Central (L Line) from 30th and Downing streets to a connection with the airport line (A Line) at 38th and Blake with two new intermediate stops, and a one-stop extension of the D Line south from Littleton. There was also a proposal to run service on the Northwest Rail Line (past Westminster) through Boulder to Longmont with three trips during peak commuting hours in the prevailing direction only, but it ended up in the hole for lack of funds. The final report for the Northwest Rail Peak Service Feasibility Study, released on Sept. 20, 2024, said that a full-service schedule would require “significant infrastructure, including a second track through the entire Northwest Rail

By Frank N. Wilner

corridor.” So, with the likely exception of the two short projects mentioned earlier, FasTracks might be coming to the end of the line, at least for the foreseeable future.

RTD spokesperson Pauline Haberman told Railway Age: “Aside from the feasibility study regarding RTD’s Northwest Rail corridor, the agency has not planned expansionary projects. The largest capital project in 2025 involves continuing light rail reconstruction efforts to maintain a state of good repair for existing infrastructure following 30 years of usage.”

Because of that, there appears to be no means in sight to build and operate a conventional rail line all the way to Boulder, despite the college town’s potential as a strong ridership center. An express bus route is not a rail line, and even Denver’s transit leaders expected it would take decades before everything in the program would be completed.

According to ColoRail, the problem is lack of money: “The cost is currently estimated at more than $1 billion, money that RTD does not have and will not have until

perhaps as late as 2050. The public, and ColoRail, still want the promise of Northwest Rail fulfilled. RTD’s Board set up a savings account to put aside money toward Northwest Rail. As of early 2024, it had a $183 million balance.”

On April 10, 2015, Cathy Proctor interviewed outgoing RTD head Phil Washington, a highly respected transit manager, as he left RTD to take the top job at L.A. Metro. She reported that Washington had projected 2044 as a completion date for FasTracks, which is not much sooner than ColoRail predicts. Washington stated that expectation only one year after Mayor Hancock’s expression of enthusiasm, which means that even he doesn’t see FasTracks completed until 19 years from now.

Nonetheless, Denver has a credible rail transit network that serves a city and surrounding region where there was no rail transit until 1994. It might not rival the network that resulted in the resurgence of downtown Los Angeles, but it’s still an impressive success story for rail transit.

SINGLE WHEELSET CHANGEOUT EFFECTS ON ASYMMETRIC HOLLOW WEAR

BY ULRICH SPANGENBERG, PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR II, MXV RAIL

MxV Rail has been investigating the root cause(s) of asymmetrically hollow worn wheels and will present details of this investigation during

the 30th Annual AAR Research Review in April along with the results and findings of many other AAR Strategic Research Initiatives.

Previous research (1) indicated that severely asymmetrical hollow worn wheels

run significantly offset from the centerline of the track. Sawley et al. (2) and Fröhling (3) showed that an increase in asymmetrical hollow wear causes an increase in wheel-rail lateral forces. Increased lateral forces will ultimately increase track, track component,

rail r&d

Table 1: Differences in the number of repeat occurrences on three car types as a function of the total number of repeats for the axle position.

and truck component degradation. Cui et al. (4) determined that the maintenance rate for railcars with asymmetric wheel wear may be twice as high as the nominal maintenance rate and demonstrated the potential cost savings achievable by car owners when asymmetric wheel wear is addressed.

The goal of MxV Rail’s research into asymmetric hollow wear is to understand the root cause(s) of severely asymmetrically hollow worn wheels to reduce the occurrence of such wheels. A reduction in asymmetrically hollow worn wheels may be beneficial for both infrastructure and car owners.

In late 2023, MxV Rail performed an analysis of repeat occurrences of hollow wear at the same axle location within different car types. While other car types repeatedly develop hollow wear in the same axle location, intermodal, stack and vehicular flat railcars were found to have the most repeat occurrences. A previous study (1)

showed that these railcar types exhibited more significant asymmetric hollow wear than others. Researchers further investigated the asymmetry of hollow wear at different axle positions for these railcar types, while focusing on the occurrence of hollow wear values greater than 2 mm repeating more than twice.

The number of repeats on the left side of the trucks was subtracted from the number of repeats on the right side of the trucks. This difference was divided by the total number of repeats for the axle position to indicate the relative importance of the bias, and Table 1 shows the results. A negative number indicates a bias with repeats on the left and a positive number indicates the opposite. The intermodal data showed groupings of axles forming part of a truck with either a left or a right bias.

Based on the observed bias occurring within the trucks of intermodal cars, researchers hypothesized that the most

worn wheelsets in these trucks may have received a single wheelset changeout, which may perpetuate the asymmetric hollow wear in the truck. An asymmetrically hollow worn wheelset will run with a tracking position offset. Therefore, if this wheelset remains in the truck, it may cause a bias in the wear of the replaced wheelset. This tracking position offset may potentially cause the wheelset replacement to offset its running position to the right, thereby biasing the wear on the replaced wheelset.

A car owner provided data on the car number and truck and axle position for trucks that had a single wheelset changeout. Researchers also obtained more than three years’ worth of hollow wear data for these trucks from wheel profile detectors across North America. The asymmetric pattern that resulted after 1 mm of hollow wear accumulation on the repaired wheelset was compared to the asymmetric pattern on the worn wheelset that remained in the truck.

Table 2 shows the results. Nearly the same portion of trucks had asymmetrically worn wheels either on the same side of the truck, representing 41% of the data, or diagonally opposite each other, representing 39% of the data. The asymmetric wear found on the wheelset that remained in the truck does not appear to drive the bias pattern of the repaired wheelset. Therefore, single wheelset changeouts are not contributory to or a root cause of asymmetric hollow wear within a truck.

REFERENCES

1. Spangenberg, U., K. Morrison, and S. Cummings. 2022. “Analysis of Asymmetric Hollow Worn Wheels.” Technology Digest, TD022-026. Pueblo, CO: AAR/MxV Rail.

2. Sawley, KJ, D. Oliva-Maal, and J. LoPresti. 1998. “Effect of hollow worn railroad wheels on fuel use and track damage.” Proceedings of American Society of Mechnical Engineers International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition (IMECE), 71–76.

3. Frohling, RD. 2006. “Analysis of asymmetric wheel profile wear and its consequences.” Veh Syst Dyn, 44: 590–600.

4. Cui, Y., Q. He, Z. Zhang, et al. “Using extreme value theory to identify railcar asymmetric wheel wear and its benefit analysis.” Transport 2019, 34: 569–578.

Table 2: Single wheelset changeout data showing distribution of asymmetry within a truck.

JUSTIN VONASHEK

MTA Metro-North Railroad

HIGH PROFILE: MTA Metro-North Railroad Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Justin Vonashek will succeed Catherine Rinaldi as President of the second largest (by ridership) regional/ commuter railroad in the U.S. Rinaldi, the first woman to lead the railroad, will retire March 31, 2025, after nearly seven years as Metro-North President.

Vonashek joined Metro-North as Vice President of System Safety in January 2016 “as part of the railroad’s push to improve safety following several accidents in 2013,” the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) said. He was elevated to Senior Vice President Operations, “overseeing critical operational functions” in December 2020, and finally to EVP and COO in September 2023, “where he has managed all aspects of the railroad’s operations, including ensuring safety and operational excellence throughout the agency.”

“Justin Vonashek has been a key player at Metro-North for years, helping the agency deliver sky high on-time performance and record customer satisfaction,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “We are fortunate to have such a seasoned executive ready to lead and make this transition a smooth one. Cathy Rinaldi leaves big shoes to fill. There aren’t many people talented enough to run two of the busiest commuter railroads in the country, let alone at the same time, but she is one of them. We are grateful for her many years of exemplary service and wish her all the best in retirement.”

Rinaldi, one of Railway Age’s 2021 Women in Rail honorees, “leaves an impressive legacy at both Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road,” MTA noted. She served as LIRR’s Interim President from February 2022 until October 2023, and is the first woman to serve as President of both.

As Metro-North President, Rinaldi “has overseen the best on-time performance in the railroad’s history, which stands at 98%, the fifth straight year it has exceed 97%,” MTA said. “She led efforts to prioritize customer service and improve system reliability while continuing the intensive infrastructure work essential to maintaining system safety, including the opening of a brand-new maintenance and operations hub at Croton-on-Hudson and installation of Positive Train Control. During her tenure as Interim President, she oversaw the largest service increase in LIRR’s almost 200-year history that began with the opening of Grand Central Madison and the Main Line Third Track Project.” Rinaldi also served as MTA Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel, and Chief of Staff and Counsel at MTA Headquarters.

“I am honored that Janno has placed his confidence in me to lead one of the busiest commuter railroads in the country,” said Vonashek. “I’m grateful to Cathy for her 20 years of service to the MTA and for her guidance over the years as we have worked together at Metro-North. I am excited for the challenges ahead and look forward to continuing to deliver the best service possible.”

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) appointed Julie Kirschbaum as its permanent Director of Transportation. Kirschbaum has been the Acting Director of Transportation since Jan. 1, 2025. “As the Muni system faces significant fiscal challenges, Kirschbaum’s focus on accountability and record of results make her the best person to lead the system into a new era,” SFMTA said. The first woman appointed permanent Director of Transportation in San Francisco’s history, Kirschbaum brings two decades of transportation experience to the role, most recently leading SFMTA’s largest division as Director of Transit from 2018 to 2024. In this capacity, she guided the agency through “unprecedented and extraordinary challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, not only rebuilding the entire Muni system multiple times but also helping to improve the SFMTA’s customer satisfaction ratings. In 2024, under her leadership, those ratings were the highest they’ve been in the agency’s history,” SFMTA noted. “Accountability, results, community partnership, and staff empowerment have been hallmarks of her leadership. She has delivered operational improvements throughout the system, including embracing the proactive, preventative maintenance practices that have helped reduce subway delays by an astonishing 70%.”

R.J. Corman Railroad Company named Donnie Stilwell as Vice President of Operations South. With more than 27 years of railroad industry experience, Stilwell served most recently as AVP–Merchandise Service Design/Bulk Ops Service Design at BNSF in Fort Worth, Tex., where he maximized service plans for merchandise in all hump and flat switching yards on the Class I’s network. Also at BNSF, he held such positions as General Director of Intermodal Continuous Improvement, General Manager of the California Division, and General Director of Transportation of the Chicago Division. “Donnie’s experience from the ground up allows him to have a unique perspective on car movement from shipper, ground crew, billing, cost management, and delivery,” the company said. “He will help us continue to drive a culture of safety and safe work practices in our operations.”

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korozco@stratoinc.com cynthia.ruddy@trainyardtech.com trinityrail.com jm@wch.com

Managing Through the Unknown is a Full-Time Job

They say that even a broken clock is right twice a day. At this point (45 odd days into the new Presidential Administration), most corporate CEOs would gladly take those odds vs. an endless series of second guesses, incorrect missteps and a bushel full of uncertainty.

Frankly, it feels easier to discover which pet, recipe or DIY tip is “trending” on social media than to figure out which tariff is going to affect what business. Why? Long-Haired Dachshunds, black tea matcha (after all, why should green tea have all the fun) and using beef tallow as a moisturizer— three topics trending in the month of January—are pretty easy things to investigate and consider. Contrast that against trying to game-plan supply chain and production location disruptions attributable to the government’s whack-a-mole tariff strategy, and one will get flustered pretty quickly.

Is today Tuesday? Aluminum and steel sourced outside the U.S. may be subject to a 25% tariff. Saturday? All imports (except oil) may be subject to 25% tariffs unless coming from China—those are subject to a 10% tariff being piled upon the tariffs already put in place six or seven years ago. Monday? Thirty-day pause on your tariff. Life quickly begins to feel like a game of Chutes & Ladders.

Indecisiveness and volatility leave most people feeling unsettled. The U.S. economy has been consumer driven for some time. So far, the expected or promised economic revolution has instead been a damper on corporate and consumer sentiment and has created a sense that inflation remains grippier than expected.

A YOY increase of 3.2% in the total CPI (including food and energy) has markets thinking that a rate cut from the Fed isn’t more than 50% likely until June. The PMI (Producer’s Manufacturing Index) is suggesting economic contraction and consumer confidence dropped 10% in February.

Rail loadings reflect a tentative

economy operating with too much fear and uncertainty. Autos are down and improvements in intermodal loadings YTD seem driven by a pull forward of loads, pre-tariff implementation. Larry Gross, writing in The Journal of Commerce , suggests that U.S. intermodal may have to pay later in 2025 for the “sugar high” of pulled-forward loadings.

The threat of tariffs offered an immediate opportunity for U.S. steelmakers to raise prices in anticipation of the impact of tariffs on foreign steel. The Wall Street Journal filed a report that noted as much as a $50 per ton increase in flat rolled steel as soon as the tariffs were announced.

This doesn’t bode well for the railcar order book, which saw orders of only 4,520 cars in 4Q24. How can a railcar manufacturer be expected to sell a product to a customer when the final price remains unknown? Railcars are long lead time items, so the chance that today’s price and tomorrow’s price are the same in today’s environment seems pretty slim.

How can a customer commit to an order when they don’t know if the price will be $150,000 or $180,000? Match that up with today’s robust interest rates, and the price to lease that car could be 30-40% higher than the price to lease that car a year ago. Try modeling your business on a 25% best case/ worst case spread. Ouch. Bidding worst case numbers means losing business; bidding best case numbers could mean a potential loss or require that somewhere along the supply line someone will agree to take that loss.

Talk to finance professionals and they will tell you that managing through the unknown is a full-time job. They are left to source state or federal tax offsets or rejiggering supply lines to try to originate tariff-free parts and materials. They might consider leasing vs. buying a key asset. Many are examining whether projects are really necessary at today’s potentially higher prices (think about all those

Near term, the U.S. economy is more likely to see a quiet shrinking of the workforce and weaker consumer demand. That’s not growth. None of this bodes well for increases in loadings or railcar demand.”

nearshoring projects). Ultimately, if costs get added to production expenses, they expect to pass it through to their customer. Ultimately, it gets passed onto the consumer. Inflation feels like a brakeless soap box racer. That doesn’t inspire confidence.

Tentativeness and hesitancy do not bode well for any aspect of the rail economy. It is difficult to pivot to growth when no one is certain from where the growth will materialize. Near term, the economy is more likely to see a quiet shrinking of the workforce and weaker consumer demand. That’s not growth. None of this bodes well for increases in loadings or railcar demand. Try not to think about it while you are filling out your weekly “what you got done last week” report.

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

DAVID NAHASS President Railroad

Mechanical Department Regulations

Appliance Standards Updated 12-30-24

232 Brake System Safety Standards Updated 12-11-20.

FRA News:

FRA withdrew the direct final rule titled ‘‘Federal Railroad Administration Accident/Incident Investigation Policy for Gathering Information and Consulting with Stakeholders,’’ (the Rule) which was published on October 1, 2024.

DATES: Effective on January 17, 2025, FRA withdrew the direct final rule published at 89 FR 79767 on October 1, 2024.

Part 213: Track Safety Standards

49 Part 213, Subparts A-F. Classes of Track 1 through 5: Applies to track required to support passenger and freight equipment at lower speed ranges. Includes Defect Codes and Appendices A, B, and C to Part 213. Softcover. Spiral bound. Updated 12-30-24.

BKTSSAF Track Safety Standards $13.95

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Part 214: Railroad Workplace Safety

The FRA’s Railroad Workplace Safety standards address roadway workers and their work environments. Subparts A-General, B-Bridge Worker Safety Standards, C-Roadway Worker Protection, D-On-Track Roadway Maintenance, and Defect Codes for Part 214. Spiral bound. Updated 12-30-24

BKWRK Railroad Workplace Safety $13.95

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Bridge Safety Standards

FRA Part 237 establishes Federal safety requirements for railroad bridges. This rule requires track owners to implement bridge management programs, which include annual inspections of railroad bridges if the weather or other conditions warrant such inspections, and to audit the programs. Part 237 also requires track owners to know the safe load capacity of bridges. Updated 12-30-24

BKBRIDGE Bridge Safety Standards $14.00

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Part 228: Passenger Train Employee Hours of Service; Recordkeeping and Reporting; Sleeping Quarters

49 CFR 228 for records, recordkeeping, and reporting of hours of duty of a railroad employee. Also covers the construction of employee sleeping quarters and health requirements for camp cars. Softcover. Spiral bound. Updated 12-30-24.

BKHS Hours of Service of RR Employees $16.00

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