Nov 2012 Railway Age Magazine

ailway ge R A

November 2012 | www.railwayage.com

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archiTecT of change claude Mongeau

aT cn, a whole new BallgaMe The science of rail flaw deTecTion BeTTering BosTon’s rail reach

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RailwayAge

NOVEMbEr 2012

visit us at www.railwayage.com Features

27

at CN, a new ballgame

21

Rail-flaw detection

27

Massachusetts’ future

33

Keeping it straight

40

Three-sided traffic solution

43

News/Columns From the editor

4

Update

10

Financial edge

52

Departments industry indicators

4

industry Outlook

6

Market

8

People

46

100 years ago

46

Meetings

46

Products

47

advertising index

49

Professional Directory

50

Classified

51

33

On the COver CN CeO Claude Mongeau mingles with company employees.

Photo courtesy of CN.

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Railway Age, USPS 449-130, is published monthly by the Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation, 345 Hudson St., 12th Fl., New York, NY 10014. Tel. (212) 620-7200; FAX (212) 633-1863. Vol. 213, No. 11.

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November 2012 Railway age 1

RailwayAge

From the Editor william C. VaNtuoNo

Editorial and ExEcutivE officEs Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corp.

345 Hudson Street, 12th Fl. New York, NY 10014 212-620-7200; Fax: 212-633-1863 Website: www.railwayage.com

“Balanced legislation” for Canada’s railroads?

D

ealing with government regulators who may or may not have the freight rail industry’s best interests in mind is not restricted to U.S. carriers. As CN chief executive Claude Mongeau has pointed out quite forcefully at numerous public forums, Canada’s railroads face many of the same potentially harmful challenges.

At CN’s third-quarter earnings call last month, Mongeau (who talked about a broad range of topics with me for this month’s cover story, p. 21) had this to say in response to a question posed by a Canadian analyst from TD Securities Equity Research about pending legislation under Canada’s Freight Rail Service Review: “CN and its agenda to drive change and improve its performance in a way that at times was a bit too fast is a big reason why there was a Freight Rail Service Review in the first place. But we are talking about six or seven years ago. Since then, we have clearly stepped up. There’s no question that at CN, and I know it’s the same at CP, we are focused on having more customer engagement. We’re listening better, and we’re trying to put ourselves in our customers’ shoes.

“If we want good public policy, the advocacy needs to be fact-based. To be frank—and I don’t want to single out anybody, if we add an industry association—the Mining Association is using grain statistics to try to make the case that we are failing our customers 50% of the time. Let me tell you, we are not. We are doing a great job for our mining customers. Our shareholders would know if we were not. I think you’d hear about that in the marketplace.

“We compete every day. We compete against other railroads. We compete against

trucks. And we also compete against the opportunity to have their business for our own benefit. So we want their business.

“We want to grow and we don’t take any of our customers for granted. We want to get better and we want to help them win in the marketplace. The government has to make a very wise policy decision here. The reality is, there is good service. Can it improve? Absolutely. But we have good service. It’s world-class. If we want this momentum to continue and the drive for more supply chain collaboration to thrive, it’s very important that the government stay with a commercial agenda. If the government is going to legislate, then at least it should do so in a balanced way.

“We want mediation before arbitration.

That’s a fair request. Service legislation goes at the heart of our ability to serve all customers, not just the ones that complain.

We want the Canadian Transportation Agency to be the arbitrator of last result, not some roster of arbitrators that has very little knowledge of how railroads operate.

“Arbitration should apply only to customers who actually are dependent on one railway, or can show some commercial arm. But we don’t think regulation is the right way to go. If we do have regulation, we hope the government will not fall for the advocacy and the anecdote. We hope it will follow the advice that I’m providing.

And if it does so, we will be able to live with its decision.

“I hope the government makes those decisions sooner as opposed to later, because we have a business to run, and we have a a good thing going at the moment.”

ARTHUR J. McGINNIS, Jr., President and Chairman JONATHAN CHALON, Publisher jchalon@sbpub.com WILLIAM C. VANTUONO, Editor-in-Chief wvantuono@sbpub.com DOUGLAS JOHN BOWEN, Managing Editor dbowen@sbpub.com LUTHER S. MILLER, Senior Consulting Editor lmiller@sbpub.com ROBERT P. DeMARCO, Publisher Emeritus bdemarco@sbpub.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Alex Binkley, Roy H. Blanchard, Lawrence H Kaufman, Bruce E. Kelly, Anthony D. Kruglinski, Ron Lindsey, Ryan McWiliams, Jason H. Seidl Corporate Art Director: Wendy Williams Associate Art Directors: Phil Desiere, Sarah Vogwill Corporate Production Director: Mary Conyers Production Manager: Jessica Cajas Production Director: Eduardo Castaner Marketing Director: Erica Miller Conference Director: Jane Poterala Circulation Director: Maureen Cooney WEstErn officEs 20 South Clark Street, Suite 1910, Chicago, IL 60603 312-683-0130; Fax: 312-683-0131 Engineering Editor: Mischa Wanek-Libman mischa@sbpub.com Assistant Editor: Jennifer Nunez jnunez@sbpub.com GEORGE SOKULSKI, Associate Publisher Emeritus gsokulski@sbpub.com intErnational officEs 46 Killigrew Street, Falmouth, Cornwall TR11 3PP, United Kingdom Telephone: 011-44-1326-313945 Fax: 011-44-1326-211576 International Editors: David Briginshaw, Keith Barrow, Kevin Smith customEr sErvicE: 800-895-4389 Reprints: PARS International Corp.

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You think maybe some Canadian legislators are as clueless as their American counterparts, eh? You betcha!

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Railway age

November 2012

SIMMONS-BOARDMAN PUBLISHING CORPORATION

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Industry Indicators TRAFFIC ORIGINATED carLoaDS

MAJOR U.S. RAILROADS

By COMMODITy grain farm Products ex.grain metallic ores coal crushed Stone / Sand / gravel nonmetallic minerals grain mill Products food & Kindred Products Primary forest Products Lumber & Wood Products Pulp, Paper & other chemicals Petroleum Products Stone, clay & glass coke metals & Products motor Vehicles & equipment Iron & Steel Scrap Waste & nonferrous Scrap all other carloads TOTAL CAR LOADED

WEEK 41 enDIng ocToBer 13, 2012 2012 22,230 1,604 6,185 112,644 21,123 5,317 9,701 6,636 1,416 3,170 5,430 29,114 11,868 8,071 3,242 9,459 16,165 4,038 3,186 4,490 285,089

2011 23,722 1,034 8,446 135,544 18,241 5,121 9,374 6,994 1,505 2,719 5,411 28,859 7,777 7,563 3,120 10,034 15,598 5,109 3,379 4,051 303,601

76,845

79,802

CANADIAN RAILROADS ALL COMMODITy

MEXICAN RAILROADS ALL COMMODITy

U.S TOTAL CANADIAN TOTAL MEXICAN TOTAL NORTH AMERICAN TOTAL

15,078 41 WEEKS 11,610,934 3,161,852 589,473 15,362,249

% CHANGE -6.3% 55.1% -26.8% -16.9% 15.8% 3.8% 3.5% -5.1% -5.9% 16.6% 0.4% 0.9% 52.6% 6.7% 3.9% -5.7% 3.6% -21.0% -5.7% 10.8% -6.1% -3.7%

14,266 5.7% % CHANGE FROM 2011 -2.7% 2.5% 0.2% -1.6%

WEEK 41 enDIng ocToBer 13, 2012

InTermoDaL U.S. RAILROADS TraILerS conTaInerS TOTAL UNIT

29,778 221,048 250,826

33,084 211,309 244,393

-10.0% 4.6% 2.6%

1,263 51,892 53,155

1,459 46,563 48,022

-13.4% 11.4% 10.7%

0 11,236 11,236

24 8,136 8, 160

-100.0% 38.1% 37.7%

CANADIAN RAILROADS TraILerS conTaInerS TOTAL UNIT

MEXICAN RAILROADS TraILerS conTaInerS TOTAL UNIT

U.S TOTAL CANADIAN TOTAL MEXICAN TOTAL NORTH AMERICAN TOTAL

41 WEEKS 9,713,203 2,117,708 407,352 12,238,263

% CHANGE FROM 2011 3.7% 7.2% 18.6% 4.7%

ESTIMATED TON-MILES (BILLIONS), U.S. CLASS I RAILROADS 2012 34.2 1,266.8

WeeK 41 TOTAL WEEK 1-41

2011 36.1 1,288.5

% CHANGE -5.3% -1.7%

Source: Weekly railroad Traffic, association of american railrods

SHORT LINE AND REGIONAL TRAFFIC INDEX carLoaDS

By COMMODITy chemicals coal crushed Stone / Sand / gravel food & Kindred Products grain grain mill Products Lumber & Wood Products metals ores metals & Products motor Vehicles & equipmet nonmetallic minerals Petroleum Products Pulp, Paper & allied Products Stone, clay & glass Products Trailers / containers Waste & nonferrous Scrap all other carloads

38 34 32 30

2012

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12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52

November 2012

% CHANGE 4.9% 20.5% -1.1% -5.0% -1.2% -6.4% 6.3% -26.9% -12.7% 9.8% -30.9% 1.7% -9.4% -5.0% 8.4% 2.6% -1.3%

SEpTEMBER 2012 - 346,820 SEpTEMBER 2011 - 346,547 270,000 280,000 290,000 300,000 310,000

320,000 330,000 340,000 350,000 360,000

copyright © 2012. all rights reserved.

RAILROAD EMpLOyMENT, CLASS I LINEHAUL CARRIERS, SEpTEMBER 2012 (% change from SePTemBer 2011)

Transportation (train and engine) 63,957; -0.67%

executives, officials, and Staff assistants 9,599; +2.83%

Professional and administrative 13,669; -1.55%

TOTAL EMpLOyEES: 160,428 % CHANGE FROM SEpT. 2011: +0.12% Transportation (other than train & engine) 6,817; +1.58%

maintenance of equipment and Stores 29,601; +0.81%

maintenanceof-Way and Structures 36,784; +0.62%

Source: Surface Transportation Board

2011

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ORIGINATED SEpT. ’11 41,439 17,790 24,236 12,448 20,747 7,217 8,362 5,453 24,136 9,492 2,155 2,071 19,386 12,929 38,675 10,428 89,583

TOTAL CARLOADS, SEpTEMBER 2012 VS. 2011

RAIL FREIGHT TRAFFIC TRENDS, U.S. CLASS I RAILROADS estimated billion ton-miles

ORIGINATED SEpT. ’12 43,464 21,437 23,966 11,828 20,506 6,754 8,887 3,987 21,079 10,418 1,490 2,107 17,557 12,285 41,909 10,697 88,549

Week-ended number

EMpLOyMENT GROWTH SLOWS; DOWN FROM pAST MONTH figures released by the Surface Transportation Board show class I railroads employed 160,428 people in mid-September, up a modest 0.12% from September 2011, but down 1.39% (95 employees) from august 2012. executives, officials, and staff assistants led year-over-year gains, up 8,83%. all categories save one lost ground from the previous month, with Transportation (other than train and engine the sole winner, up 1.58% in September from august 2012.

Industry Outlook ARCI reports decline in 3Q railcar orders Orders and deliveries of railcars declined in the third quarter, according to statistics released by the Railway Supply institute’s american Railway Car institute (aRCi) Committee.

Third-quarter orders totaled 15,151 units, down 7.8% from the second quarter of 2012 and down 24.9% from the third quarter of 2011. Thirdquarter deliveries of 12,346 units were down 31.1% from the second quarter of 2012, and down more modestly, 1.4%, compared with the third quarter of 2011.

The backlog of 61,400 units in the third quarter rose 4.6%, to 61,400, from the second quarter of 2012, the aRCi report said. about 8,832 cars ordered, more than half, were tank cars, an industry source said, noting that probably was driven by hydraulic fracturing (fracking) activity across the U.S. that railroads large and small are quickly moving to serve. Healthy autorack orders appear to reflect a resurgent U.S. auto industry as well, the source said, adding, “The killer is coal’s slump; that’s hurt.”

STB: Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific were “revenue adequate” in 2011 The Surface Transportation Board last month announced its determination that two of the five major U.S. freight railroads, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific, were “revenue adequate” in 2011. This means that their return on investment exceeded their cost of capital as determined under an STB formula.

The STB determined the cost of capital in 2011 to be 11.57%. according to the association of american Railroads, UP had an STBdetermined rate of return last year

of 13.01% and NS had a return of 12.87%. a close runner-up was CSX, with a return of 11.54%. Kansas City Southern reported a return of 10.76%, and BNSF, 9.85%.

The Staggers Rail act of 1980, which substantially deregulated the railroads, directed the interstate Commerce Commission, the STB’s predecessor regulatory agency, to conduct revenue adequacy determinations on an annual basis. That determination can be a factor in rate challenges and other STB proceedings.

Canadian Pacific announces new senior operations team

Doug McFarlane

Guido De Ciccio

in a move long anticipated by many rail industry observers, Canadian Pacific on Oct. 17 announced the senior operations team who will lead the execution of new service plans under CP President and CeO e. Hunter Harrison.

Doug McFarlane has been appointed Senior Vice President 6

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November 2012

Scott MacDonald

U.S. Operations. guido De Ciccio was appointed Senior Vice President Canadian Operations. Scott MacDonald was appointed Senior Vice President Operations (System). all three experienced railroaders will report directly Harrison, CP said.

“The appointments emphasize highly

centralized planning with decentralized execution of the operating plan, driving ongoing service improvement, cost control, and efficient asset utilization,” CP said. “with the reorientation of the operating team, we are pushing decision making and execution out of the office and into the field,” said Harrison. “i expect Doug’s and guido’s teams to get closer to the customer with Scott’s team providing them with support.”

McFarlane joined CP in 2003 as Director, locomotive Maintenance. De Ciccio began his career with Canadian Pacific in 1976 in the Mechanical Department. McFarlane joined CP in 1976 and also began his career in the Mechanical Department.

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Perfecting Railcar Performance

Market In Houston, Siemens “H2” LRV debuts Siemens Mobility light rail car no.

201 entered revenue service Oct. 16 for Houston MetroRail, following a ceremony at MetroRail’s Rail Operations center. Siemens was awarded an $83 million contract to supply 19 S70 light rail vehicles, dubbed H2s by MetroRail, which will supplement MetroRail’s existing fleet of 18 lRVs already in service, also built by Siemens. all 19 new cars are expected to be in operation within the next 18 months, to handle anticipated rising ridership and cope with the expansion of the city’s lRT network, now under way. each new H2 carries about 200 passengers per car, and can be coupled to form lRT trains of up to four units to handle peak-period crowding.

North America ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN RAILROADS: Certified a new heavyduty external pressure relief valve (ePRV) produced by Vancouver, British Columbia-based Kelso Technologies inc., following successful tests in august, according to the supplier. Kelso said the valve, designated JS75XH/27, may be utilized in heavy duty hazmat applications that include the transport of crude oil and ethanol.

BNSF: Selected Fairport, N.y.-based RailComm to provide a wireless remote control derail system at BNSF’s amarillo, Tex., yard for the roundhouse engine tracks. This system will provide wireless remote control for derail locations outside the roundhouse. The derail machines will be outfitted with blue strobe lights that will be activated whenever a derail is in place.

CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY: Tapped Toronto-based Trapeze group to provide a workforce management 8

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November 2012

system providing “self-service options to support nearly 8,000 employees across more than 18 garages, terminals, and facilities,” according to the supplier. Trapeze said the system is “a unique transit software solution helping to streamline frequently performed operational tasks including bidding, dispatching, timekeeping, workforce management, and yard management. it can be further enhanced with interactive voice response access to work assignments and web-based access to bidding requests, work assignments, employee information and more.”

MARC: Bombardier Transportation has secured a six-year, $204.7 million contract to operate MaRC’s Camden and Brunswick passenger rail lines. a five-year renewal option worth $205 million is part of the package.

Bombardier succeeds CSX Corp. in the role, and will assume operations in a transition period of eight months, offering jobs to current employees on the two lines.

VIA RAIL CANADA: a New Brunswick provincial judge approved an adjusted arrangement that will see 14 Via Rail cars refurbished in Moncton, New Brunswick, during the next 19 months, as a part of the former industrial Rail Services contract. lashine, Quebecbased CaD Railway industries inc. will act as the project manager and take over portions of the Via Rail agreement; CaD will assume responsibility for industrial Rail’s contract and refurbish four RDCs (Rail Diesel Cars) and 10 lRC (light, Rapid, Comfortable) passenger cars. industrial Rail had a C$109 million contract with Via Rail to refurbish 98 cars.

WASHINGTON STATE DOT: awarded a three-year contract, with a maximum value of $7 million, to Pasadena, Calif.based Jacobs engineering group inc. to provide on-call engineering and operations services in support of the agency’s capital rail improvement program and other projects. an option exists to extend the duration and increase the value of the contract.

Update Supply BriefS GATX 3Q profit rises gaTX reported third-quarter net income of $53.8 million, or $1.13 per share, up from $32.9 million or 70 cents per share in third quarter of 2011. Both the 2012 and 2011 third-quarter results include benefits from tax adjustments and other items of $18.2 million and $1.3 million, respectively.

Energy fluctuations have mixed effect on Class I 3Q earnings

Ge Transportation powers parent’s quarterly results

l.B. foster rebrands several subsidiary companies l.B. Foster Co. is “changing the names of several of its subsidiary companies acquired from Portec Rail Products, inc. to l.B. Foster Rail Technologies to more accurately brand the innovative unit and better represent its rail product development capabilities.” l.B. Foster acquired the technology-based rail products manufacturer Portec and most of its subsidiaries in December 2010. The naming structure brings added recognition to the new Rail Technologies business as it becomes part of the l.B. Foster brand, and will aid expansion of the brand into europe, asia, and South america.

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Union Pacific was not immune to the impact of lower coal volumes beleaguering the Class I railroads, but it still managed to notch record earnings in its third quarter.

Increased intermodal volume and moves related to natural gas fracturing (fracking) operations have offset some of the declines in more traditional commodities.

T

he dramatic shift in the 2012 U.S. energy picture, with natural gas ascendant and coal in relative decline, became highly visible during the third quarter, and perhaps predictably made its mark on North American Class I railroads and their third-quarter earnings. Some fared better than others.

CSX Corp., per tradition, led off the earnings parade on Oct. 16, reporting third-quarter net earnings of $455 million, down 2% from the $464 million in the third quarter of 2011.

But earnings per share were up 2% year-over-year to 44 cents per share, compared with 43 cents per share in the 2011 quarter, and matching Wall Street consensus estimates.

Total revenue for the quarter fell 2% compared with the third quarter of 2011, as freight carload volume declined.

CSX said strong productivity gains offset some of that decline. CSX’s operating

ratio was 70.5%, virtually the same as 70.4% in the third quarter of 2011.

“CSX continues to respond well to moderating economic conditions and challenges in our domestic coal business,” said Michael J. Ward, chairman, president, and CEO. CSX noted strong increases in export coal, intermodal, and automotive shipments.

On Oct. 18, Union Pacific reported a “best ever” quarter, with third-quarter earnings of $1 billion, or $2.19 per diluted share, up from $904 million, or $1.85 per diluted share, in the comparable period in 2011 and in line with Wall Street consensus estimates of $2.19 per share.

“Despite a 12% decline in coal volumes and significantly weaker steel and scrap metal markets, we generated best-ever financial results across the board,” said Union Pacific CEO Jack Koraleski. Operating revenue was $5.3

UNION PACIFIC

ge Transportation notched revenue of $1.4 billion in the third quarter, up 9% from the same period a year ago, and a profit of $265 million, up 35% from $197 million in the third quarter of 2011. The results helped power Fairfield, Conn.-based parent general electric Co. to thirdquarter earnings of $3.8 billion, or 36 cents per share, up 10% and 50%, respectively, from the same period one year ago. ge revenue totaled $36.3 billion for the quarter, up 3%.

billion, up 5%, while UP’s operating ratio of 66.6% improved 2.5 points over the third quarter of 2011, and an all-time quarterly best, improving on the previous record set in the second quarter by 0.4 points.

Also on Oct. 18, Kansas City Southern reported that, despite record revenue for the third quarter, its earnings of $90 million, or 82 cents per share, fell from $99.8 million, or 91 cents per share, in the comparable quarter in 2011, due in part to a higher Mexican tax bill affecting its Kansas City Southern de Mexico operations.

KCS maintained its full-year outlook of revenue growth in the mid-single digits, citing strength in automotive and crossborder freight volumes.

KCS’s third-quarter revenue of $577 million was a record, and up 6% from the year-ago quarter. The railroad’s operating ratio of 68.7% was a 2.6 point improvement from one year ago.

Revenue growth was led by a 31% increase in the railroad’s Automotive sector and a 25% increase in for The record: The listing

for C.K. INDUSTRIES, INC. on p. DB11 of the Railroad Financial Desk Book in the October issue should have appeared as follows: C.K. INDUSTRIES, INC. P.O. Box 1029, Lake Zurich, IL 60047-1029; Tel: 847-550-1856; Fax: 847-550-1854; e-mail: rmeyers@ckrail.net; Richard E. Meyers, President. C.K. INDUSTRIES, a privately held corporation, began its U.S. leasing operations in 1980, and offers its services to shippers, short line, regional and Class I railroads in North America. New investment opportunities up to $10MM of both new and used types of freight cars will be considered. Our existing lease fleet offers a wide variety of car types to meet your lease requirements. We offer mid to long terms, either on a full service or triple net basis.

Intermodal revenue. Energy-related revenue increased 8% from a year ago.

“The combination of solid top line growth and disciplined operating performance resulted in KCS delivering a third-quarter operating ratio of 68.7%, the best in the Company’s history,” said KCS President and CEO David L. Starling.

On Oct. 22, CN reported thirdquarter net income of C$664 million (US$669 million), or C$1.52 per diluted share, up from C$659 million, or C$1.46 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2011. Revenue increased 8% year-over-year to C$2.5 billion. CN’s operating ratio rose 1.3 points to 60.6%. Petroleum and chemicals led the way with a 15% increase in revenues, largely as a result of higher shipments of crude oil originating in western Canada. CN’s crude oil volume in the quarter rose to a run rate of 40,000 carloads on an annualized basis.

That growth helped offset declining coal volume. (For more on CN, see cover story, p. 21.)

Norfolk Southern Oct. 23 reported net income of $402 million, or $1.24 per diluted share, down 27% compared with $554 million, or $1.59 per diluted

share, in the third quarter of 2011. But earnings per share surpassed by one penny Wall Street consensus analysts’ latest target of $1.23 per share, though that estimate slipped from $1.64 in the past month, spurred in part by NS’s own warnings of a decline in coal and merchandise shipments. NS’s thirdquarter operating ratio increased to 72.9%, compared with 67.5% in the third quarter of 2011.

Canadian Pacific Oct. 24 reported third-quarter earnings of C$224 million (US$226 million), or C$1.30 per diluted share, up 20% from C$187 million, or C$1.10 a share, in the third quarter of 2011, surpassing Wall Street consensus expectations of C$1.23 per share. CP’s operating ratio in the third quarter was 74.1%, down 170 basis points from the third quarter of 2011.

CP CEO E. Hunter Harrison said the results reflected CP’s efforts to improve efficiency since its Board of Directors was revamped following a proxy battle last spring.

“We have implemented new services; closed terminals and certain yard operations; and we’ve put a new leadership team in place,” Harrison said, adding, “And this is just the beginning.”

November 2012 Railway age 11

Update Housatonic Railroad eyes passenger rail’s return

Maplewood, NJ 07040 Phone: (800) 21RAILS Email: gburwell@railsco.com Web: www.railsco.com

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The 161-mile Housatonic Railroad Co., aptly nicknamed “The Berkshire Hills Route,” sits astride territory the short line and its CEO, John R. Hanlon, Jr., deem ripe for a growing freight business—and passenger rail revival.

It’s flanked on the west by Amtrak and CSX operations on the Hudson (River) Line in New York State. To its east, Amtrak and New England Central Railroad roughly split the Knowledge Corridor bisecting Connecticut and Massachusetts before entering Vermont.

Canaan, Conn.-based Housatonic runs roughly parallel with its namesake river, running north/south from Pittsfield, Mass. (where it interchanges with CSX) to Danbury, Conn. A 1992 right-of-way purchase added an east-west spur from Derby, Conn., to Beacon, N.Y. (the former Maybrook Line).

Hanlon says freight service on the railroad resumed in 1982 after a 12-year hiatus. Housatonic customers currently include two paper companies, a limestone quarry, a manufacturer of plastic sheeting, a distribution center, a public warehouse, a lumber shipper, a concrete manufacturer, and a fertilizer receiver.

Passenger trains last traversed the Housatonic in 1971, the same year the right-of-way was landbanked. Hanlon isn’t content to just welcome passenger rail’s return; he’s actively courting it, including an aggressive ongoing conversation with MTA Metro-North Railroad (itself no marketing slouch) for possible regional service from the Berkshires to New York City, tapping a significant “second homeowners” market.

Hanlon says the Housatonic Railroad could exchange trackage rights with Metro-North to provide overlapping services. Metro-North has sought to extend its Danbury Branch north to “at least New Milford,” Hanlon notes, something the Housatonic would willingly accommodate.

In exchange, Hanlon seeks to route Housatonic passenger trains from Pittsfield via Danbury, west to Metro-North’s Southeast Station on the Harlem Line, and south into Grand Central Terminal (see map at right). The short line already holds trackage rights on the Harlem Line from Dover Plains to White Plains, making access to New York City proper all that much more likely.

Hanlon believes a regional passenger service offering six trains a day each way between Pittsfield and New York, with a running time of three hours, 15 minutes, is “certainly competitive with the automobile.”

A rail passenger study and a cost/benefit study, financed by the railroad, have both been completed, and Hanlon says the findings are promising. So, too, is the local media interest in the proposal, both print and digital, as local residents, college students, and an influential “second-home owners” throughout the Berkshires publicly ponder the opportunity for revived rail passenger service.

—Douglas John Bowen

November 2012 Railway age 13

Update CN to build new terminal for Bakken crude oil producers CN and Tundra Energy Marketing Ltd., which handles crude oil on behalf of producers in the Williston Basin, including parent company Tundra Oil & Gas Partnership, have signed a memorandum of understanding to construct a crude oil railroad tank car loading terminal near Cromer, Man., to meet the needs of Bakken crude oil producers in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

The terminal will initially load 30,000 barrels of crude oil per day into tank cars (about 50 cars worth) starting in the second quarter of 2013. The facility will have the potential to accommodate a unit train of 100 tank cars, with each train carrying approximately 60,000 barrels per day of crude oil.

“This project, combined with 410,000 barrels of oil storage currently under construction at our terminal in Cromer—a six-fold increase in existing capacity—will provide us with access to alternative North American markets for Williston Basin crude oil over CN’s network at a time when there is inadequate pipeline takeaway capacity,” said Tundra Energy Marketing President Bryan Lankester.

“Our Cromer location at the most easterly point of crude oil production in Canada should provide a market advantage to our crude oil producers and shippers.”

“We are pleased to be a key supply chain enabler for

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Tundra Energy Marketing,” said CN Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Jean-Jacques Ruest. “CN will help Tundra’s customers reach markets with good net-backs for their crude. And further growth will be part of the story.

The Cromer transload terminal is expandable, with the potential to handle complete crude oil unit trains of more than 100 cars, which will generate greater efficiencies and market reach for Canadian crude oil. Working closely with

The facility will have the potential to accommodate a unit train of 100 tank cars, with each train carrying approximately 60,000 barrels per day of crude oil. companies such as Tundra Energy Marketing is making the transportation of crude oil one of CN’s fastest growing businesses. We expect to move more than 30,000 carloads of crude oil in 2012, and we believe we have the scope to double this crude oil business next year.”

Railway Interchange 2013 offers new supplier options Sponsorship opportunities will be available for the first time at Railway Interchange 2013, the combined exhibition and technical conference, according to event organizers.

Railway Interchange 2013 will take place Sept. 29-Oct. 3, 2013, in Indianapolis.

REMSA Executive Director David Soule said, “We are encouraging our member companies to make sponsorship a part of their marketing plan for this world-class event.

Sponsorship opportunities include events, banners, and signage, and are available in a range of price points to fit a company’s budget.”

“Sponsorships offer companies the opportunity to stand out with the thousands of rail industry executives who are expected to attend Railway Interchange 2013,” added RSI President Tom Simpson.

A sponsorship website, www.railwayinterchangesponsorships.org, has details on exhibition sponsorship opportunities and benefits.

The exhibition will showcase the latest technology and research by members of RSI, REMSA, and RSSI. Railway Interchange 2013 will also feature technical presentations and forums by members of AREMA and the CMA. Exhibition booth sales for Railway Interchange 2013 are

now open, and a prospectus is available at www.railwayinterchange.org. Further details are available on RSI’s website, www.rsiweb.org; REMAS’s website, www.remsa.org; and RSSI’s website, www.rssi.org.

“The first Railway Interchange exhibition and conference in 2011 was the largest event of this type held in North America, with approximately 9,000 attendees and 600 exhibiting companies,” said RSSI Executive Director and Secretary/Treasurer Michael A. Drudy. “In 2013, we are reducing booth costs and including two free registrations for our exhibitors with each 10-foot by 10-foot booth, while increasing the amount of food and refreshments for exhibition attendees. Offering sponsorships helps us defray the cost of the exhibition while giving companies greater visibility at this high-profile industry event.”

AREMA Executive Director/CEO Dr. Charles Emely said, “The tremendous response to the first combined conference and exhibition exceeded the expectations of the organizers, and we expect 2013 to be even bigger and better.”

Registration for Railway Interchange 2013 will begin in January. Hotel reservations will be available starting Jan. 1.

Preliminary agenda information and registration details will be released in the coming months.

November 2012 Railway age 15

Update NS Birmingham Regional Intermodal facility opens Norfolk Southern CEO Wick Moorman and Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley joined federal, state, and local officials and business leaders last month in McCalla, Ala., to mark the opening of the Birmingham Regional Intermodal Facility.

The $97.5 million, 316-acre facility is considered a critical component of NS’s Crescent Corridor program to establish a high-capacity intermodal freight rail route between the Gulf Coast and the Northeast.

“There is no other intermodal rail public-private project today that compares with the magnitude of the Crescent Corridor in terms of job creation or environmental benefits,” Moorman said. “Because of its strategic location and the growing intermodal demands throughout the country, the Birmingham terminal will serve as a major gateway for truck-competitive freight moving between the South and Northeast and enable NS to launch new service from Birmingham to the Northeast and to Mexico.

Said Governor Bentley, “Intermodal facilities often help attract distribution centers, manufacturing plants, and other industries. Having Norfolk Southern here will benefit the surrounding region by providing a catalyst for new jobs.”

Greg Canfield, secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce, said the announcement was especially timely

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because by the year 2020, it is expected that U.S. freight traffic will increase 100% and international trade will increase by 200 %. “The location of this intermodal center in Alabama by one of our premiere economic development partners gives the state a strategic logistics advantage to capitalize on these increases and promotes the goals of our economic development plan,” he said.

The Birmingham terminal is the second of four new Crescent Corridor terminals to open. The Memphis facility began operations in July, and the Birmingham regional facility’s sister terminal at Greencastle, Pa., is scheduled to open in January. Construction began earlier this year for a new terminal in Charlotte, N.C. In addition, significant expansions of two existing intermodal terminals in Harrisburg are under way.

NS says it constructed the main administrative building to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification standards. The facility also will use the latest in gate and terminal automation technology, which shortens the waiting time for trucks entering the terminal, and improves truck driver productivity and air quality. As well, state-ofthe-art low emission cranes and hostler tractors will operate within the terminal.

AAR’s VanderClute receives Graham Claytor Award Robert C. VanderClute, Senior Vice President of Safety and Operations at the Association of American Railroads, is the 2012 recipient of Railway Age’s W. Graham Claytor Jr. Award for Distinguished Service to Passenger Transportation. Railway Age Editor-inChief William C. Vantuono presented VanderClute with the award at the magazine’s 19th annual Passenger Trains on Freight Railroads Conference in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 11.

The Graham Claytor Award, determined by Railway Age’s editors and publisher, is given annually and is based largely on a lifetime of achievement by individuals who have contributed to the advancement of passenger rail in America.

“Bob VanderClute is a very deserving recipient not only for his service at Amtrak, but also for his work at AAR on critical safety initiatives with both

Bob VanderClute (center, holding the award) and his wife Carol (to his right) with his AAR colleagues at the Graham Claytor Award luncheon. Left to right, first row: Peggy Kinzey, Bob and Carol VanderClute. Second row: Ed Hamberger, Jim Grady, Kelly Donley, and Jim Britton. Third row: Gordon Mott, John Gray, Jeff Usher, Bob Kollmar, Jeff Moller, and Bob Fronczak.

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freight and passenger rail operators,” said Vantuono.

“Bob has tremendous leadership and experience that has helped advance major rail industry safety, security, and operational initiatives critical to keeping our nation’s railroads the best in the world,” said AAR President and CEO Edward R. Hamberger.

VanderClute’s railroading career spans more than 40 years. Since 2003, he has been the SVP of Operations at AAR. In this role, he oversees the railroad industry’s homeland security plan, equipment interchange standards, car service rules, quality assurance programs, and safety initiatives in the environmental, hazardous materials, and communications and signals areas. He oversees tank car safety and design standards. VanderClute also serves as the industry liaison with the federal government, including the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Railroad Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board, The Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Communications Commission, and other regulatory bodies.

Prior to joining AAR, VanderClute was with Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB), where he led the company’s international passenger rail activities, including major high speed rail projects in the U.K., China, and Taiwan.

Prior to PB, VanderClute was Amtrak’s Vice President of Operations and COO, with responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the company’s entire network. During his years at Amtrak, the corporation implemented high speed rail on the Northeast Corridor, embarked on a $6 billion infrastructure improvement program, replaced virtually its entire motive power and car fleet, and became the largest contract carrier of commuter rail services in North America.

VanderClute got started in the rail industry at the New York Central Railroad after graduating with a degree in transportation from the University of Tennessee.

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At CN, a whole new ball game “north america’s Railroad” continues to pile up points under the leadership of seasoned Ceo Claude Mongeau.

I

n football, every successful team requires a great quarterback—the “field general,” as he is called. For years, CN had a strong field general in Hunter Harrison, who now is attempting to reshape CN’s biggest intra-industry competitor, Canadian Pacific.

CN President and CEO Claude Mongeau, who inherited CN’s leadership chair from Harrison and who, during a 20-year career with the railroad also worked under Paul Tellier, sees leadership a bit differently than his predecessors.

While acknowledging that he feels “fortunate that I stand on the shoulders of those two giants,” Mongeau likens railroading to rugby, a brutal game where “there is a vision to drive forward,” but “no quarterback.”

CN posted a strong third quarter (p. 10). During the company’s quarterly earnings call, Mongeau described CN’s performance as “pretty solid overall. We’ve had a number of areas where we hit records. In terms of our performance, revenues, overall throughput, and volume, this is one of our best third quarters ever. Our revenues were up 7%, [with]

By william C. VaNtuoNo, editoR-iN-Chief broad based growth across all our business sectors. We were able to accommodate that business at low incremental cost.

I’m very pleased that all of our operating metrics are continuing to show improvement, at the same time as we’re continuing to focus and make progress in our core service metrics.”

In an interview with Railway Age, Mongeau—at 51, the youngest of the Class I chief executives—talked about the railroad he has guided for the past three years, and where he wants to take it.

Railway age: After three years at the helm, how would you describe CN? Where is the most growth potential?

Claude Mongeau:

CN is a three-coast franchise—a great franchise with plenty of opportunity to grow. If you look at the past three years, we have been outperforming the general rate of economic growth. We have been outperforming our November 2012 Railway age 21

aRChiteCt of ChaNge: Claude moNgeau

industry peers in terms of growth, so we must be doing something right. Intermodal continues to be a great growth engine for us, both overseas and domestically. We are wellpositioned in terms of quality, and well-positioned to serve destinations on the East Coast.

Ra: You

are far less susceptible to the extreme softness in utility coal, being that it accounts for a very small percentage of your traffic base.

CM: Coal is good business, but when it’s in a down market, if you don’t have it you don’t have the headwind as if it were a big share of your business like many of our U.S. peers. It’s a tough situation for them with the natural gas conversions.

investment is more that we have the branch line network that is capable of handling the traffic source. A good example would be the upgrading of our low-density Wisconsin line. As we speak we are spending in the neighborhood of $35 million to upgrade that line so that the frac sand customers that will locate on that line can be served on our overall network.

Ra: Is there any sort of resistance in the local communities to this type of “Regulatory issues traffic? I recall seeing something recently in The New York Times where on both sides of the the governor of New York seemed to border are similar. be backpedaling on his support for drilling in his state that would involve In Canada, it’s the Rail fracking. The environmentalists are Freight Service Review.” applauding him, but the business interests in the state aren’t happy.

Ra: The petroleum and frac sand CM: There is resistance locally in some markets are experiencing explosive communities. There are places where growth. How are you positioned for equipment for those people are looking carefully at the environmental case for markets? drilling. It’s a huge tectonic shift; it’s a huge industry. But CM: Both of these markets in the energy sector, whether it’s everything over time gets better. We have been drilling for frac sand or petroleum, crude oil, rely upon shipper-supplied years. I have confidence that we can apply the proper techcars. There is a tightness of tank cars at the moment in the nology, the new techniques that have been developed over marketplace so it’s difficult for customers to gain access. This is the past decade. There is a lot of scrutiny to make sure that not a direct bottleneck for CN, but it is a bottleneck for the the fracking is done in the most environmentally sound opportunity to grow with our customers. For us the way. It’s a big challenge for the energy industry.

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Intermodal, Mongeau says, “continues to be a great growth engine for us, both overseas and domestically. We are wellpositioned in terms of quality, and well-positioned to serve destinations on the East Coast.”

Ra: What

are you looking at in Canada as possible regulatory challenges?

CM: The issues on both sides of the border are similar. It’s always a question of making sure that people understand that railroads are the true backbone of the economy. Railroads are not like factories that can move from one place to the other.

Some people take railroads for granted. It’s incumbent on the leadership of the industry to make the case of how world-class our industry is in North America, that we are focused on service, that we are ultimately playing our own role as the backbone of the economy. Here in Canada, it’s a continuation of the Rail Freight Service Review. Now, the Canadian government is considering legislation to address service. We are saying to the government, and to our stakeholders, that our service has never been better, that we’re a commercial system that is playing its role as a 100% privately financed system. It’s an ongoing debate. The reality is that we have a great rail system, we’re playing our role. We understand that we are a demand-derived business. We can only move what our customers ship. If our focus is on helping them win in their end markets, we have a right to make money for our shareholders.

Ra:

So the challenges appear to be consistent across the board, whether it’s the United States or Canada?

CM: Because we have two very different countries, the debate takes a slightly different shade on either side of the border. But the fundamental challenge for the North American rail

industry is the same. We constantly have to help people connect the dots. For example, CN participates in the movement of $85 billion of exports from Canada. So we have to remind policymakers of our fundamental role and the importance of a commercial system that is efficient. (For more on Mongeau’s view of Canadian regulatory measures, see p. 2.)

Ra:

One thing that CN has been known for is its low operating ratio. It’s been a tremendous achievement. How much lower can you go? What other efficiencies and improvements do you think can be achieved?

CM: We are an industry leader in much more than operating ratio. We are an industry leader in efficiency. We are an industry leader in service. We are an industry leader, I believe, in innovation, and in safety. All these things coming together help us grow at low incremental cost. We provide a solid financial return for our shareholders. The outcome of this leadership on the ground is what drives strong financial performance. Clearly, over the past 15 years we have perhaps led the way in improving margins, but the whole industry can look back to a state of not being viable, where it did not have the margins and the operating ratios to sustain the cash flow that allowed it to put money back into its business. We have made strong progress, going from last to first over the past 15 years, in what was a remarkable transformation. It’s what we do to improve service, drive efficiency, innovate, and win in our markets that will drive the financial metrics—not the reverse.

We constantly look at everything in terms of efficiency. Our agenda, the way we’ve laid it out over the past three years, has been to focus on the operating ratio, because of all the November 2012 Railway age 23

aRChiteCt of ChaNge: Claude moNgeau

progress we’ve made. But that doesn’t mean we are focusing less on efficiency, that we’ve reduced our scope to improve our profitability. Here’s an example: Our operating ratio over the past three years, since I have been leader of this company, has remained constant, averaging around 63.5%, which is a record performance. During this time, our profits have increased by about 60%, and our stock price has increased by 63%. We took the operating ratio down by the sum total of about 10 basis points. So that makes the case that if you grow the top line, build it faster than the economy, in a way that accommodates the business at low incremental cost, you can maintain industry-leading performance.

Ra: What will your capital spend be next year?

CM: We work hard to find as many opportunities

to invest in to support our strategic agenda as we find we can earn a good return. So whether it’s supporting growth by upgrading branch lines for crude oil, optimizing productivity on the frac sand side, eliminating bottlenecks where we’re seeing more growth—for example on our British Columbia North corridor—upgrading signals on our dense Chicago corridor, or improving our overall network by improving the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern, we’re always looking to do as much as we

can to make sure we deliver in all areas. This year we are going to spend a little bit more than $1.8 billion. We haven’t finalized our budget for next year, but I expect that we will continue to grow in line with those opportunities.

Ra:

Invariably, comparisons are made between you and your predecessor, Hunter Harrison. Everybody knows who Hunter Harrison is. Who is Claude Mongeau? What is his vision for this company?

CM: If you look at the CN story, it’s a remarkable transformation story. Paul Tellier was effectively the architect of the vision to make CN a North American railroad. He took us out of government ownership, privatized the company, and started our expansion, with all the acquisitions we’ve made.

He set the vision. Hunter came and took us to the next level of efficiency with some of his innovations, and his focus on asset utilization and balance. I am fortunate that I stand on the shoulders of those two giants. My challenge is to continue this journey of transformation, to focus on the supply chain, to become a true supply chain enabler, not just an outstanding railroad from the standpoint of operational metrics and service excellence. We want to be in the middle of it all, to connect the dots to help our customers win in the

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November 2012

market. Frankly, it’s working. That’s why we are growing faster than the rest of the industry.

We have a unique franchise and a strong operating model. We want to stay true to our core and take it to the next level by becoming more customercentric while continuing to drive shareholder value.

If we continue to innovate, and focus on execution, I’m hopeful that three or four years from now people will say, wow, there was a third leg in the transformation. The record is good so far.

The best analogy I can think of is rugby. It’s an outdoor sport and it’s a tough sport—just like railroading. And it’s all about staying connected in a way that’s very difficult to replicate. In rugby, there is no quarterback, but there is a vision to drive forward.

If you’re not connected, you don’t win the game, because your opponent tears you apart. That’s our vision, and I hope that it will continue to work for the foreseeable future.

Ra:

Let’s talk a little bit about Canadian Pacific. In some respects you are fierce competitors, but there is some cooperation, for example, the coproduction, or directional running, in British Columbia.

CM: Yes we are fierce competitors in our geographic markets, but like all other railroads, we need to collaborate, because we don’t connect every origin/destination pair. We are partners in helping our customers move their goods by rail. But the world changes, and traffic flows evolve. If there’s business that CP currently has that presents an opportunity for CN, we’ll go after it. RA

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November 2012 Railway age 25

The science of Rail-flaw deTecTion

Research takes center stage in the development of reliable flaw detection technology.

R

By Mischa waNek-liBMaN, eNgiNeeRiNg editoR

ail-flaw detection is a critical maintenance-of-way practice and vital to keeping track safe. Companies that provide this service undertake tremendous research and development.

Photos: Sperry Rail Service

Leveraging technology

Sperry Rail Service continued the advancement of its Next Generation Induction technology in 2012, which included implementing new power supplies and integrating the signal processing in the company’s remote analysis program. The company says that magnetic induction compensates for the limitations associated with ultrasonics, the primary application used in all rail-flaw detection systems.

According to Ron Davis, a member of Sperry’s business development team, customers using the company’s full technology suite have seen the detection of 16% to 26%, depending on rail conditions, of the most safety critical defects, such as transverse defects and vertical split heads.

In addition to the new induction technology, the company has also introduced a higher-speed test vehicle, Sperry vehicle SRS119, which was commissioned during the first week of October and will be operating in the nonstop testing mode. The vehicle is the first in the fleet to be utilizing the

newly developed 1950 test system, which encompasses the most advanced processing and pattern recognition systems utilized by Sperry in North America, Europe and Asia.

Alastair Veitch, managing director of engineering, says, “Most important is the vehicle’s ability to test more than five times the average test miles per day depending on specific track conditions. Also, the development of new high-speed verification tools with a proprietary Sperry technology will streamline the data collection process.”

Sperry also designed, developed, and implemented its Combo Testing service this year that leverages and customizes the long-standing stop-and-verify process and the proprietary new detection and information technologies, which the company says routinely doubles the process efficiency, which translates into a cost-per-mile reduction to the railroad enabling RFD budgets to accomplish more testing.

Jamie O’Rourke, general manager, says, “The railroads constantly need more for less, and that is not just per dollar spent, but also in terms of track time invested for inspection, maintenance, and repair. Our JBCD system is employed on our existing RFD vehicles enabling the railroad to accomplish both a better and less costly inspection of the field and gauge side of each joint bar. We set our goal out to complete the November 2012 Railway age 27

Rail-Flaw detectioN Sperry’s JBCD system is employed on existing RFD vehicles for a better inspection of the field and gauge side of a joint bar.

auditable inspection of each joint, with a permanent record of test, for under $5 per joint, and we’ve beat that by over 25%. This is a clear example of a win-win when the railroad industry and service providers work under a framework relationship that promotes innovation and requires accountability to delivering results.”

O’Rourke continues, “Rail-flaw detection is about taking both a long view and short-term focus to the industry. There is really only one mission – find all the defects. That is the guiding principal. That said, Sperry takes very serious the responsibility as market leader to also make sure that the technology is delivered incrementally and progresses the railroad’s risk management capability, while reducing the total cost of ownership of employed RFD technology and services.”

Sperry’s technology road map is segmented into a fourpronged approach, which looks to: Increase defect detection, advance efficiency (i.e. test speed), progress actionable management information and improve the quality and reliability of the solution.

Creating healthy competition

Nordco Rail Services and Inspection Technologies offers its Nordco FlexSonic, which features an inspection carriage that can be quickly and easily attached to a maintenance hi-rail vehicle with a hitch. Since it’s introduction at the AREMA Exposition in September, the company says the response to the FlexSonic has been overwhelming.

“Our compact low-powered hardware platform for signal processing is easily integrated into the interior of the cab. The system configuration is flexible enough that it can be operated from the driver, passenger or extended cab seating areas.

Nordco is in the process of integrating light geometry into the product offering. Combining these items has created a great opportunity for railroads to decrease the engineering footprint. Depending on the customer preference, we are able to offer the system operation with less people on board allowing the railroad to save money,” says Patrick Graham, president.

The company says that rail surface conditions continue to drive demand to improve the detection of defects under sub-surface shells. Nordco notes that when it introduced its patented Tracer technology in 2009, competition was created in the industry to match this approach and Nordco says the railroads have reaped the benefits as service failures caused by detailed fractures under sub28

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November 2012

surface shells have drastically declined.

“Nordco is pleased to announce the next phase in our attack on defects under sub-surface shells is underway.

Nordco announces System 48; this integrates our latest hardware platform with new wheel probe technology. We have enhanced our Tracer wheel and added a new wheel called the Sweeper wheel. While our technology is already considered industry leading, System 48 further ups the ante on subsurface shell defect detection,” says Graham.

Nordco also introduced its On Board Run-on-Run processing to increase accuracy and repeatability.

“The on-board comparative analytical tool compares prior test results to current test results for the same portion of the rail. The unique matching ability alerts the operator of a match to a prior indication and allows for real time comparison. This allows the operator to compare the results and identify any changes in the rail’s health,” says Graham.

Proactive monitoring of rail stress

According to Jim Aten, president of Salient Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of L.B. Foster, there is really no way to look at track and know if you are in danger of a break or a buckle due to high or low longitudinal stress in the rail.

“Whether a rail will break or buckle depends on the longitudinal stress in the rail. High or low stress is truly the invisible rail flaw. Rail stress is not visible to the naked eye and changes based on temperature, track stability, curvature, track maintenance and the trains running on the rail,” says Aten.

According to Aten, installed rail is most always in a tensioned or compressed state with the only exception being its Rail Neutral Temperature (RNT) or Stress Free Temperature (SFT) at which the rail is neither tensioned nor compressed. Ideally, says Aten, rail is installed at a defined target RNT/SFT that has been established for a particular area with the goal of minimizing track movement, rail breaks and rail buckling. However, he points out that RNT/SFT changes and has been shown to decrease over time due to rail movement through the fasteners, to curves moving or “breathing” and to rail breaks and rail defect repair. Aten concludes that if railroads know the actual RNT/SFT, they can judge when conditions are such that a buckle or break is likely and then move more deliberately to manage risk and adjust RNT/SFT when necessary.

Aten gives the example of railroads issuing slow orders at

predetermined ambient temperatures when the potential for a buckling scenario or rail break is high. But since the railroads do not know the longitudinal stress inside of the rail, many slow orders are unnecessary, says Aten. He also points to curve breathing, the movement of rail on a curve in extreme temperatures, which can typically only be observed via a physical track inspection. Aten says monitoring the RNT/SFT can allow railroads to administer their track in a safer and much more cost efficient manner.

L.B. Foster offers a product called a Rail Stress Module (RSM) to alarm when potential buckling situations exist or when a break has occurred.

Per Aten, “Current technologies to manage rail stress are time consuming and highly disruptive to the operators. Most are also one-time measurements. The RSM provides continuous real time track monitoring, which is important because the ambient temperature and the RNT/SFT change over time. This product is believed to be unique in the market in the way that it functions and communicates. Until it was introduced there was no way for a railroad to monitor rail stress on a continuous basis. Railroads can now constantly monitor rail stress and take proactive corrective actions.”

Once the RSM device is installed on track, it begins to send data to either a wayside or handheld reader. All data is

then uploaded via cell towers to a data center. The customer can then access this data through a Rich Internet Application called IntelliTrack® Navigator, which permits exception-based management of large geographic areas of track. The company says that due to its continuous operation, the RSM technology is highly effective with stress and temperature measured once per minute. With the IntelliTrack Navigator software package, proactive alarms and warnings are generated to designated railroad personnel for corrective action. L.B. Foster has had success with RSM installations throughout North America as well as in the UK, China, Japan and Australia.

The company says it has added several innovative features over the past year.

Says Aten, “We have completely redesigned the mechanical enclosure, which permits mounting of the RSM on virtually any rail profile, without interfering with fasteners. We have also developed a new method to attach the RSM to the rail to improve its reliability. We launched IntelliTrack Navigator in September and plan to introduce an upgrade in October, which will include a number of user driven enhancements.”

Flawless safety

The changes Herzog Services, Inc. (HSI), has made to its

November 2012 Railway age 29

Rail-Flaw DeTeCTiON

equipment this year have come as a result of customer requests, having to do with continuous coverage and making sure the transducers are aligned at all times to be able to produce a back-wall signal from the bottom of the rail.

“When you get into situations where the rail is canted out a little bit, or

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there is something adverse, such as other contaminates on the running surface, the back-wall signal is blocked and we’ve implemented different features into our software to assist the operator in complying with specific instructions regarding ’loss of backwall echo,’” says Troy Elbert, assistant vice president.

Elbert says that while tracking the end of warrant does not fall within a contractor’s responsiblility, the company has put additional safety features in place to alert the operator when the end of the warrant is approaching as a precautionary tool.

While Elbert says safety is always the first priority, making sure everyone remains certified in all needed areas can present some logistical challenges.

“In addition to our in-house training for safety, we are also required to have specific railroad safety courses. In addition to classes, workers are required to do annual and biennial recertification on those safety courses. Additionally, we have Contractor Orientation course and tests for each railroad. Tracking the certifications is the easy part, getting employees where they need to be, when they need to be there and not interrupting service is the challenge,” says Elbert.

As for on-track obstacles, Elbert notes that the running surface always presents challenges because the work hardened layer can flake off, cause spalling, head checking, shell and can lead to false positives in the test system.

Top-of-rail lubricators can also present challenges because the friction modifier can build on the head of the rail, blocking ultrasonic sound energy from the HSI vehicle probes into the steel. Not only can the friction modifier build up on the running surface, says Elbert, but it can also coat the vehicles Roller Search Units, or probes, causing the same effect. This leads to lower production since the operators are required to take action on areas where the test may be compromised by foreign materials and contaminates.

“To help our customers make the most use of available track windows, HSI is looking into additional services that can be performed by the rail-flaw inspection vehicle,” Elbert says. “Some of the services we are looking to offer in the future are things we could collect while doing rail-flaw inspections. This could be data including rail profile, gauge, rail cant, and possibly other inspection services, such as inspections for missing or broken fasteners.” RA

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Coming soon: 20 new HSP46 diesel locomotives from Wabtec subsidiary MotivePower, Inc. will be added to MBTA’s fleet as the state of Massachusetts expands its regional passenger rail reach.

Tracks for

MASSACHUSeTTS’ FUTURe Boston remains the hub, but MBTA moves to expand the state’s regional rail system into more of a statewide network—and then some.

MBTA

W

est and southeast: Those directions define Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s ambitious plans to expand its parameters, adding vast new service territory to its regional rail network.

The goal also is to add more riders to a system that already is fourth-largest in the U.S., including rapid transit, light rail, and bus services—and No. 5 when measuring regional rail service as a standalone category.

MBTA will pursue the effort under a new general manager, Beverly Scott, named to the post in late September.

MBTA’s regional rail leadership efforts extend beyond the Bay State’s borders; this year MBTA extended Providence Line service 20 miles beyond the previous terminus, Providence, R.I., to T.F. Green Airport and North Kingston, R.I. In the north, press reports periodically surface of MBTA efforts to extend its Haverhill Line service to Plaistow, N.H., despite the Granite State’s continuing (and somewhat curious) aversion to passenger rail service development.

The interest in the Haverhill Line shows that MBTA’s

By Douglas JohN BoweN, MaNagiNg eDitoR

northern regional rail services, emanating from Boston’s North Station, are not being ignored, and North Station also hosts Amtrak’s expanding Downeaster intercity service. But for now, the pursuit of expanded rail service using South Station as its Boston Hub—and the problems such growth bring with it—are clearly on MBTA’s front burner.

The passenger rail expansion effort includes active involvement by (and with) CSX Corp., as the Class I railroad adjusts its service patterns, acquiring some properties and selling various others to MBTA, as CSX and the state seek to simultaneously improve freight rail access and operations within the Bay State.

Worcester service bolstered

MBTA on Oct. 29 added three round trip frequencies between Worcester and Boston, extending trains that previously had originated or terminated in Framingham, Mass.

Worcester lies roughly parallel with the Rhode IslandConnecticut border to the south, and about one-third of the November 2012 Railway age 33

MaSSaCHUSeTTS

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November 2012

in Worcester and the Metro-West area,” Murray said.

Though Massachusetts assumed ownership Oct. 2, along with track maintenance, CSX will continue to dispatch trains on the line from Selkirk, N.Y., for at least six months, and possibly for as long as 18 months, one industry observer says.

Headwinds for South Coast

MBTA’s South Coast Rail Project has endured local political squabbling among municipalities—some welcoming passenger rail, others opposing it—but MBTA and MassDOT are determined to reintroduce service to Massachusetts’ southeastern section, which includes the cities of Taunton, Fall River, and New Bedford.

MassDOT pointedly notes the three cities “are the only cities within 50 miles of Boston that are not served by commuter rail.”

MassDOT also notes that the expansion, currently projected to cost $1.9 billion, “has been extensively studied for almost 20 years,” with earlier efforts lacking critical input from the U.S. Army Corps of

Headed south: Amtrak trainsets pause at Boston’s South Station, northern terminus of the Northeast Corridor and a key focal point of MBTA’s expanding service plans for much of Massachusetts.

Engineers. A renewed effort in 2007 revived the project, and in March 2011 the Army Corps completed and released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).

The proposal currently is under review by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps. Gov. Deval Patrick has set a March deadline for completion of the permit application process. Patrick traveled to Washington in late September to meet with both agencies and express concern that the current project deadline of 2016 may not be met.

Opposition still lingers in various forms, including from anti-rail partisans and local Bostonians declaring the project as nothing more than a boondoggle, and even from some local pro-rail advocates objecting to plan specifics, including the site of a

Joseph M. Calisi

way across the length of the Bay State.

Three additional round trips are to be added next year, with a goal of 20 daily round trips by October 2013.

The expansion follows a $100 million state investment in the line, including state purchase from CSX of the rightof-way between Framingham and Worcester. Double-tracking the route is also anticipated.

CSX, in turn, is investing roughly the same amount to relocate freight operations to Worcester from Boston and to improve bridge clearances west to the New York State line, in order to facilitate double-stack intermodal operations, among other benefits.

“Since the restoration of limited commuter rail service to Worcester in 1994, the importance of linking New England’s two largest cities by passenger rail has been clear,” Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray said at a ceremony in Worcester Oct. 4.

“This finalized agreement with CSX marks a major milestone for transportation in Massachusetts as we deliver enhanced services for the growing demand of riders and support businesses and community development

proposed overnight storage facility for trains in Fall River.

Some infrastructure improvements already are in place, however. Last November a $20 million project to reconstruct three rail bridges in New Bedford, Mass., critical to the project was completed, assisted by federal Recovery Act Transportation Investment Generation Economic Recovery (TIGER) Grant funds.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick reiterated his support for South Coast rail last month even as the project became part of the political posturing between the two major candidates running for the state’s U.S. Senate seat in a contentious race.

agree is ill-equipped to handle current passenger demand, much less future growth. State officials are advancing a $43 million planning study to determine how to improve South Station to boost local and regional rail service.

Amtrak also uses South Station, the northern terminus for the Northeast

Corridor, adding to the strain.

But the study, funded by federal and Massachusetts sources, is expected to take years. MBTA and Massachusetts Department of Transportation are leading the project.

The constraints, ironically, come from capacity reductions in both track

The goal is to add more riders to a public transit system that is fourth-largest in the U.S., and No. 5 when measuring regional rail service as a standalone category.

South Station awaits aid

Most of the state’s regional rail expansion relies on Boston’s primary rail hub, South Station, which most observers

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space and building size during the 20th century, as railroads retrenched nationwide. The century-old South Station originally had 28 tracks, but now has just 13, while the station building itself has been reduced in size to a still-stately headhouse (photo at right) with some more modern (and more architecturally modest) wings attached.

Other setbacks have occurred, including a proposed deal to acquire the adjacent U.S. Postal Service facility; the proposal collapsed last February as the Postal Service, itself under fiscal duress, re-evaluated its options and withdrew its plans to depart from the site.

MassDOT says it will weigh “joint public-private development” over the station. Public open houses on redevelopment will take place this month as an Alternatives Analysis is compiled.

Infrastructure capacity constraints notwithstanding, MBTA service increasingly will include 20 HSP46 diesel locomotives arriving from MotivePower Industries, pulling 75 bilevel passenger coaches from Hyundai Rotem, though

delivery of those cars has slipped.

MBTA’s existing fleet includes 410 Kawasaki bilevel cars; MBTA adopted the bilevel concept earlier than many of its east Coast brethren, as well as push-pull capability for all its routes. ra

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Railway age

November 2012

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Boston’s South Station survives after more than 100 years.

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Washington Marriott Hotel February 4–5, 2013 Railway Age/Parsons

10th International Conference on

COMMUNICATIONSBASED TRAIN CONTROL

•Efficiency •Productivity •Safety

ConferenCe topiCs • innovation, sustainability, and the future • international railroad and transit project updates • CBtC/ptC user roundtable • Business operations and applications • CBtC upgrades to Mature systems • CBtC/ptC supplier roundtable • rf solutions for CommunicationsBased signaling

Why you should attend Communications-based train control (CBTC) is revolutionizing all modes of railway transportation, passenger and freight, by adding capacity, increasing train throughput, enhancing safety, and reducing equipment life-cycle costs. The Tenth International Conference on Communications-Based Train Control, presented

by Railway Age and Parsons, will provide status reports on exciting, state-of-the-CBTC projects and share information on initiatives to standardize this technology and insure interoperability.

MarKetinG opportunities: event sponsorships are available.

Contact Jane poterala at 212-620-7209 or email jpoterala@sbpub.com

For program updates visit: www.railwayage.com/conferences

February 4th, 2013

February 5th, 2013

Continental Breakfast | Sponsorship Available

Continental Breakfast | Sponsorship Available

Welcome William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief, Railway Age Tom Barron, President, Parsons Group

CBTC/PTC Supplier Roundtable Moderator: William C. Vantuono, Railway Age Participants to include representatives from Bombardier, GE Transportation, Thales Transport and Security, Wabtec Railway Electronics, Ansaldo STS USA, Alstom Signal, Siemens, and Invensys Rail

Keynote Address Tom Prendergast, President, MTA New York City Transit Project Updates, Rail (PTC) Moderator: David Thurston, Parsons • ETMS, North American Class I’s • ACSES, Amtrak Northeast Corridor • PTC, Metrolink/Caltrain

CBTC Upgrades to Mature Transit Systems Moderator: David Thurston • WMATA • BART • Copenhagen Coffee Break | Sponsorship Available

Coffee Break | Sponsorship Available Innovation, Sustainability and the Future Moderator: William C. Vantuono, Railway Age Luncheon | Sponsorship Available Luncheon speaker to be announced CBTC/PTC Owner Roundtable Moderator: William C. Vantuono, Railway Age Participants to include representatives from PATH, NYCT, Toronto, Copenhagen, Madrid, BART, Amtrak, North American Class I’s Energy Break | Sponsorship Available

Project Updates, Transit (CBTC) Moderator: William C. Vantuono, Railway Age • PATH • NYCT • TTC Luncheon | Sponsorship Available Tom Sullivan Memorial Award Presentation Luncheon speaker to be announced RF Solutions for Communications-Based Signaling Moderator: David Thurston, Parsons Program subject to change/augmentation

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Cocktail Reception | Sponsored by Parsons

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Please register me for Tenth International Conference on Communications-Based Train Control taking place February 4-5, 2013 in Washington, D.C.

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ConFeRenCe Fee: the registration fee for CBtC 2013 includes admission to all conference sessions, conference documentation containing all available presentations, and social events.

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conference attendees. these will be held until 30 days prior to the conference; those reserving after that date will depend upon room availability. We suggest that you contact the hotel directly at (202) 872-1500 for room reservations. specify “Railway age.” You will receive room confirmation directly from the Washington Marriott Hotel.

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Keeping it

straight

by Scott cummiNgS, PRiNciPal iNveStigatoR, ttci, foR Railway age

L

eft, right, or center? While this may sound like a political question, it is also an important issue for brake beam motion. Wheelset removals for thin flange have increased in recent years for some car series, and lateral shifting of the brake beams is thought to be a major contributor to this issue.

Most wheelsets condemned for thin flange have asymmetric wheel flange wear (AWFW), meaning that the flange thicknesses are vastly different between the two wheels in the wheelset. Asymmetries in common brake rigging designs cause the two brake beams in a truck to migrate laterally in opposite directions when the brakes are applied. Lateral contact between the brake shoe and the wheel initiates a wheel tread wear pattern that is nonsymmetric between the two wheels on a wheelset, eventually resulting in wheel flange wear.

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In response to the problem of AWFW, multiple industry suppliers have produced prototype products designed to reduce the lateral shifting of brake beams, including the following: • Brake beam unit guide wear liners that reduce the lateral clearance between the brake beam end extensions and the unit guides in the truck side frames through an increased material thickness on the lateral surface(s) or with a lateral spring.

• Brake beams with a lateral spring in the end extension on one side.

• Asymmetric brake shoes that are wider on the side of the brake shoe nearest to the wheel flange.

Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI) recently conducted tests of these products as part of the Association of American Railroads’ Strategic Research Initiatives Program on improved brake system performance. The tests were

TTCi

designed to determine the effectiveness of the products in reducing lateral brake beam shifting while maintaining brake functionality. The testing was conducted with the worst-case (or near-worst-case) scenario conditions for brake beam binding. Each brake configuration was tested dynamically by applying and releasing the brakes while the car was in motion over tangent zones and curves as sharp as 12 degrees. Lateral brake beam displacement and brake shoe forces were measured using instrumented brake shoes.

Test results showed that the prototype brake beam unit guide wear liners were highly effective at reducing lateral brake beam shift. The brake beams with a lateral spring in one brake head reduced lateral brake beam shifting during minimum service and moderate brake applications. The

asymmetric brake shoes were effective when paired with wheels with AAR-1B wide flange profiles.

The brake functionality of the prototype products was evaluated using average and maximum brake shoe forces. The average brake shoe force of each configuration was compared to the average brake shoe force in the baseline condition. This gives an indication of the overall effect of any additional friction or changes in efficiency due to the design changes. The average brake shoe force for each configuration was at least 90% of the baseline value for all applications of 30 psi or greater brake cylinder pressure. In all cases, the average brake shoe force was within 95 pounds of the baseline configuration.

In several instances, the prototype wear liner configurations produced a slightly higher average brake shoe force than the

Asymmetrically worn wheel profiles

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baseline configuration. This is likely due to the pinching action of the side frames on the brake beams, when there is no clearance. This raises two potential issues: (1) proper brake release and (2) individual brake shoe forces reaching levels of concern. Based on review of the time history plots of the applications and releases, the brake shoe force dropped as appropriate for every brake release of every configuration.

Two instances were observed where the highest brake shoe force exceeded 110% of the baseline configuration value during minimum service brake applications. These forces were within 90 pounds of the brake maximum brake shoe force developed for the baseline condition. Thus, none of the small differences in the average and maximum brake shoe forces observed during testing of the prototype brake products compared to the baseline

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Long-term field trials are a necessary step to provide data regarding the effectiveness of the products to reduce asymmetric wheel flange wear.

configuration were sufficient to cause concern in terms of brake functionality.

Although many of the products successfully reduced the lateral shift of the brake beams, this testing does not prove the ultimate effectiveness of the products to reduce AWFW. This is because lateral brake beam shift is not the only factor inducing AWFW. Other factors, for example, are shoe width and rate of flange wear. Long-term field trials are a necessary step to provide data regarding the effectiveness of the products to reduce AWFW. At least some of the products tested

by TTCI are undergoing limited field evaluations to assess the effectiveness of the products to reduce AWFW. TTCI plans to monitor results from these field evaluations and conduct additional testing in the near future with shorter brake beams and different truck designs and conditions. RA

Three-sided Traffic soluTion BNSF routes more trains via Stampede Pass to maximize capacity in Washington State.

Ross Fotheringham

B

NSF Railway in mid-2012 commenced a program of semi-directional running on select lines in the Pacific Northwest to relieve congestion and reduce conflict between opposing fleets. It’s called the “Iron Triangle,” a combination of three basic route segments in Washington State that will now handle more of their trains in a single direction, acting like a gigantic roadway roundabout.

The bottom of the triangle is BNSF’s line from Pasco west to Vancouver, Wash. (221 miles). The left side is from Vancouver north to Auburn (155 miles). And the right side is Auburn southeast to Pasco (230 miles). A special crew pool has been assigned to move trains around this triangle in a clockwise fashion.

Key to this modified operating plan was BNSF’s recent investment in trackwork—$26 million in new ties, rail, and surfacing—on portions of its Stampede Pass route across south-central Washington. During the initial weeks of the Iron

By BRuce Kelly, coNtRiButiNg editoR Triangle operation, BNSF Director-Public Affairs (Seattle) Gus Melonas said, “The Triangle design could add additional traffic above current volumes that operate over Stampede.”

Predecessor Burlington Northern had closed Stampede Pass in 1983 during a period of economic recession. BNSF reopened Stampede in 1996 to gain capacity for anticipated traffic growth in and out of the Seattle/Tacoma area, investing close to $150 million in new track and other improvements at that time. But the pass has 2.2% grades on both slopes of the Cascade Mountains, and its 1.8-mile long summit tunnel has not been enlarged to accommodate doublestack container trains. The past 16 years have seen Stampede used mainly as an overflow outlet for a small number of manifests and empty coal or grain trains that would otherwise clog BNSF’s two other east-west routes across Washington. But traffic on Stampede Pass has now increased, thanks to the Iron Triangle. “We are utilizing the November 2012 Railway age 43

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route for coal empties, grain in empties, Troubleshoot the field with some tank empties, locals, plus SparkChaser equipment merchandise as necessary—whatever livewire™ innovation offers SparkChaser™ Fault Finding and traffic demands dictate,” Melonas says.

Cable troubleshooting field test equipment, available for The bulk of BNSF’s Northwest immediate shipment.

“The livewire SparkChaser is the first intermodal traffic will continue to portable wiring tester capable of identifying and pinpointing use the more northerly Stevens Pass the location of Spokane wiring faults, route between and including the portsarc faults, on live and unpowered systems,” says livewire CeO Ron Vogel. of Seattle/Tacoma. This lane also The SparkChaser Dynamic TDR utilizes advanced Spread handles automobiles, aircraft Spectrum Time Domain Reflectometry (SSTDR), which allows assemblies for Boeing, one manifest it to work on live cables, energized at industry typical each way daily, plus the Seattle voltages, to find exact locations of faults, opens, shorts, or section of Amtrak’s Empire Builder. intermittent arc faults in switching equipment, rolling stock Running time through the 7.8-mileindustrial, or light rail. long summit tunnel beneath Stevens SparkChaser has a touch screen interface, easy-to-use Pass limits two-way traffic on this controls, and is housed in a water- and dust-proof case that route to a practical capacity of 27 can withstand heavy industrial abuse. able to find faults in trains per day. Grades of 2.2% pose cable up to 8,000 feet, SparkChaser can be configured for an additional challenge, which specialized cable types and adapted in the field for all types explains BNSF’s long-standing policy of wire or cable environments. of routing loaded grain and coal trains The Pasco-Vancouver line along the For more information and to see video demonstrations on a longer but easier run via Pasco Columbia River, where grades are and to request a live demonstration, please visit www. and the Columbia River Gorge. relatively flat, has traditionally been the livewireinnovation.com.

Intermodal is the fastest-growing form of surface freight

transportation.

Join Marine Log and Railway Age April 2-3, 2013 in Baltimore for a special conference devoted to exploring the multi-modal approach to moving cargo efficiently—by rail, by ship, by truck. conferences@sbpub.com

Intermodal Age the new

Presented By

MARINELOG +

70 Railway age September 2012 44 2012 38 Railway Railwayage age November October 2012

conference & expo

busiest of BNSF’s three east-west routes in Washington, handling a fair number of manifests, loaded grain and coal, a

small number of intermodal and vehicle trains, plus the Portland section of the Empire Builder. Unit tank trains of Bakken crude oil began running here in late summer 2012, heading to a refinery located north of Seattle. One cause of congestion has been when this route sees empty coal or grain trains working east against westbound loads and other traffic. With the Triangle now in play, fewer of those eastbound empties will be using this route.

What led BNSF to implement the Iron Triangle in the first place? Studies commissioned over the past decade by the Washington State Department of Transportation and the Washington State Transportation Commission identified “directional running” as a potential solution to periods of congestion on BNSF and Union Pacific routes in the Northwest. However, directional running is not something

new to Washington state. Shortly after the merger that formed Burlington Northern in 1970, BN ran trains between Spokane and Pasco one-way on its former Northern Pacific route, and the other way on its former Spokane, Portland & Seattle route. During the cost-cutting era of the 1980s, most of the SP&S between Spokane and Pasco was abandoned, and the nearby NP route was upgraded to accommodate traffic in both directions.

Years later, a new form of directional running in Washington was considered, one that would involve a partnership between BNSF and UP on their lines southwest of Spokane. This proposal has not progressed much beyond the drawing board.

BNSF also examined the option of running some of its high-tonnage unit trains over the Cascades. During 2008

and 2009, BNSF moved several loaded grain trains via the Stampede and Stevens passes, which required the use of manned helper power or additional distributed power (DP) above and beyond the standard two head-end units and one or two DP units that are regularly assigned to such trains. Those experiments were short-lived. BNSF has not yet committed to regular operation of heavy, helper-assisted trains on these passes.

The Iron Triangle has helped BNSF overcome mountain barriers and reduce main line congestion in one shot. With more eastbound trains crossing Stampede Pass, the heavier trains carrying grain, coal, oil, and other merchandise can maintain a more steady pace westward down the Columbia River. According to BNSF’s Gus Melonas, “The design and flow are proving effective as planned.” RA

Visit www.railwayinterchange.org and watch the trade press for more details!

September 29 - October 2, 2013 Indiana Convention Center Indianapolis, IN The largest combined railway exhibition and technical conference in North America!

Mark your calendar now for this major industry event!

More than 340,000 square feet of indoor exhibit display space!

The Exhibition will feature products, services and equipment presented by the members of: • REMSA (Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association) • RSI (Railway Supply Institute) • RSSI (Railway Systems Suppliers, Inc.)

Technical Presentations by: • AREMA (American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association) • CMA (Coordinated Mechanical Associations)

Reserve Your Exhibit Space Now! Booth Sales Opened October 1, 2012

Registration Opens January 2, 2013

www.railwayinterchange.org

November 2012 Railway age 45

People

Meetings

HigH Profile Canadian Pacific has appointed Brian grassby Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective Nov. 1. grassby’s responsibilities will continue to include financial planning, reporting, and accounting systems as well as pension, treasury, tax, and supply services. CP says that under grassby’s leadership, in 2010 the company successfully completed the transition from Canadian to U.S. gaaP. Prior to joining CP as vice president and comptroller in 2001, grassby spent more than 14 years in finance at a large grassby Canadian Pacific Canadian electronics firm. He is a graduate in Commerce from Mcgill University and is a Chartered accountant. “CP is going through a period of exciting change,” said grassby. “i am honored by this opportunity and look forward to leading the finance team into the future.” grassby succeeds Kathryn McQuade, who will remain as a senior advisor to grassby until next May. “Kathryn and i have worked together for the past five years. i want to thank her for all her wise counsel and advice,” grassby said. CP CeO e. Hunter Harrison said grassby “will be instrumental in moving CP’s financial performance forward.”

January 9-12, 2013 NRC 35th Annual Conference & Exhibition

AMTRAK—Michael J. DeCataldo, Jr. appointed general Manager of Northeast Corridor Services.

Beth Whited, who has been promoted to Vice President and general Manager, Chemicals. David Connell named Regional Vice President, Northern Region, succeeding Blackburn.

Roy Schroer named Vice President, Human Resources.

DART—John Danish re-elected chair of DaRT’s Board of Directors. Paul Wageman joined the DaRT Board.

Mauro “Mac” Calcaño named Vice President, Human Resources.

SUPPLIERS

GENESEE & WYOMING INC.—Richard H. Bott and Gregory S. Ledford appointed to gwi’s Board of Directors.

A&K Railroad Materials promoted Jim Huenefeldt to Central Region Manager, as the company consolidates its Midwest and Central sales territories.

KANSAS CITY SOUTHERN—Stephen Schollaert appointed Vice President Sales and Marketing, overseeing the Carload Business Unit for Kansas City Southern Railway.

MARTA—Keith Parker named CeO and general Manager.

MASSACHUSETTS BAY COMMUTER RAILROAD—John Orrison appointed Director of Operations Planning.

UNION PACIFIC—Diane Duren named executive Vice President; she previously was Vice President and general Manager-Chemicals. Joe Santamaria named Vice President engineering. Randy Blackburn named Vice President Transportation, succeeding Santamaria. Jason Hess named Vice President, National Customer Service Center, succeeding 46

Railway age

November 2012

Colo Railroad Builders appointed Conrad McMillan Director of Operations, Chicago Division.

FREIGHTCAR AMERICA named Robert S. Andress Vice President, Manufacturing, overseeing its new car manufacturing activities in Roanoke, Va., and Danville, ill.

NREC promoted Ken J. Cox to assistant Vice President, Operations.

Keith K. Batley has joined the company as assistant Vice President, Sales and Marketing. Batley reports to NReC President and CeO Steven l. Beal.

Parsons appointed Thomas E. “Tom” Barron Director of Strategic initiatives, leading infrastructure programs.

TTX Co. named Victoria A. Dudley Vice President and CFO.

loews Miami Beach Hotel, Miami, Fla. ashley Bosch, Tel.: 202-7151247; email: abosch@nrcma.org; website: www.nrcma.org/go/ conference.

January 23-24, 2013 Midwest Association of Rail Shippers (MARS) 2013 Winter Meeting Oak Brook Hill Marriott Resort, Oak Brook, ill. Bill Schauer, email: wrschauer@sbcglobal.net; website: www.railshippers.com/ regional/midwest.

January 24-25, 2013 9th Annual Southwestern Rail Conference Bernie Rodriguez, Tel.: 469567-9728; email: bernie@ texasrailadvocates.org; website: www.texasrailadvocates.org.

February 4-5, 2013 Railway Age/Parsons International Conference on Communications-Based Train Control washington Marriott, washington, D.C. Jane Poterala, Tel.: 212-620-7209; email: jpoterala@sbpub.com; website: www.railwayage.com.

100 YEARS AGO in

(NOVEMBER 1912) TRAIN ROBBERIES The northbound Shasta Limited of the Southern Pacific was stopped by robbers at Delta, Calif., on the night of Nov. 8, and the registered mail was rifled. The mail car of southbound passenger train No. 7 on the Louisville & Nashville was robbed on the morning of Nov. 8, north of Birmingham, Ala.

Products Purcell Systems offers enclosures for PTC wayside radios Purcell introduces two new thermally managed outdoor enclosures designed to house Positive Train Control (PTC) wayside tranceivers, affiliated electronics, and batteries.

The FlexSure FlX12-2420 houses 12 Rack Units (RU) of equipment (22 inches interior height), while the SiteFlex SFX05-1518 houses 5 RU of equipment. Both enclosures can house PTC wayside transceivers, aC and DC power management accessories, batteries, and optional backhaul switching electronics. equipment is accessible via front and rear doors. Both enclosures have cable access ports for transceiver and gPS antennas. Options for these enclosures include battery pedestals, various mounting brackets (pad, pole, or wall mount), aC and DC power conversion/distribution accessories, and numerous thermal management systems (direct air cooling, heat exchangers, air conditioners, and thermoelectric coolers).

For more information, call Purcell Systems at 1-509-755-0341, or visit the company’s website at www.purcellsystems.com.

ZTR’s ROVER RCL, KickStart aid locomotive operations ZTR Control Systems’ ROVeR™ locomotive Radio Remote Controls are designed to operate locomotives and other rail yard mobile equipment. each radio remote control system is designed as a customized solution for the application.

The product is feature-rich and fully portable, easy to install (in under an hour), ergonomic yet rugged, and offers excellent range. ROVeR transmitters are designed to smoothly operate locomotives as well as provide operator feedback on critical information. The ROVeR Touch transmitter incorporates a large touch screen for real-time feedback of information that can be responded to with the touch of a finger. The amount of information and options are completely customizable for your application.

ZTR also offers the KickStart battery assist, which uses

super capacitor technology to offload the starting amps required from batteries to start the locomotive. This results in more reliable locomotive starts and extended battery life. Kickstart supplements the locomotive battery during engine start-up to provide maximum energy at the beginning of the cranking sequence. “also, with less cranking time, there is less strain on the motor, which reduces maintenance and replacement costs,” says ZTR Rail Division Manager Matthew Scott. additional benefits include operation with weaker batteries, reduction in battery maintenance time, reduction in SmartStart® battery voltage thresholds, which increases aeSS shutdown time, and less time required to charge batteries. Contact ZTR, Tel.: 1-952-233-4340; email: railinfo@ztr.com; website; www.ztr.com.

November 2012 Railway age 47

RA Wrk Ste 1_2V 10 2010

10/15/10

9:18 AM

Page 1

T

oday’s railroads need cost-effective and flexible training choices. That’s exactly what The Railway Educational Bureau provides through Work Site Training.

Work site training allows you to: • Maximize your training investment • Reduce employee time away from the job • Reduce travel costs by having the instructor come to your location • Increase the skill level of your employees • Improve productivity • Achieve your training objectives • Utilize your in-house expertise, equipment, and facilities Some examples of training subjects include:

Freight Car Inspection and Repair • AAR Field Manual Familiarization Rules 1 thru 83 • Introduction to FRA Safety Appliances (Part 231) • FRA Freight Car Safety Standards (Part 215) • Draft system defects and repairs • Inspecting draft system and center sills (Hands-on) • Truck and Wheel defects. Roller Bearing and adapter defects • Hands-on Gauging/Measuring wheel and truck defects Single Car Air Brake Test • • • •

Fundamentals of Freight Train Air Brakes Single Car Air Brake Component Identification and Function Daily Test, Single Car Test and Special Tests Review AAR S-486 Single Car Air Brake Test Procedures

FRA Part 232 Brake System Safety Standards for freight and other non-passenger trains • • • • • •

Review Brake System Safety Standards definitions and extent of the regulations.

Class l Brake Tests – Initial Terminal Inspections Measuring Piston Travel Review piston travel decals Hands-on “Class l Brake Test” Performance Evaluation “Class l Brake Test”

Train Yard Safety includes: Rail Yard Safety Blue Signal Rules Moving rail cars safely Hands-on Demonstration Call us today to learn more about how we can help you!

800-228-9670

railwayeducationalbureau.com

The Railway Educational Bureau 48

Railway age

November 2012

Ad Index Company

Phone #

Fax

Email address

aldon Co.,

847-623-8800

847-623-6139

e-rail@aldonco.com

Page # 16

aReMa

301-459-3200

301-459-8077

marketing@arema.org

45

auto Truck

816-412-2131

816-412-2191

eschoenfeld@autotruck.com

18

Bhulai engineering Corp., lTD

+91 11 29227142

+91 98 10205022

neera@bec-group.com

11

Cyclonaire Corp.

402-362-2000

402-362-2001

sales@cyclonaire.com

18

Danella Rental Systems, inc.

610-828-6200

610-828-2260

pbarents@danella.com

15

Diversified Metal Fabricators

404-879-7885

404-875-4835

pkrohnert@dmfatlanta.com

5

ellwood Crankshaft & Machine

724-347-0250

724-347-0254

ecgsales@elwd.com

42

Fulmer Company

724-325-7140

724-327-7459

jroberts@fulmer.com

35

Helm Financial Corp.

415-398-4510 ext 1610

415-398-4816

bwind@hlmx.com

35

Herzog Railroad Services, inc.

816-233-9002

816-233-7757

tfrancis@hrsi.com

13

Holland Co.

708-672-2300 ext.382

708-672-0119

gpodgorski@hollandco.com

25

Hotstart

509-536-8667

509-534-4216

mfloyd@kimhotstart.com

C2

HyTROC

201-512-9500

201-512-9615

btapp@hytorc.com

17

Miller Felpax

612-865-9382

507-452-2463

davefisher@millerfelpax.com

14

Miner enterprises

630-232-3000

630-232-3055

sales@minerent.com

7

MTU

+1 248 560 8484

+1 248 560 8485

bryan.mangum@tognum.com

Nordco

414-766-2180

414-766-2379

info@nordco.com

29

3

ORX

814-684-8484

glenn@orxrail.com

C4

RailComm, inc.

585-377-3360

585-377-3341

sales@railcomm.com

32

Railquip, inc.

770-458-4157

770-458-5365

sales@railquip.com

24

Railroad Financial Corp.

312-222-1383

312-222-1470

tkruglinski@railfin.com

9

Rails Co.

973-763-4320

973-763-2585

rails@railsco.com

12

Railworks

866-905-7245

952-469-1926

jrhansen@railworks.com

30

Railway educational Bureau, The

402-346-4300

402-346-1783

bbrundige@sb-reb.com

37,C3,48

Siemens industry, inc.

800-SieMeNS

www.usa.siemens.com.transportation

20

Soft Rail

888-872-4612

sales@signalcc.com

36

Sperry Rail

203-791-4500

mnottelmann@mail.sperryrail.com

26

Thermo-Omega-Tech

732-996-8216

msorrentino@silcecommunications.com

41

Trackmobile llC

706-884-6651 ext.226

706-884-0390

jimcodlin@tra ckmobile.com

36

western-Cullen Hayes

773-254-9600

773-254-1110

co@wch.com

41

203-791-4512

The advertisers index is an editorial feature maintained for the convenience of readers. it is not part of the advertiser contract and Railway age assumes no responsibility for the correctness.

Advertising Sales MAIN OFFICE Jonathan Chalon, Publisher 345 Hudson St., 12th Floor New york, Ny 10014 (212) 620-7224 Fax: (212) 633-1863 jchalon@sbpub.com

AL, AR, IN, KY, LA, MI, MS, OH, OK, TN, TX emily guill 20 South Clark Street, Suite 2450 Chicago, il 60603 (312) 683-5021 eguill@sbpub.com CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, NC, PA, RI, SC, VT, VA, WV, CANADA – QuEbEC AND EAST, ONTARIO Mark Connolly 345 Hudson St., 12th Floor New york, Ny 10014 (212) 620-7260 Fax: (212) 633-1863 mconnolly@sbpub.com

AK, AZ, CA, CO, IA, ID, IL, KS, MN, MO, MT, NE, NM, ND, NV, OR, SD, uT, WA, WI, WY, CANADA – Ab, bC, Mb, SK Heather Disabato 20 South Clark Street, Suite 2450 Chicago, il 60603 (312) 683-5026 Fax: (312) 683-0131 hdisabato@sbpub.com

GLObAL ADVERTISEMENT SALES, EXCEPT ITALY, ITALIAN-SPEAKING SWITZERLAND, JAPAN, AND NORTH AMERICA Donna edwards advertisement Manager Suite K5 & K6 The Priory, Syresham gardens Haywards Heath, RH16 3lB United Kingdom +44-1444-416368 Fax: +44-1444-458185 de@railjournal.com.uk

AuSTRALIA, CZECH REPubLIC, HONG KONG, INDIA, KOREA, MIDDLE EAST, NETHERLANDS, NEW ZEALAND, RuSSIA, SCANDINAVIA, SOuTH AFRICA, SOuTH AMERICA, SPAIN, WORLDWIDE RECRuITMENT Steve Barnes international area Sales Manager Suite K5 & K6 The Priory, Syresham gardens Haywards Heath, RH16 3lB, UK +44-1444-416368 Fax: +44-1444-458185 sales@railjournal.co.uk ITALY, ITALIAN-SPEAKING SWITZERLAND Dr. Fabio Potesta Media Point & Communications SRl Corte lambruschini Corso Buenos aires 8 V Piano, genoa, italy 16129 +39-10-570-4948 Fax: +39-10-553-0088 info@mediapointsrl.it

JAPAN Katsuhiro ishii ace Media Service, inc.

12-6 4-Chome, Nishiiko, adachi-Ku Tokyo 121-0824 Japan +81-3-5691-3335 Fax: +81-3-5691-3336 amkatsu@dream.com CLASSIFIED, PROFESSIONAL & EMPLOYMENT Craig wilson 345 Hudson St., 12th Floor New york, Ny 10014 (212) 620-7211 Fax: (212) 633-1325 cwilson@sbpub.com

November 2012 Railway age 49

products & services Reidler Decal Corporation St. Clair, PA 17970 Fax: 570-429-1528 marketing@reidlerdecal.com The Federal Railroad Administration's proposed new delineator configuration

Reidler can help you comply with the FRA ruling by offering prismatic reflective yellow delineators that meet their specifications.

• 4" x 150 fl Rolls (kiss-cut available) • 400 candlepower retroreflection • Application instructions provided

proFessioNAL directorY

strAteGic PLANNiNG: • Commuter rail tranSitionS • fra ComplianCe programS • operationS auditing

Kansas City Office (913) 661-2424 oPerAtioNs trAiNiNG & coNsULtiNG: www.tcsrailservices.com • engineer training & CertifiCation other services: • exCellent HiStory witH fra, ntSB • Staffing • interim management • meCHaniCal & part 238(Qmp)

Give us a call at 800-628-7770 for more information The Leader in Railroad Markings since 1926

recruitMeNt

EDNA A. RICE, EXECUTIVE RECRUITER, INC (713) 667-0406 FAX (713) 667-1651 Web address: www.ednarice.com Email: resume@ednarice.com

EDNA A. RICE, President 6750 West Loop South Suite 735 Bellaire, Texas 77401-4111

trAiNiNG

Part 243 Training & Certification Part 242 Conductor Training Part 240 Engineer Training and re-certification -------------------------------------------------------Modoc Railroad Academy 916-965-5515 info@modocrail.com

Trainers and Training Developers The Railway Educational Bureau is in the process of creating a training and development database to be used as a resource for the railroad industry.

If you have experience training in an instructor-led environment and/or developing training materials for the rail industry, and are interested in becoming a part of our group, please send your resume to:

Brian Brundige The Railway Educational Bureau 1809 Capitol Avenue Omaha, NE 68102 50 Railway age

November 2012

Craig Wilson Sales Representative phone 212.620.7211 fax 212.633.1325 cwilson@sbpub.com

equipMeNt sALe/LeAsiNG

Available For Lease

◆ 4,200 cu. ft. Gondolas - Interior bracing removed and tub bottoms reinforced for C&D, coke, scrap, aggregates, etc. ◆ 3,600 cu. ft. Open Top Hoppers.

45 degree slopes for aggregate or coke service, etc.

ATTENTION CONTRACTORS, ENGINEERS, AND AGENTS Wanted to buy – all railroad scrap you have.

Wanted: car bodies for 150- and 300-ton railroad cranes. Also heavy lifting and hauling of large loads over the road. 24 hrs emergency repound unit. Environmental clean up train wrecks, construction-demolition-HAZMAT chemical cleanup.

Railroad car cut-up. Also, engines cut too. Bridges torn down and replaced with new structures.

No job too big or small.

USA Kentock Group Ltd, contact Jerry Stanton for quote or email jerrystanton95@gmail.com. Fax or call: phone 215-285-2930, 267-997-8133, fax 215-864-9665.

Contact us for all your railroad needs.

◆ 3,915 cu. ft. Pressure Differential (PD) Covered Hopper Cars.

For additional information and pricing, please contact John Goodwin phone (605) 582-8318 fax (605) 582-8304 www.carmathinc.com e-mail jgoodwin@mwrail.com

eMpLoYMeNt

Notices

ANNOUNCEMENT

Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc. announces its proposed overall Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Goal for federal fiscal year 2013. The proposed goal and its methodology are available for inspection during normal business hours at the company’s headquarters for thirty (30) days following the date of this notice. EMD and the U.S. Department of Transportation will accept comments on the goal for fortyfive (45) days from the date of this notice at the following address: 9301 West 55th Street, LaGrange, Illinois 60525

Signal Engineers and CAD Operators Isis Consultants is seeking experienced senior or junior railroad signal engineers and CAD operators for its Louisville, KY office and nationwide. Isis offers competitive pay with health, dental, vision and life insurances and a 401K program. Send resume to: lburkhardt@isis-llc.com

Find your rail industry job opportunities at www.rtands.com &

The Texas and Northern Railway Company, a Subsidiary of Transtar, Inc., located in Lone Star, TX, is Seeking candidates for the following position:

www.railwayage.com

Track Supervisor – 2983BR Please review position qualifications and submit your resume through the Employment Opportunities section of our website at www.tstarinc.com Transtar is an Equal Opportunity Employer

November 2012 Railway age 51

Financial Edge aNthoNy KRugliNsKi

A valuation expert takes a long-term view

T

o many people, this writer included, rail equipment valuation experts are among the keystones of the foundation of our industry. We need them to organize inspections of railcars and locomotives, and to validate the values placed on equipment by buyers and sellers. The three top appraisal firms in North America—Railroad Appraisal Associates, RailSolutions, Inc., and Biggs Appraisal—all do a great job in a generally time-pressured environment.

This month, I thought I would share some thoughts from Ed Biggs on how he positions himself to render valuation verdicts on railcars and locomotives when the market values for this rolling stock swing wildly at times.

Kruglinski: You have an interesting take on appraising rail equipment. Can you share it with us?

Biggs: When I was in the leasing industry, we would sometimes find appraisers who were, in my opinion, a year or more behind the market for individual equipment values. In my business today, I work continuously to be sure my knowledge base is such that I am out in front of where the market is going at any given point in time.

Kruglinski: An example?

Biggs: Weather has had a considerable effect on two of the railroads’ major commodity groups: utility coal and grain. Weather taken with several key measurements of railroad performance can give you an idea if the demand for rail equipment will change.

Utility coal has been impacted by weather, railroad performance, politics, and the increasing availability of natural gas, an alternative fuel. We have seen an uptick in unit train loadings of utility coal that started in August, in the normal ramp-up period to winter.

Unlike other periods, we have not seen 52

Railway age

November 2012

all stored unit trains come out of storage yet. Stored utility unit coal trains are a factor in the reported 309,000 cars, or 20.2% of the current freight car fleet, in storage.

Kruglinski: You factor these things into your view of railcar value?

Biggs: Absolutely. North American Class I performance on average has been in the well-oiled-machine category for most of the year and is likely to stay that way. The three key performance measurements for all Class I’s are 1) an average velocity increase of 7.3%, terminal dwell time down 7.5%, and cars on line down 4.2%. Utilities I have talked with have been reluctant to add trains to the network as they do not want to slow the system down.

“I work to ensure that my knowledge base is such that I am out in front of where the market is going.”

Industry sources report that, recently, average monthly natural gas prices for electric generators have grown by 34%, while coal prices fell slightly. These same sources expect that coal-fired electricity generation will increase by nearly 10% for the remainder of this year. Natural gas generation will fall by a similar amount. Equipment values should reflect coal regaining some of its market share.

The exceedingly hot dry summer impacted crop yields in the grain belt.

Yes, the harvest was smaller than last year’s record crop, but that has not translated into large numbers of grain hoppers in the market. The recent offlease grain hopper sales market has been small groups that have moved quickly. It appears likely that both the C113 and C114 types that come into the market will continue to move quickly.

A long-term view of value causes us to consider that we have significant numbers of coal and grain cars in storage; very few of them are actually without a lease. Some of the 263,000-pound-gross-rail-load utility coal equipment that has come off longterm lease has been scrapped this year, but some of these cars have moved into shuttle trains where their lower capacity is not so much of a factor.

Kruglinski: What about short-term events and car values?

Biggs: The current forecasted mild winter in the Midwest can very quickly be blown away with an Alberta Clipper, and most of the long-term players in shipping prefer to be a bit long on equipment rather than short.

Kruglinski: Having a long view of factors that will, or could, impact car values is only part of the equation of valuation. In my mind, the real key is having the years of experience that gives the best valuation experts the base of information on past car values and value fluctuations. When you have that base, you can layer in the market future of which you have been speaking.

Biggs: Absolutely.

For those of our readers who would like to contact Ed Biggs, he can be reached at ebiggs@biggsappraisal.com; website www.biggsappraisal.com.

Do you have the most up-to-date FRA Regulations?

Reb Says...

Use this handy index to verify that you have the most up-to-date version of the FRA regulations. The left-hand column lists the FRA Part number and the right-hand column list the latest revision date. Items highlighted in red denotes recent changes. (IFR = Interim Final Rule) FRA Part #

Last Update Effective:

FRA Part #

Last Update Effective:

FRA Part #

Last Update Effective:

40 . . . . . . . . .10-3-12 209 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 210 . . . . . . . .8-14-89 211 . . . . . . . .7-20-09 213 A-F . . . . .6-25-12 213 G . . . . . .6-25-12 214 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 215 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 216 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 217 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 218 . . . . . . . .6-25-12

219 220 221 222 223 224 225 228 229 230 231

. . . . . . . .6-25-12 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 . . . . . . . .6-25-12

232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 242

. . . . . . . .6-25-12 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 . . . . . . . .8-13-12 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 . . . . . . . .7-13-12 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 . . . . . . . .6-25-12

DATES: The rule is effective October 3, 2012.

The following is a list of booklets reprinted from the Department of Transportation Code of Federal Regulations 49 CFR Parts 200 to 399 that apply to the rail industry.

They are printed in a convenient format and are kept current with updates from the Federal Register which may be supplied in supplement form.

50 or Item FRA Code Part # more Each

209 211 BKTSSAF 213 BKTSSG 213 BKWRK 214 BKFSS 215 BKROR 217 218 BKRRC 220 BKEND 221 BKSEP

Railroad Safety Enforcement Procedures & Rules of Practice Track Safety Standards (Subpart A-F) Track Safety Standards (Subpart G) Railroad Workplace Safety Railroad Freight Car Safety Standards Railroad Operating Rules and Practices Railroad Communications Rear End Marking Device, Passenger, Commuter & Freight Trains BKHORN 222 Use of Locomotive Horns BKRFRS 224 Reflectorization of Rail Freight Rolling Stock BKHS 228 Hours of Service BKLSS 229 Locomotive Safety Standards BKSLI 230 Steam Locomotive Inspection BKSAS 231 Railroad Safety Appliance Standards BKBRIDGE 237 Bridge Safety Standards BKLER 240 Qualification and Certification of Locomotive BKCONDC 242 Conductor Certification BKBSS

232

Brake System Safety Standards

26.40

8.95 8.55 8.55 6.25 8.55

8.25 7.85 7.85 5.85 7.35

4.15 3.50

3.80 2.75

12.25

10.95

5.25 9.40 10.00 19.95 8.35 5.25 11.75

4.75

10.00

25 or more

13.75

12.50

BKPSS

Passenger Safety Standards 20.80 Part 238, 239 - Order 25 or more and pay only $18.95 each

BKSTC

Signal and Train Control Systems Includes Part 233, 234, 235, 236 Order 25 or more and pay only $16.00 each

BKMPIE

Motive Power & Equipment Inspection Under Revision Defect codes for 215, 218, 223, 229, 231, 232 Coming Soon!

1809 Capitol Ave, Omaha, NE 68102

Fax: (402)346-1783 • Email: orders@transalert.com

Mech. Dept. Regs.

BKMFR

46.00

Drug and Alcohol Regulations "Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs" and "Control of Alcohol and Drug Use." Both regulations are in one book. Softcover.

Spiral bound. 87 pages.

BKCAD

Drug and Alcohol

$35.00

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. 114 pages.

BKTSSAF

Track Safety Standards

$8.95

Order 50 or more and pay only $8.25 each

17.50

35.00

$26.95

Order 25 or more and pay only $24.50 each

9.00

Each

Technical Manual for Signal and Train Control Rules.

Includes Part 233, 234, 235, 236 - Spiral Bound Order 25 or more and pay only $39.10 each

The Railway Educational Bureau

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

Part Title 210 Railroad Noise Emission Compliance Regulations 215 Freight Car Safety Standards 216 Emergency Order Procedures: Railroad Track, Locomotive and Equipment 217 Railroad Operating Rules 218 Railroad Operating Practices - Blue Flag Rule 221 Rear End Marking Device-passenger, commuter/freight trains 223 Safety Glazing Standards 225 Railroad Accidents/Incidents 229 Locomotive Safety Standards 231 Safety Appliance Standards 232 Brake System Safety Standards

7.85 4.75 11.00

BKTM

Drug and Alcohol Regulations in the Workplace Part 40 & 219

Mechanical Department Regulations

9.00

Each

BKCAD

49 CFR Part 40, Drug and Alcohol Regulations: This rule adopts as final, without change, a May 4, 2012, interim final rule (IFR) which no longer requires laboratories and Medical Review Officers (MRO) to consult with one another regarding the testing for the presence of morphine when the laboratory confirms the presence of 6-acetylmorphine (6-AM). Also, laboratories and MROs will no longer need to report 6-AM results to the Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance (ODAPC). This rule also responds to comments on the IFR.

Order Now!

800-228-9670 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. C.S.T., Monday/Friday

www.transalert.com

Add Shipping & Handling if your merchandise subtotal is: UP TO $10.00 10.01 - 25.00

Add $4.10 Add 7.20

25.01 - 50.00 50.01 - 75.00

Add 9.80 Add 10.90

Orders over $75, call for shipping

*Prices subject to change. Revision dates subject to change in accordance with laws published by the FRA. 11/12

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