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Statistics don’t lie, but those who like to play magic tricks with numbers often twist statistics to suit their own agendas. “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics” is a wellknown saying attributed to Mark Twain. He was actually quoting British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (1874-1880)—who might have never said it in the first place.
Who knows? Maybe Leonardo da Vinci said it first. “Esistono tre tipi di bugie: bugie, maledette bugie e statistiche.”
So much for free Collins Dictionary online English-to-Italian translations. Two days before we went to press with this issue, the Association of American Railroads issued its Preview Guide to 2023 FRA Rail Safety Data, whose intent is to help those who “analyze and contextualize” the information, “which can be difficult to interpret.”
That’s a polite way of way of saying, “These statistics are user-friendly to anyone who wants to paint a frightening picture of the railroad industry.”
Imagine Edvard Munch’s 1893 The Scream set on railroad tracks.
“Even the most well-intentioned attempts to accurately interpret and share this data can contain serious flaws, because the data itself is complicated,” AAR noted. “And in many instances, context—including changes in reporting thresholds, operating procedures and definitions of key terms—is critical to accurately portray the current state of freight rail safety.”
So, even if the well-intentioned can scramble the facts, imagine what the illintentioned can do (and they’ve been doing it, over and over).
“Troublingly, the FRA has failed its communications mission in not making clear that the majority of mandatorily reportable rail accidents are the equivalent of fender benders, and that the majority of mandatorily reportable derailments are minor incidents occurring in rail classification yards,” comments Capitol Hill Contributing Editor Frank Wilner. “Unlike the independent NTSB and STB, which are meticulous in attention to facts and detail, Executive Branch agencies such as the FRA too often succumb to a political agenda in their presentation of data.”
“Year-over-year measures inform how rail carriers can focus their efforts to continuously improve rail safety across their networks, and it provides realistic benchmarks for future progress,” AAR accurately points out. “However, the better measure of overall rail safety is reflected in the historical trendline.”
How many well-intentioned people will cite a trendline? Very few. How many illintentioned? Zero.
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“In January, severe winter weather significantly disrupted railroad and rail customer operations in much of the country,” the Association of American Railroads reported last month. “Moreover, uncertainty remains in the economy, especially in sectors that are important to railroads, like manufacturing. Because of these factors, January is not necessarily a harbinger of what’s to come for rail traffic in the months ahead. That’s important to note, because total carloads on U.S. railroads fell 7.2%, or 79,725 carloads, in January 2024 from January 2023. It’s the largest year-over-year percentage decline for total carloads since February 2021 (another month when rail volumes were impacted by severe winter weather). Intermodal (which is not included in carloads) fared better in January: Intermodal originations were up 5.5% over last year, their fifth consecutive gain following 18 consecutive declines. Gains in intermodal are partly due to higher port volumes over the past six months. In January, six of the 20 carload categories the AAR tracks saw carload gains, led by chemicals (up 2.9%, their fifth straight gain); petroleum and petroleum products (their 16th straight increase); and primary metal products (carloads averaged 8,414 per week in January, the most in seven months). On the downside, U.S. carloads of coal fell 12.3% in January, thanks in large part to low natural gas prices and continued pressure on electricity providers to replace coal-fired generation.”
Railroad employment, Class I linehaul carriers, JANUARY 2024
(% change from JANUARY 2023)
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 122,677
% CHANGE FROM JANUARY 2023: +2.88%
Transportation (train and engine)
52,650 (+4.64%)
Executives, Officials and Staff Assistants
8,222 (+2.80%)
Professional and Administrative
10,380 (+2.97%)
Maintenance-of-Way and Structures
28,262 (+0.20%)
Maintenance of Equipment and Stores
18,208 (+2.33%)
Transportation (other than train & engine)
4,955 (+2.08%)
Source: Surface Transportation Board
CARLOADS
FIVE
FIVE WEEKS ENDING FEB. 3, 2024
TOTAL North American CARLOADS, JAN. 2024 VS. JAN. 2023
1,531,1591,636,233
TOTAL U.S. Carloads and intermodal units, 2015-2024 (in millions, year-to-date through JANUARY 2024, SIX-WEEK MOVING AVERAGE)
OHIO-BASED ANCORA HOLDINGS GROUP LLC, WITH AFFILIATES AND OTHER PARTICIPANTS, ON FEB. 20 LAUNCHED A FORMAL TAKEOVER ATTEMPT OF NORFOLK SOUTHERN, ANNOUNCING EIGHT PROSPECTIVE BOARD MEMBERS, A NEW CEO AND A NEW COO. Claiming that it will be able to drive NS’s share price up by about 65% to $420, Ancora, which recently acquired a $1 billion-plus equity stake in NS, launched a blistering attack on the Class I and current CEO Alan Shaw. The attacks on Shaw have been personal and vitriolic.
Ancora’s dedicated website, www. MoveNSCForward.com, has downloadable presentations, among which are ones titled The Case for Leadership, Safety and Strategy Changes at Norfolk Southern and Network of the Future Strategy.
Ancora is proposing former United Parcel Service (UPS) COO James Barber Jr. (above, left) as CEO and Board member, and career railroader Jamie Boychuk (above,
who until Aug. 4, 2023, was Executive Vice President Operations at CSX, as COO. Both are described as “proven leaders with operational and railroad industry expertise necessary to move Norfolk Southern forward.”
In addition to Barber, Ancora’s director slate includes Betsy Atkins, William Clyburn Jr., Nelda Connors, Sameh Fahmy, John Kasich, Gilbert Lamphere and Allison Landry. The octet has, according to Ancora, “deep experience in governance, finance, legislative and regulatory affairs, strategic transformations, transportation, and the railroad sector.”
Ancora pulled no punches in attacking NS, saying, “Norfolk Southern, which has exceptional rail workers and the country’s best customers, has suffered for years due to its Board’s poor decisions with regard to the company’s leadership, safety priorities and strategy. Since the Board announced its appointment of Alan Shaw as CEO, Norfolk Southern’s status as the worst Class I railroad has been solidified by leadership delivering industry-worst operating results, sustained share price underperformance and a tonedeaf response to the devastating East Palestine, Ohio derailment. The future looks equally bleak under Mr. Shaw, who has drawn the condemnation of policymakers and the skepticism of underwhelmed analysts and shareholders.”
NS responded publicly by stating, in part, “Coming out of the COVID pandemic, we dramatically improved our safety metrics and service product in each of the past two years. Indeed, we delivered our best intermodal service in more than three years in fourth-quarter 2023 and grew volumes in intermodal, which is our most service-sensitive business, by 5% on a year-over-year basis. We also significantly improved train velocity and dwell in fourth-quarter 2023, with both metrics reaching their best levels in several years.
“While there is more work to do to recover from the short-term impacts to margins, customers are seeing our progress. They recognize our commitment to delivering consistent, reliable service and are awarding us new business. We are now implementing the same Scheduled Railroading operating principles that improved velocity and
resilience in our intermodal network across our merchandise network, which accounts for two-thirds of our train starts. As we do so, we will reduce variability, complexity, and cost. That is our strategy in action.
“With our balanced approach based on the operating principles of Scheduled Railroading, we are committed to delivering top-tier revenue and earnings growth at industry-competitive margins. We remain confident in our ability to further grow volumes, improve service, and deliver longterm value for Norfolk Southern as well as our shareholders and customers.”
Wall Street’s reaction has been cautious. “We believe Ancora’s public escalation of its private dispute with NS’s board is evidence that 1) Ancora doesn’t see a path to a settlement without a commitment to management change, and 2) NSC’s board continues to back CEO Alan Shaw to give him and his longer-term growth strategy more time,” said Susquehanna Financial Group’s Bascome Majors. “Ancora’s proposal of Jamie Boychuk to join NS as COO was very much expected, though we see former UPS executive and rail outsider Jim Barber as CEO as a bit of a surprise. We believe investors would widely support handing Boychuk the operational reins at NS, and while we have tremendous respect for what Barber accomplished at UPS’s International business, we want to hear more about his plan for NSC as a railroad outsider.
“To be clear, we believe the ‘outsider as rail CEO’ plan is working very well at CSX, but also note there’s more operational heavy lifting to do at NS compared to CSX, which was operating extremely well under Boychuk when CEO Joe Hinrichs arrived in September 2022.
“Ancora’s takedown of NSC’s operating plan appears well-thought-out, quantitatively supported, and strategically avoids the simplistic ‘cut heads, plug in the other rails’ OR’ approach that could empower stakeholder opposition. In short, Ancora argues NSC should get back to PSR basics by simplifying blocking at origin, reducing car touches in the merchandise network, and focusing more on efficiently running highermargin manifest and bulk trains instead of prioritizing faster-growing but lower-margin intermodal across the network.”
ALSTOM has secured a €1.1 billion follow-on order for 103 metro trains for the Paris metro that will be funded by regional transport authority ÎLE-DE-FRANCE MOBILITY (IDFM). The MF19 trains will entirely replace the Line 13 fleet, plus some of the existing trains in service on lines 8 and 12. In December, IdFM announced that Line 13 would be the fourth on the Paris metro to be converted to automatic train operation (ATO). The steelwheeled MF19 trains are due to be delivered in the second half of 2027, with full automation of Line 13 at Grade of Automation 4 (GoA4) not expected until 2035. IdFM says an order to replace the remaining trains on lines 8 and 12, plus those on lines 3 and 7, will follow shortly. The latest order follows the signing of a €2.9 billion framework contract in 2019 for up to 440 trains. The initial order was for 44 trains for lines 3b, 7b and 10.
Chicago’s Metra has awarded a contract to Stadler U.S. for zero-emission, battery-electric (BE) single-level trainsets and as such “will be one of the first in the nation to operate this innovative technology.” The contract includes a $154 million base order for eight two-car BE trainsets, including engineering, training, and spare parts, with options costing up to an additional $181.4 million for eight more trainsets and up to 32 trailer cars, which could be added to the two-car trainsets to create three- or four-car trainsets. Metra received a $169.3 million federal CMAQ grant for the trainset purchase, which will cover the base order and some of the options. The BE trainsets will have low-level boarding and will be equipped with lifts to make them ADA-compliant. Each two-car set will seat 112 people, and each additional trailer car will provide seating for about 46. They will have open gangways so riders can move freely from car to car. The first trainsets are expected to be delivered in 2027-2028.
INC.,
through its operating subsidiary Duos Technologies, Inc., announced Feb. 22 that it has signed an Artificial Intelligence (AI) subscription agreement for AI detections with an undisclosed Mexican rail operator. The agreement, which also includes the renewal of the operator’s annual services and maintenance contract, now encompassing expanded support through Duos’ Preventative Maintenance Checks and Services (PMCS) Program and Field Services Support, will “empower the rail operator to enhance their current railcar inspection capabilities,” according to the company. The renewal agreement, Duos says, includes an annual subscription for an array of AI algorithms requested by the client who uses the Duos patented Railcar Inspection Portal (RIP®) and AI to “quickly and efficiently detect critical issues that could potentially lead to accidents or derailments.” As part of the agreement, Duos will provide maintenance and technical services for their existing RIP®, offering comprehensive support that includes field services to address break/fix issues and on-site preventive maintenance checks and services, along with spare parts provision. Duos was recently awarded a patent for this AI technology
“underscoring the high performance of Duos’ AI offerings, which have been developed using rail industry experts,” the company says. Critical AI-based defect detections are available to the customer within one minute or less of the consist passing through the inspection portal, “providing actionable intelligence for rail operators to make critical business decisions in record time.”
Southern California’s METROLINK last month reported that it will receive funds from the Carl Moyer Program to procure two zero-emission rail vehicles. The South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) Governing Board committed to supporting the 538-route-mile system by approving the funds, which are not to exceed $59.3 million. The Board also approved up to $87.4 million from the South Coast AQMD contingency grant award list to replace 12 earlier-generation Metrolink locomotives with lower-emission Tier 4 units. Metrolink in 2017 began operating EMD F125 Tier 4 locomotives. According to Metrolink, the additional 12 Tier 4 locomotives will replace older Wabtec MP36PH Tier 2 models that are still in service.
National Transportation Board (NTSB) Chairperson Jennifer Esposito Homendy can be a pain in the neck, and elsewhere. Celebrate that tenacity. It assuredly saves what cannot be calculated—injuries not su ered and lives not lost in preventable transportation mishaps.
Later this year, Homendy will lead the ve-member Board in reporting unvarnished results of NTSB’s exhaustive investigation into the causes of Norfolk Southern’s horrendous Feb. 3, 2023 East Palestine, Ohio, derailment and ery hazmat release while recommending improvements to safe train operations.
Surely unsurprised at Homendy’s reputation for transparency and steadfast adherence to just-the-facts conclusions is an equally strong-willed career civil servant— her father, Sante Esposito. At di erent times, father and daughter served Democrats on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (T&I)—Esposito, retired since 1998, as chief legal counsel; Homendy, from 2004-2018, as Democratic sta director for the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials.
A two-time President Trump nominee, she was Senate-con rmed to an NTSB vacant seat in July 2018 and in 2019 for a full ve-year term. President Biden nominated her for a three-year term as chairperson in 2021 for which she was Senate-con rmed. Both terms expire this year, although NTSB’s statute allows incumbents to remain until renominated and recon rmed or a successor is seated.
e ve-person Board currently has two vacant seats for which Biden nominees— Democrat Alvin Brown and Republican J. Todd Inman—are awaiting Senate con rmation. Other NTSB members are Democrat omas B. Chapman and Republican Michael E. Graham. At the independent (from Executive Branch) NTSB, members are expected to check their political leanings at the front entrance.
To those longer of tooth and knowing Homendy and her father, an Esposito family trait is su ering poorly the too-o en issue-shallowness of corporate lobbyists
overpopulating Capitol Hill. Add to this feature Homendy’s resolute skepticism of corporate types proclaiming safety a highest priority despite Wall Street’s pro t obsession that shunts safety to second banana status.
Nor is Homendy to be intimidated. At a January congressional oversight hearing into rail safety, Association of American Railroads President Ian Je eries ineptly sought to monopolize the record by beginning to answer a lawmaker’s question intended for Homendy. Abruptly, she cut him short: “ is question is for me and I’d like to answer it.”
Safety concerns pervade her being whether riding motorcycles or bicycles, training for triathlons, surviving without serious injury a violent rear-end highway collision, having a relative killed in a gradecrossing collision, earning international re ghter certi cation in hazmat training, working toward a private-pilot’s license, or quizzing her daughter’s school leadership on bus safety. In her “spare time” she is working toward a master’s degree in transportation safety administration.
During high school, she worked in Georgia Republican Newt Gingrich’s House o ce, sharing over dinner with family congressional events of the day. “Just because I work for the Democrats, doesn’t mean you should. Figure out who you are,” her mother and father counseled as she pursued a Penn State degree in humanities. In college, she worked for Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa., who later switched to the Democratic Party), and, a er college, she worked brie y for Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.).
Post-college government a airs experience with two trade associations—the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and American Iron and Steel Institute—provided Homendy with her rst regular paychecks and hands-on understanding of the role of lobbying and money in politics.
Her rst test in guring out who she is came in 1997 in a job interview with the American Federation of Labor’s Transportation Trades Department. How could the child of bluer-than-blue Democrats have worked on behalf of Newt Gingrich, who opposes child labor laws; or toiled for a trade group—NFIB—that opposes minimum wage laws and instructs small business on thwarting union organizing?
Her successful answer was her typical straight-forward approach: “Getting to know Republican arguments [makes me better able to cra organized labor’s legislative strategy].”
Teamsters President James P. Ho a Jr. similarly recognized Homendy’s background value, recruiting her in 1999 to research and write on international trade issues. Her growing resume led to her hiring in 2004 as Democratic sta director for the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials, succeeding Frank Mulvey, who had been Senate-con rmed to the Surface Transportation Board. Full immersion in rail legislative issues followed.
Within three years, T&I’s most senior
Democrats—Minnesota’s Jim Oberstar, West Virginia’s Nick Rahall and Oregon’s Peter DeFazio—gave Homendy liberty to dra and help negotiate what became the most signicant rail bills of the decade: the 2008 Rail Safety Improvement Act, mandating implementation of Positive Train Control, limiting train crew hours of service and tightening training standards; and the 2008 Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act (PRIIA), instructing the Surface Transportation Board to establish metrics and standards for Amtrak passenger trains hosted on freight railroad tracks.
By 2017, Homendy’s name—based on her increasing grasp of highway, maritime, pipeline and rail safety issues—was well-known across Capitol Hill. When asked if she would be interested in a DOT appointment, she rejected the opportunity—choosing to stay with the new Chair, Peter DeFazio: “No, I’m into safety.” Her goal, an NTSB appointment, soon followed.
Senate con rmation quickly followed Homendy’s NTSB nomination. Since her elevation in 2021 to chairperson, she has become a familiar face on television news following major transportation accidents— swatting away speculation; defending the sluggish nature of diligent science-based investigation.
She can be provoked, as she was when Je eries sought to monopolize a congressional-hearing microphone. Elsewhere, in a quiet evening setting amidst sips of hot tea, came a high-decibel “damn right, it’s
Accidents caused by human factors constitute the largest category [in rail]. Those who rely on human error as [an accident’s] cause aren’t seeing the full picture. Are federal regulations adequate to protect the public? Are [rail suppliers] doing enough? Is management doing enough?”
possible” response to a question of whether zero transportation fatalities are attainable. It’s accomplished, she said, through NTSB “investigations and recommendations that, if implemented, would prevent injuries and save lives.”
at NTSB has no statutory authority to implement its recommendations is not troubling, Homendy said, as modal agencies such as the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) “can determine if and how to implement them, ask for reconsideration or choose an alternative.” Frustration is perceivable, however, as almost 200 NTSB rail safety recommendations either await action by DOT and FRA, or were “closed with unacceptable [to NTSB] action.”
On Capitol Hill, where “no comment,” or “I’ll get back to you” is the verbal currency of legions of decision makers skulking from accountability, Homendy accepts that the “buck” stops at her desk. Among her shared convictions:
• “Accidents caused by human factors constitute the largest category [in rail].”
• “ ose who rely on human error as [an accident’s] cause aren’t seeing the full picture. Are federal regulations adequate to protect the public? Are [rail suppliers] doing enough? Is management doing enough?”
• “Everybody who could possibly have prevented an accident has a duty to take action to prevent that from happening again.”
• “We recommend freight railroads [as are passenger railroads] be required to install inward-facing cameras and collect 12 hours of continuous audio and video.”
• [Training of conductors and engineers] “should be on equipment that they will use and on the exact territory where they will be operating.”
• “Technology is a game changer when it comes to safety, but it should be used to supplement humans, not to supplant them.”
• “NTSB has no position on minimum crew size. We told FRA to collect data.”
• “We should all strive for shi ing passenger and freight transportation from our deadly roadways to far safer modes, like rail.”
• “We recommend that that FRA include union participation in its accident investigations [as does NTSB].”
• “Grade crossings are among the deadliest spaces in our rail system … the rate of collisions per million train-miles has increased by 34% over the past decade.”
If there is a maxim to be posted above the entry to the NTSB chairperson’s o ce suite, it might be words of Roman poet Virgil (70-14 B.C.): “Fortunate is he who understands the cause of things.”
Wilner’s new book, Railroads & Economic Regulation, is available from SimmonsBoardman Books at www.transalert.com, 800-228-9670.
FRANK
After more than 100 years, MSE continues to lead the way in its commitment to safety, growth and community outreach.
Celebrating more than 100 years of service, the 42-mile Mississippi Export Railroad (MSE) extends from Pascagoula to Evanston, Miss., and is the north-south corridor connecting CN and the east-west line of CSX. The Class III also interchanges with Norfolk Southern (NS) in Mobile, Ala., and Hattiesburg, Miss., and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) in Jackson, Miss., through haulage agreements, and the Port of Pascagoula, as well as with all carriers in Mobile. These connections and their alliances link the Gulf of Mexico to all points on the continent and beyond.
MSE began operations in 1922 when
Gregory M. Luce purchased and reorganized the defunct Alabama & Mississippi Railroad. Over the years, MSE has diversified its service offerings, generated new business opportunities, expanded its reach and increased its economic impact across the region. As a result, the short line has established itself as a
dependable and committed player in the industry, with a clear focus on ensuring another successful 100 years. Today, it is run by Luce’s great-great-granddaughter, Kate Luce Bourgeois, a Railway Age 2022 Women in Rail honoree, who assumed leadership in 2017 and continued expanding the business, forming a subsidiary, Mobile-based Alabama Export Railroad (ALE), in 2019. ALE also links customers worldwide with its connections to seven railroads, including CN, CSX, NS, CPKC, Terminal Railway Alabama State Docks, Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway, CG Railway LLC, and the Port of Mobile and APM Terminals. Together with ALE, MSE offers railcar and locomotive repair
Honorable Mention
From all of us at Watco
shops, railcar storage facilities, track maintenance and repair, transloading terminals, and more than 1,500 acres of shovelready industrial development sites.
Growth is a core competency of MSE, which aligns with its commitment to finding innovative ways to provide access to and solutions for its customers—from investing in development properties to enhancing services such as transloading.
MSE recently made a 132-acre real estate purchase that aims not only to grow the company’s operations but also to provide customers and potential customers with opportunities to expand their reach.
e Alabama Export Business Park is located less than 10 minutes from I-65 and Mobile’s APM Terminals. e property has the potential to develop a 1.6 million square-foot rail-served site near the Port of Mobile, which is the second fastest-growing port in the country. MSE is currently working through steps to obtain the CN Rail Ready designation for the Alabama Export Business Park. CN has engaged Austin Consulting, a Cleveland, Ohio-based industrial site selection team, to guide property owners through the necessary steps to verify the site’s readiness for development.
MSE currently operates two industrial parks that have become hubs for attracting new businesses and creating jobs in its community. The short line in 2023 began an expansion project at the Helena (Miss.) Industrial Park, where a new, state-of-the-art tank qualification facility will be located. The new facility will fill regional demand and create new jobs in Southeast Mississippi. Shop customers, including local and regional manufacturers, as well as car owners and lessors, will see decreased costs and increased asset utilization by eliminating transport to far-off repair facilities, according to the short line.
Safety is a top priority for MSE, which works with partners to enhance overall safety performance by implementing advanced safety protocols and fostering a proactive safety culture. Over the past 19 years, it has received the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association’s (ASLRRA) Jake Award with Distinction 12 times for having no Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)-reportable injuries and the Jake Award five times for performing better than industry average injury frequency rate. Continually reinvesting in infrastructure and safety, MSE has installed more than 20,000 new crossties in the past five years as part of its Track Maintenance Program. MSE also invests in its employees by providing training and development opportunities. “It is our philosophy that employees who feel valued and invested have a positive attitude, are more productive, and take ownership and pride in their work ethic,” the short line reports.
Other significant efforts include working with state and city officials to upgrade public highway/rail grade crossings.
MSE has also demonstrated its commitment to the communities it serves through outreach efforts. In 2023, it partnered with a local model railroad museum, educating young people on the values of S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) and how they relate to railroads. The short line’s locomotive fleet was featured in a commercial, which showcased a young boy going to work on the railroad with his father and dreaming of becoming a train conductor. Additionally MSE has
worked for many years with the Pascagoula High School’s College and Career Technical Institute Welding Program.
Besides being recognized by Railway Age , MSE has been honored by CSX with the Class I railroad’s 2023 Short Line Growth Award for traffic measured from July 2022 to June 2023, compared with the prior-year period. And it achieved second place in Percentage Lineal Growth, with a 164% increase from the previous year.
In 2023, MSE transported 6,000 carloads for the newly built Enviva Biomass pellet mill located in Lucedale, Miss. Enviva also partnered with the Port of Pascagoula and the state to develop a deep-water marine terminal in Pascagoula. At ALE, Ray-Mont Logistics is co-investing in a resin bagging terminal at the Port of Mobile that is expected to go online later this year.
Overall, MSE has achieved manifest carload traffic growth of 234% during the past five years.
Customer dedication is key to this regional’s success.
Operating more than 800 miles of track in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Company (W&LE) is one of the largest Class II’s in the country and the largest Ohio-based railroad. It interchanges with CN, CSX and NS, as well as 14 small roads.
is two-time recipient of Railway Age ’s Regional of the Year award (the rst was bestowed in 2004) is committed to operational safety. W&LE has reinvested more than $275 million since 2015, including the upgrade of all primary routes to Continuous Welded Rail (CWR) as of year-end 2023. Additionally, the railroad in 2023 was awarded two Ohio Rail Development Commission grants totaling $1 million
to aid in replacement of the 120-year-old bridge superstructure over State Route 7 in Mingo Junction. Once completed, the bridge will require less frequent and less intensive maintenance, thus reducing tra c delays for the more than 11,000 vehicles per day using State Route 7 and improving reliability for W&LE’s customers.
Under the leadership of Larry R. Parsons, CEO and majority owner since 1994, the regional also earned an ASLRRA Jake Award in 2022.
e railroad serves 100-plus customers in Ohio and Pennsylvania and handles more than 140,000 carloads per year, which include such commodities as aggregates, chemicals, coal, food products, furnace coke, grain, lumber, petroleum products, plastic products, scrap iron, and steel products.
Customers were behind W&LE’s 2024 Regional of the Year win. Warrenton River Terminal LLC Facility Manager Evan Fraley and National Lime and Stone Vice President Sales and Marketing Ken Dinwiddie nominated the railroad.
Warrenton River Terminal, located in Rayland, Ohio, was acquired by a new ownership team in 2018 and has since increased the number of commodities transloaded and shipped from two to more than seven, and has grown rail volumes into and out of the terminal by a factor of ve to eight times.
“W&LE has been a superb partner to work with at all stages of a transloading transaction,” Evan Fraley told Railway Age “W&LE has put us together with potential customers they have identified and worked
closely with others we’ve identified. ey have worked creatively with Class I’s, where they have been able to move cargo more e ciently or quickly, creating certain improvements in cycle times and resulting in improved reliability for rail customers. Operationally, W&LE demonstrates how
to enhance the value of a transaction for all parties while continually improving its own overall performance.”
For example, W&LE worked with the terminal to reload emptied rail equipment and ship it to another customer. “ is is how we’ve been able to create certain
e ciencies,” Fraley reported in his nomination. “W&LE has helped us together with one of their ag customers to transload urea from river sources to rail delivery on the W&LE. e railroad works with our operating folks continuously to avoid surprises and to provide equipment in a useful and timely fashion.”
Fraley told Railway Age that over the past two years, Warrenton River Terminal has partnered with the W&LE to expand its rail footprint, adding 3,100 feet of track and bringing total track capacity to more than 12,000 feet. “We were also successful in enabling another, unrelated company to build its own rail spur to increase tanker rail volumes for the W&LE,” he said. “All this serves to strengthen the W&LE and improve our mutual capabilities.”
“ e Wheeling Team led by Jonathan Chastek, President, and the Marketing and Sales Team led by Justin Crues, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, and their respective teams, have been nothing short of a pleasure to work with,” Fraley said.
“ ey have repeatedly demonstrated solid creativity together with a ‘can do’ operating attitude. We all recognize that any transaction needs to make sense and work for all parties.”
Fraley explained that when the terminal is ready to discuss a new customer, concept or product with W&LE’s marketing team, the railroad’s operational management team is brought in right away. In his experience with other carriers, that practice is less common, and new concepts are “o en dismissed by the operational folks at a later date,” he said. W&LE’s inclusive approach “saves time and engages all parties in determining if, how and when a project can move forward,” he said.
Commented Ken Dinwiddie: “W&LE prides itself on service by staying nimble and listening to customer needs.” e management and sales teams “go the extra mile to make sure they are equitable partners with their customers,” he reported. He added that W&LE is a leader: “ e Class I’s should take notes.”
Watco assumed operations of Eastern Idaho Railroad (EIRR) from Union Paci c in 1993. It operates across 358 track miles in eastern and south-central Idaho, serving customers in the Magic Valley region, which spans from near the Wyoming border to Twin Falls and further west. More than 80% of tra c is related to the agriculture industry.
EIRR’s focus on mutual growth with existing customers, creating new relationships, leveraging Watco’s logistics capabilities, and teaming with state and federal agencies for infrastructure investment has helped build business. In the past ve years, the short line has added nearly 11,000 carloads and at least eight new customer accounts; at least six customers signi cantly expanded existing rail facilities.
When an EIRR-served ethanol plant shut down at the start of the pandemic, the railroad partnered with the facility owner and Liberty Basin, a cattle feed company, to
redevelop the site. EIRR worked with the feed company to ensure that rail-served storage facilities could be updated. Liberty Basin then purchased the majority of the facility and began improvements, allowing the ethanol plant to resume operations with a test train in December 2020 and to ramp up production in early 2021. EIRR not only brought a new customer on line, but also helped to revive another, bring back and add jobs, and boost rail tra c.
EIRR collaborates with Watco’s Burley warehouse to serve the booming dairy market. Having the warehouse’s cross-docking and storage capabilities allows the railroad to support nearly every facet of the market: rebar for building barns and facilities, feed ingredients, milk products, and plastics for packaging.
Hauling wood our (recycled sawdust from lumber) incorporates another of Watco’s core service areas—logistics—when trucking is necessary, and supports Watco’s Boise Valley Railroad, where the producer is located.
As business has grown, better infrastructure
and increased capacity was necessary and made possible, in part, through a $7.5 million FRA CRISI grant in 2020. EIRR partnered with the Idaho Transportation Department to complete the $9.4 million investment.
At Gular Yard in Rupert where EIRR interchanges with UP, Watco in-house engineers and the EIRR m/w team designed and constructed a solution that would ease congestion, improve safety, and help the community. Four tracks were each extended by 2,876 feet, allowing the railroad to build trains within the yard. Wear and tear to the main line decreased because it was no longer used for switching, which had caused a two-hour delay each day for Rupert residents at a grade crossing. Now, the crossing is blocked for less than an hour per day. Two out-of-service tracks were also removed.
Finally, EIRR replaced the main line track through Rupert with CWR, and added a 7,000-foot passing track so three southern branch customers could receive regular unit train service. e projects were completed in 2023.
It
The locomotive market is in a state of flux with numerous options in multiple stages of design and test.BY WILLIAM C. VANTUONO, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Apologies for the all-tooobvious wordplays, but the market for batteryelectric (BE) locomotives is “all juiced up.” Likewise, for hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) power, “it’s a real gas, man,” regardless of whether the hydrogen comes in cryogenic (lique ed) or compressed form (p. 24). Hybrid locomotives, which employ a combination of diesel engines and batteries, and are capable of regenerative and external battery charging, are a promising blend of traditional and next-generation power. ICE (internal combustion engine) power that substitutes hydrogen for diesel fuel is another option. LNG (lique ed natural gas) is still around, though interest has waned with advances in battery and HFC technologies. And let’s not forget the healthy market for rebuilding
older diesel-electrics to fuel-e cient, greener Tier 3 standards. Acquiring new Tier 4 power is of course an option, but the cost is about double that of a remanufactured, upgraded unit. Follow the money that’s being saved.
It’s going to require a lot of time for the industry to throughly evaluate and prove out the options that can help it achieve the theoretical goal of “ZE” (zero emissions). Is ZE realistic? Well ... maybe. e only certainty is that the path to diesel-electric locomotive replacement with next-gen power will leverage a wide variety of technologies.
Sometime between 2050 and 2100, readers of 200-plus-year-old Railway Age should expect to see a mix of BE, HFC, hydrogen ICE, LNG, hybrid and traditional diesel-electric locomotives operating across North America in every possible
environment, from linehaul to classi cation yard to industrial switching, in an industry approaching 300 years old.
Without question, electric locomotives drawing power from catenary will continue to have an important role in passenger rail. e Northeast Corridor should have third-generation Acela trainsets and locomotive-hauled railcars operating alongside the latest NJ Transit, SEPTA, MBTA and MARC “motors,” with dual-power units in the mix. Caltrain’s ambitious electri cation program may be built out well beyond today’s startup phase. California High Speed Rail linking Los Angeles with San Francisco with 200-mph trains will hopefully be fully built out. And who knows? ere may be a few Class I freight railroads that decided to electrify, given an abundance of available wind, hydro-electric and solar power.
e EMD Joule, one of Progress Rail’s alternative propulsion initiatives, is available in ve con gurations, new or repowered (“R” nomenclature)—SD70J (6 axles, 8.0 MWh maximum battery capacity); SD70J-BB (8 axles, 14.5 MWh); SD40JR (6 axles, 4.0 MWh); GT38JB (4 axles, 4.0 MWh); and GT38JC (6 axles, 4.0 MWh). All feature regenerative braking for battery recharging. e modular EMD® Joule Charging Station provides stationary charging in 700- and 1,400-kW con gurations.
An SD40JR is now in the midst of a oneyear pilot program at Anacostia Rail Holdings’ Paci c Harbor Line at the Port of LA/ Long Beach. No 50, according to Progress
largest known battery capacity in the industry,” according to Progress Rail. In Australia, BHP Western Australia Iron Ore and FMG (Fortescue Metals Group) are this year each expected to receive two currently under manufacture at the company’s Sete Lagoas, Brazil facility. BHP’s test will utilize regenerative braking (“energy capture”) battery charging using natural topography to reduce overall power demand. On the downhill run to BHP’s Port Hedland facility from its mine in the Pilbara, the locomotives will capture regenerative braking energy to help power empty trains back to the mine, “a great illustration of how battery-electric locomotives can work in a heavy-haul environment.”
Hydrogen has “enormous potential,” says Wabtec, “but the transition is a complex endeavor that is beyond the capabilities of any single company.” e company’s hydrogen public-private partnerships include collaborative research and development agreements with Oak Ridge, Argonne and Sandia National Labs. Wabtec is also working with the Department of Energy O ce of Science to install a single-cylinder dual-fuel locomotive engine in the National Transportation Research Center on the Oak Ridge National Lab campus. is collaboration “presents exciting possibilities for the rail industry,” Wabtec says. “ ere is a large installed base of more than 20,000 locomotives that could be retro tted to burn
It’s going to require a lot of time for the industry to throughly evaluate and prove out the options that can help it achieve the theoretical goal of zero emissions.
Rail Director of Electrical Systems Sidarta Beltramin, is performing well in day-to-day operations alongside traditional units, sometimes in multiple-unit lashups but mostly as a standalone. e response from train and engine crews has been positive.
“PHL has been using the locomotive consistently,” says Beltramin “We’ve been re ning some features, and we’re obtaining more and more knowledge every day on how the unit is performing. In terms of what we expected from testing at MxV Rail and what the unit is delivering at PHL, its performance has been what we predicted. During testing, we tried to simulate worstcase scenarios that we could encounter in a real-world application. So far, the performance correlates well with what we tested, in terms of performance in general and how the batteries are functioning. It’s quite consistent. It performs or handles similarly to a diesel-electric unit, but it’s di erent because it’s quiet. We purposely con gured it to perform like a diesel so PHL doesn’t need to change its operating practices or retrain crews. We did not set it up to provide instant power. Rather, we matched the performance of the existing eet.”
e 14.5 MWh SD70J-BB o ers “the
Elsewhere, BNSF is expected to take delivery this year of up to four 8 MWh SD70Js. e acquisition is funded in part by CARB (California Air Resources Board) and EPA grant funding. Brazil’s Rumo Logística now has two EMD® GT38H intermediate-power meter-gauge hybrid locomotives in revenue freight service, following track upgrades, in a one-for-three subsitution (one GT38H replaces three diesels). ese use modular architecture to accommodate various energy sources, retain the capability of their diesel counterparts, and are capable of regenerative and external battery charging.
Progress Rail’s HFC initiative is a program involving parent company Caterpillar, BNSF and Chevron U.S.A. Inc., the goal of which is “to con rm the feasibility and performance of hydrogen fuel for use as a viable alternative to traditional fuels for linehaul rail. Hydrogen has the potential to play a signi cant role as a lower-carbon alternative to diesel fuel for transportation, with hydrogen fuel cells becoming a means to reduce emissions.” Design is progressing on a prototype.
Overall, on BE locomotives, Beltramin notes, “We are learning a lot, improving subsystems, so ware, and the behavior of the vehicle in real-world applications.”
hydrogen. is option would enable railroads to maximize the investment in their current eets, while converting the locomotives to a clean-burning energy source.”
e Argonne work is focusing on modeling hydrogen injection and combustion.
e four-year project will use the lab’s high-performance computers in collaboration with so ware developer Convergent Science, Inc., to develop simulation soware, to test and predict combustion engine behavior under changing operating conditions and hardware modi cations, speeding the development process. e Sandia work, funded by a federal grant, will develop proposed hydrogen standards and regulations for the rail industry. e Federal Railroad Administration and the Association of American Railroads Alternative Fuel Tender Technical Advisory Group also participated in Sandia research on safety and design requirements for hydrogen fuel locomotives.
Wabtec and Sandia documented the Risk Assessment of Design and Refueling for Hydrogen Locomotive and Tender, a project “that gives the regulatory community and industry vital information when developing technical standards for the hydrogen economy.”
e company is also active in the Fuel Cell &
Wabtec is utilizing a exible and growing portfolio of products and innovative technologies across its installed locomotive base and new assets to support customers’ sustainability goals and targets.
Hydrogen Energy Association “in informing federal policies, along with regulations, codes, and standards.”
Wabtec is also at work on HFC locomotives. “Hydrogen fuel cells do not yet have the power density to power a road locomotive,” the company says. “We are working with various suppliers to develop fuel cell solutions for locomotive applications.”
Hydrogen-powered locomotives “will require a complete infrastructure overhaul,” Wabtec stresses. “ e primary barriers to a hydrogen-powered rail industry include the high cost of green hydrogen in comparison to diesel fuel; lack of storage and refueling facilities that provide access to the fuel along rail routes; and railroad operational changes around safety procedures, crew and cra training, labor union agreements, maintenance, coordination with rst responders in the case of incidents and accidents.”
e Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) set aside $8 billion in federal funding for the development of the Regional Hydrogen Hub program at the Department of Energy.
is program aims to build out key components of the hydrogen infrastructure at seven regional hydrogen production hubs targeted to produce up to one-third of the hydrogen needed in the market.
Wabtec says it contributed to the DOE’s hydrogen hub implementation strategy and also supported applications to secure a share of government hydrogen hub funding.
e company worked with HyVelocity, a collaboration by non-pro t research organizations and academia on the Gulf Coast, and supported the Machh2 Alliance for the Midwest regional hydrogen hub.
“Fueling a locomotive with hydrogen would be time-consuming,” Wabtec notes. “It currently takes under 30 minutes to ll a 5,000-gallon diesel tank. Refueling an equivalent amount of gaseous hydrogen would take 6.5 hours, disrupting logistics, and negatively a ecting asset utilization. Yet even before the refueling issue can be addressed, locomotive operators need infrastructure that provides access to low-carbon hydrogen. Most hydrogen is produced via electrolysis, which
requires a ordable and abundant water and electricity. Rarely are these hydrogen production resources located near railyards, creating a transportation and storage challenge.
“With the appropriate safety features and regulatory support, rail could be the ‘virtual pipelines’ for the hydrogen economy of the future. Rail could easily connect to hydrogen production facilities with distribution networks that will fuel locomotives and other modes of transportation. Transporting hydrogen by rail is more cost e cient, faster to implement, and o ers greater exibility over pipelines than using trucks. Rail transport brings the fuel closer to users via existing infrastructure. Railcars used to transport hydrogen can also function as on-site storage tanks to further reduce infrastructure buildout costs. e infrastructure will also need equipment that meets railway standards for larger scale, heavy-duty applications.”
ere are numerous other programs to develop next-gen locomotives. Among them:
Dominion Energy, designated as the leader of a project funded by the Texas Military Preparedness Commission to improve energy resilience for rail operations at Fort Cavazos, Tex., has selected Innovative Rail Technologies (IRT) to provide its ATLAS lithium-ion battery-electric propulsion system. The project, which was the top-scoring proposal chosen for the funding and will result in conversion of one of the U.S. Army’s diesel locomotives to BE, “provides Fort Cavazos not only with a cost-effective way to update and expand mission capabilities of one of its aged legacy diesel locomotives with IRT’s state-of-the-art ATLAS propulsion technology, but also to collaborate with the electric utility service provider and federal, state and local government officials on base readiness, infrastructure resilience, community coordination, and environmental justice objectives,” according to IRT. “The battery system on ATLAS locomotives is capable of providing a significant source of backup power during emergency events, including cyberattacks, providing an additional layer of operational readiness.”
IRT has begun the rebuild of the Fort Cavazos locomotive and is expected to deliver it to Fort Cavazos by the end of 2024.
Palmetto Railways (PR), a division of the South Carolina Department of Commerce and Railway Age’s 2015 Short Line Railroad of the Year, is partnering with IRT to convert two diesel-electric switcher locomotives to lithium-ion BE power. The locomotives are expected to be delivered and begin service within two years.
In September 2023, PR received a $4.17 million FRA CRISI (Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements) grant for this project; PR will provide a 35% non-federal match. The conversion to BE is expected to reduce diesel fuel consumption at PR facilities by an estimated 40,000 gallons annually per locomotive, while “providing additional resiliency to the local grid infrastructure and to local rail supply chain partners and customers,” the railroad said. “The ZE locomotives will help maximize a cleaner and more energy efficient transfer and shipment of goods through Palmetto Railways’ existing North Charleston facilities and will support the Navy Base Intermodal Facility currently under construction with South Carolina Ports Authority.”
IRT, established in 2019, noted it “has a
rapidly expanding list of customers that includes Fortune 500 companies, ports, industries, and short line railroads. IRT works with its growing nationwide network of locomotive remanufacturers (ATLAS Authorized Installers) and can also provide ATLAS kits directly to customers for in-house remanufacture.”
In July 2023, Alberta-based Cando Rail &
Terminals began developing a BE switching locomotive through its Li-Ion 2025 Project, which involves retrofitting a non-tiercompliant diesel-electric locomotive with a lithium-ion battery propulsion system. The locomotive will be a “scalable solution customized for the company’s In Yard Operations (IYO) or closed-loop switching operations.” IRT is part of this project.
Hydrogen fuel locomotives will be critical to support zero emission on North American railroads. The HGmotiveTM compressed gas tender is intended to support this initiative.
BY GRACIELA TRILLANES AND PEDRO TOMAS SANTOS, HGMOTIVE™ INC.The global shi toward sustainable transportation has positioned hydrogen as a key player in clean energy, especially for long-haul rail applications where batteries are at best decades away from having su cient (or economical) energy stored to take a heavy freight train through long distances. e choice between compressed gaseous hydrogen and liquid hydrogen for fuel tenders is a pivotal decision, necessitating a thorough exploration of their respective advantages and disadvantages.
Compressed hydrogen, stored at pressures of 350 bar to 700 bar and ambient temperatures, boasts impressive energy density. Utilizing
lightweight, high-strength composite reinforced storage tanks results in a compact, weight-e cient solution. ese address critical considerations in the long-haul rail sector, where operating range, stability and overall weight are paramount.
With higher energy density than its gaseous form at ambient temperatures, liquid hydrogen demands extremely low temperatures (–253 degrees C or –423 degrees F, 20 degrees K from absolute zero) for storage. Only helium lique es at a lower temperature, making subcooling liquid hydrogen generally impractical and/or prohibitively expensive. is requirement necessitates advanced cryogenic systems and highly insulated tanks, introducing complexity and potential challenges for long-haul rail applications.
It’s noteworthy that hydrogen and helium are unique components in nature. When liqui ed, the density of the liquid is lower than cold temperature pressurized (cryocompressed) gas. is property, coupled with a melting point at –435 F and a boiling point at –423 F, necessitates a state-of-the-art insulation system to maintain liquid hydrogen and greatly limits the useful time before boiling necessitates repeated uncontrolled venting outside the container. is characteristic dictates a signi cant amount of tank space to accommodate boiling o and pressure increases within a lique ed gas tender. As they are not designed to hold high enough pressures, liquid hydrogen and natural gas tenders must limit internal tank pressure, resorting to frequent vapor venting. As the
liquid warms and vaporizes, periodic bleeding of the boiling gas becomes necessary to limit the inner safety pressure. Venting boil-o is a normal and harmless practice for some cryogens such as liquid nitrogen. However, there are substantial downsides from boil-o gas venting including environmental damage (vented methane is more than 23 times more potent of a greenhouse gas than CO2, and vented hydrogen can destroy helpful hydroxyls in the atmosphere). Furthermore, in the case of vented hydrogen, rapidly escalating safety issues could occur if this venting were to occur during a train stoppage inside a tunnel, for instance.
Figure 1 (right) compares the density properties of hydrogen in di erent storage modes. Hydrogen when cryo-compressed (the state in which the gas is compressed at a mild cryogenic temperature such as ~400% the temperature of liquid hydrogen) has higher density than the liquid form. Future tenders with cryo-compressed gas can provide the highest amount of energy in the same space, better than liquid. e ability to have higher density than liquid hydrogen obviates the “perceived” advantage of liquid storage. As well, the amount of energy to compress the gas for the tender is signi cantly lower than energy for liqui cation (Table 1, p. 28).
An established and mature infrastructure characterizes compressed hydrogen. Highpressure tanks, compressors, and pipelines, widely used in various industries (in particular, re neries), reduce entry barriers for adopting compressed hydrogen in long-haul rail, leveraging existing systems.
Introducing liquid hydrogen may require specialized infrastructure due to its extreme cryogenic nature, including dedicated storage facilities, insulated containers and transportation systems. is complexity can result in higher upfront infrastructure costs. Furthermore, the energy intensity means very large machinery will be needed. ere’s a mixed track record of the performance of liquid hydrogen plants, with some drastically underperforming the daily liquefaction volumes vs. planned.
Compressed hydrogen systems have a strong safety track record. Industry standards mandate robust safety features, including
pressure relief devices, leak detection systems and durable materials, enhancing storage and transport reliability. ere’s substantial experience in hydrogen production for fertilizers and petrochemicals.
e ultra-deep cryogenic temperatures and narrow storage range of liquid hydrogen introduce unique safety challenges. Despite advanced insulation and safety protocols, the potential for leaks and the need for specialized handling procedures underscore the importance of comprehensive safety measures. Liquid hydrogen is used in specialized applications where the cost is not
important, and where the increase of internal tank pressure due to liquid vaporization can be eliminated by bleeding or consuming the hydrogen. Due to the unavoidable facts of rail operations, liquid hydrogen tenders will encounter long delays in operations, including breakdowns and derailments, to name but two. In the case of a long delay, unlike compressed gas tenders, venting of the liquid tender must occur. If the venting is inside a tunnel or under an overarching structure, vented gaseous hydrogen will rise rapidly and pool where the local conditions dictate. A pool of hydrogen/air mixture can generate
potential detonation, signi cantly endangering personnel. A compressed hydrogen gas tender never needs to vent and is stable and safe for virtually any length of time.
Other considerations: Hydrogen is very explosive and in the case of identifying suitable sources, transportation would be best done via Explosion Proof Certi ed hazmat drivers. e analysis done for NFPA species the human injury cause for overpressure and thus gives a guideline for the design to minimize overpressure (Table 2, p. 29).
HGmotive™ (formerly CNGmotive), with the support of Exponent Inc., completed an analysis to simulate and understand hydrogen gas dispersion inside the tender housing and spaces and take the actions needed to be done to minimize overpressure in case of a leak. HGmotive™ worked on the design to eliminate any free space that can hold hydrogen gas in the case of a leak and a er a deep analysis came up with a design that blocks 95%+ of the free space. Under this, the potential overpressure was signi cantly reduced to be safe for humans (Figure 2, p. 25).
e simplicity of compressed hydrogen’s infrastructure contributes to its cost-e ectiveness. Established technologies and a mature supply chain make it an economically attractive option for long-haul rail operators, requiring normally a small electrical compressor.
Liquid hydrogen’s cryogenic storage requirements and the need for specialized infrastructure can result in higher upfront costs in part due to the exquisite materials to handle cryogenic conditions, as well as the large energy input required for liquefaction per unit of H2. Ongoing advancements and economies of scale may impact cost dynamics over time. As for the production cost of “green hydrogen,” the expectation is that as more and more hydrogen is produced the cost will be reduced, following an experience curve more akin to solar and other now-mature technologies. As well, with new discoveries of hydrogen in the ground, this geological “native hydrogen” will have a price substantially lower than diesel.
Hydrogen cost is in uenced by the price of energy. U.S. geography provides wind availability in the eastern areas of the country and solar on the southeastern and central areas. Figure 3 (above) shows the ideal places
to produce hydrogen with solar energy. e high winds in the Central U.S. and on the East and West Coasts o er the opportunity to produce lower-cost energy. Figure 4 (above) shows the most favorable locales. In Canada, there are several places under development to produce hydrogen. Because of these wind, thermal and hydro resources, all Class I railroads can source green hydrogen at competitive prices.
Compressed hydrogen aligns with global efforts to reduce carbon emissions. It offers a tangible contribution to greening the transportation sector, making it attractive for operators committed to environmental responsibility.
While inherently clean, the environmental
impact of liquid hydrogen must be assessed, considering energy-intensive cryogenic processes and potential challenges associated with leaks. Lifecycle assessments provide a holistic view of its environmental footprint. Venting of boiled-o hydrogen could result in substantial emissions penalties.
In the pursuit of a sustainable future for long-haul rail, the choice between compressed and liquid hydrogen stands as a crucial decision. Compressed hydrogen emerges as a leading force in the transition to cleaner rail transportation, boasting robust energy density, an established infrastructure, stringent safety features, cost e ciency and positive environmental impact. However, the landscape is dynamic, with ongoing technological advancements, evolving industry dynamics, and considerations such as the availability and
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production of green hydrogen demanding continual assessment and adaptability.
e design of our HGmotive™ tender shows our commitment to providing a safe and e cient solution for sustainable transportation. It integrates molecular properties, gas-like pressure considerations and safety features. Yet, in this dynamic landscape, continual assessment remains imperative. Ongoing technological advancements and
the ever-evolving industry backdrop necessitate a vigilant approach to ensure that the chosen solution remains in sync with the evolving demands of a greener transportation future.
e maturity and enhanced accessibility of cryo-compressed hydrogen technology are particularly noteworthy, potentially tipping the scales in favor of its widespread adoption. Moreover, a critical factor in this
equation is the availability of hydrogen and production of green hydrogen derived from renewable sources like solar or wind power.
is adds a layer to the sustainability narrative, amplifying emission reduction e orts within the ecosystem.
e design of our HGmotive™ tender considers molecular properties, gas pressure, ammability, operational conditions (including tunnel, shock and vibration), capacity, standards, and all safety requirements. Developed with long-term railroad experience in North America and leveraging the gas expertise of our team members, this tender ensures the bene ts of maintaining internal pressure without the need for bleeding, even during prolonged periods of disuse.
As the rail industry seeks the most e cient and environmentally friendly propulsion solutions, the intersection of technological maturity, energy density and eco-friendly production methods becomes a pivotal focal point for decision-makers navigating the complex terrain of sustainable
transportation. is strongly favors the use of hydrogen in the compressed gaseous state.
Any hydrogen tender will need to meet the standards and regulations of di erent countries. e Association of American Railroads is developing hydrogen tender standards that will be included in the M1004 standard. e HGmotive™ tender is the rst on the market and o ers all the bene ts of compressed hydrogen in compliance with the AAR M1004 standard and what we feel is the best technology. It was delivered to CPKC in September 2023 and is now being validated. Testing will continue during 2024. HGmotive™ has higher-capacity tenders under design that will be delivered in 2025.
e M1004 standard includes crashworthiness in which de ned forces of impact in the di erent directions and conditions are applied to the tender analysis. e required result is, “No part of the fuel tank shall be punctured, split, crushed, or otherwise damaged so as to result in the release of fuel. e only acceptable fuel release allowed is that contained in piping external to the fuel tanks. All fuel tanks on the
tender shall be capable of meeting this result.”
e performance of the tender under the speci ed condition needs to be demonstrated and validated from a computer simulation or a test. e hydrogen tender requirements are under re nement, and it is expected that by the end of 2024 the nal version will be published. AAR is also working on standards development for fuel tenders that will work with alternative-fuel locomotives on U.S. railroads and meet all the interoperability rules and safety requirements.
In summary, the choice between compressed gas and liquid hydrogen tenders involves tradeo s among factors like energy density, infrastructure, safety and costs. Compressed hydrogen excels in established infrastructure, cost-e ectiveness and safety, while liquid hydrogen temporarily o ers higher energy density with challenges related to cryogenic storage and specialized infrastructure. e optimal choice depends on the speci c application, requirements and evolving technological advancements in the hydrogen industry.
The rail industry grapples with developing climate-related resiliency plans.
BY JOANNA MARSH, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
In August 2021, Southern California received its rst-ever tropical storm watch, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, when Tropical Storm Hilary was
making its way to the Los Angeles Basin and the surrounding area.
e storm pummeled the region, causing Class I Union Paci c to adjust operations on its Yuma Subdivision because debris, water
and mud covered the tracks. UP also brie y closed its Mojave Subdivision because of storm impacts.
“Tropical Storm Hilary has moved out of Southern California, but conditions
remain tenuous due to heavy mountain runoff, washouts, and mud covering roadways and interstates,” UP said in a customer notification. Train crews with competing Class I railroad BNSF even worked with UP to restore service on the Mojave Subdivision, since both railways use portions of that network.
Southern California’s rst-ever warning of an approaching tropical storm is not
the only extreme weather event that U.S. railways have experienced in recent years. Record-breaking cold and heavy snowfall in mid-January 2024 created “signi cant services challenges” in BNSF’s network spanning from Washington to the Powder River Basin and through the Plains and deep into Texas. Texas also experienced a deep freeze in February 2021 where record-breaking cold crippled the power grid, with e ects
rippling onto freight and passenger rail operations. Heavy rains have also ooded parts of New York City’s subway system.
Under the expectation that extreme weather events like this will only continue, private and public forces are working to ensure that the U.S. freight and passenger rail network can become resilient in responding to current and future extreme weather events. Parties are also hopeful
that the rail industry’s response to climate change-related events may spur renewed appreciation of the environmental bene ts of the railroads.
e work to develop a more resilient rail network delves into the topic of climate resiliency, which Argonne National Laboratory de nes as “a way to protect ourselves from the e ects of extreme climate events—impacts such as rising sea levels, wild res, erosion, hurricanes, and extreme heat—that can damage the systems that underpin the economy.”
For the railroads, climate resiliency means “being aware of the potential changes that could a ect your infrastructure asset in a negative way, and addressing them appropriately,” said Michael Johnsen, Senior Advisor for Climate and Sustainability for the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). is de nition encompasses not only extreme weather events, but also other situations such as rising sea levels— which could have implications for coastal rail infrastructure—bigger high tides in places such as Miami, New York City and other coastal cities, and increasing events of severe weather because of changing Jet Stream patterns.
e way the rail industry responds to climate resiliency is actually similar to responding to terrorist and cybersecurity threats because “it’s shoring up the network and any vulnerabilities so that operations can continue e ciently and safely,” Johnsen said.
At Association of American Railroads subsidiary MxV Rail, researchers focus on how extreme weather events might a ect the rail network. Two areas where MxV Rail has been concentrating on are network resilience related to heavy rainfall, which might bring about inland ooding, landslides, and track or bridge washouts, and extreme heat, which could distort the physical structure of rail.
ese two areas are “where there’s most recognition of risk and the most motivation to do what we can to address the risk,” said Scott Cummings, MxV Rail Assistant Vice President for Research and Innovation. Cummings’ primary job duty is to manage MxV Rail’s execution of the AAR-funded
research program.
Even though weather events “have been problems for the railroads for more than a hundred years, the risks associated with those are potentially increasing as we’re less able to look at historical norms to predict the future,” Cummings said.
To address heavy rainfall, research at MxV Rail has involved high-tech work, such as using satellite data to look at elevation mapping. e changes in elevations and deformations in the ground structure might give you some advanced warning of where the landslide could occur, or they could point you towards areas where maybe you need to do something to address or help mitigate the risk of an embankment failing or a landslide, Cummings said. MxV Rail is also working with the railroads in research-
Climate resiliency means “being aware of potential changes that could negatively affect infrastructure, and addressing them appropriately.”
– Michael Johnsen, FRA
ing how railroads can armor their track embankments.
MxV Rail is in literature review mode when it comes to studying heavy rainfall incidents, which means that the group is trying to understand what technologies are available and what things are going to become more available as technologies advance. “We are trying to understand what tools are out there and make sure they are known among the industry,” Cummings said.
e concern with extreme heat is track alignment issues. “With continuously welded rail, the steel rails expand when they get hot, and the track can essentially buckle or displace laterally. en you can get an alignment problem with your track geometry, and that can result in problems for operating your trains,” Cummings said. “So, one of the key ways that railroads try and
mitigate their risk from alignment issues caused by extreme heat is they build and maintain stronger track. is means looking at how lateral track strength is a ected when the ballast is disturbed, how the type of cross ties you use a ect track strength and how rail anchoring and fasteners improve track buckle resistance.”
MxV Rail is looking at the e ects of train speeds across tracks that are prone to buckles, such as how car characteristics and train characteristics might in uence optimal train speed on a hot day, and how those characteristics might interact with either the ability for a train to cause a buckle in the track or the ability of a train to stay on the track with a minor buckle, Cummings noted.
In addition to coordinating work with universities and research partners domestically and abroad, MxV Rail works with a technical advisory group comprised of the major North American railways to understand how weather-related incidents a ect railroads’ physical network infrastructure.
Another group working on resiliency-related research is the Mineta Transportation Institute in California. e group, which is a liated with San Jose State University, received a $4.6 million grant from FRA’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant program in June 2022 to coordinate climate resiliency research among ve universities.
According to Hilary Nixon, Deputy Executive Director for the Institute, projects range from how to deploy sensors on trains that could detect hazards in real-time, such as ooding/mud ows/debris or wild res, to developing training for railroad industry personnel on incident response. Research also entails providing tools and resources for the industry to develop plans and policies to mitigate impacts associated with climate change and extreme events.
e universities involved in the Climate Change and Extreme Events Training and Research Program include San Jose State, Michigan State, Oregon State, University of Hawaii and Colorado State UniversityPueblo. “All projects have an overarching focus on helping the rail industry to become as climate-resilient as possible,” Nixon said. She expects research deliverables to be
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ready and available to the public before the grant ends in May 2026. “We are focused on conducting research that will lead to practical, implementable solutions for the industry,” she added.
Besides these research entities, other industry players are becoming involved in developing extreme weather-related resiliency plans.
For instance, in 2022, Amtrak developed a climate resilience strategic plan for the Northeast Corridor. e passenger rail carrier estimates that from 2006 to 2019, it experienced more than 450 service disruptions from oods, wild res and landslides, among other climate-related events, with the impacts of those events estimated at more than $127 million in lost revenue and lost ridership of 1.3 million customers.
“Amtrak understands that we need to integrate climate change considerations into the current and future planning, design, and construction of our infrastructure and operations. By assessing our risk, understanding our vulnerabilities, and implementing
adaptation measures, we will prepare our operations for a sustainable future,” says the report’s executive summary. “Furthermore, by minimizing our contribution to climate change through initiatives that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy use, we aim to improve operational e ciency while lessening our contribution to climate change. “Finally, we commit to working in partnership with key stakeholders to emphasize the energy e ciency of rail as a transport mode and to demonstrate how improving and expanding passenger rail service can be an essential part of the solution to climate change.”
While FRA doesn’t have a regulatory role when it comes to addressing climate change or climate resiliency, the federal agency can pursue climate resiliency through a safety lens.
“We’re concerned with how weather and climate impacts a ect the safe and e cient operation of the rail network,” Johnsen said.
“ is includes everything from the physical structure of the railroad or impacts on signaling and other communication devices, to the people who work in the rail yard or the inspector who must walk along the track. We’re concerned about the workforce out there and the safety of the employees and communities around the rail network, as well as the assets themselves.”
FRA is also funding research into rail resiliency, such as how rising sea levels and storm surges might a ect rail infrastructure in areas, such as along the Gulf Coast between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala.
Some of FRA’s grant programs, such as the CRISI grants, address climate resiliency by asking applicants to describe how their projects might address resiliency to ensure sound public investments. is also helps to ensure public-funded projects can pass the environmental process of NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act), which requires the consideration of climate impacts.
One issue in encouraging the rail industry to bolster climate-related rail resiliency
plans is to focus on good stewardship of companies’ infrastructure and assets, since the six major Class I railroads and the hundreds of short lines operate as private entities. However, because privately owned freight railroads o en oversee their own infrastructure, it can result in local, state and regional entities failing to include the input of the railroads when dra ing localized resiliency plans.
But the railroads’ input is key in local and regional emergency planning, especially because of the unique characteristics of rail. Rail could potentially contribute to disaster recovery e orts by helping move people and goods through a region and should be further explored, according to Johnsen. A possible example is having a battery-electric locomotive provide power for essential services, such as a small hospital during a disaster.
“If a county or a city or state is creating a resiliency plan, it should include rail.
ey should include Amtrak and the short lines and the Class I railroads because those
railroads undoubtedly provide goods and services and jobs to somebody in your area.
ey are an important piece. Even though they’re privately held, you still want to reach out to those entities,” Johnsen said.
Rail can also serve as a backup mode if other passenger transportation modes fail. “FRA’s goal is to provide world-class passenger rail service to the U.S. We want to have an option of passenger rail between city pairs of a certain distance and size, so if the air travel system experiences delays from, say, an ice storm, then you have rail and road as options. If it’s a popular holiday and the roads are congested, then you have air and rail as an option,” Johnsen said. “It’s about creating redundant transportation systems for people to get to where they need to go. Rail can provide another solid intercity transportation alternative, and rail produces fewer air emissions than most air or road trips.”
Indeed, the Rail Passengers Association estimates that rail-based mass transit is 23% more energy e cient per passenger
mile than cars and 31% more energy ecient than light trucks. e group also estimates that rail-based public transit saves 4.2 billion gallons of gasoline every year, and it can reduce carbon emissions by as much as 37 million metric tons every year in the U.S.
All industry stakeholders—from the railroads to regional and federal public entities to research organizations—should have a role in developing climate resiliency plans for rail, according to Jim Matthews, President and CEO of the Rail Passengers Association.
“In the U.S., it will be the responsibility of hundreds of di erent agencies across the country, with di erent levels of expertise, di erent levels of funding, operating in di erent political environments. You know the old saying, right: If it’s everyone’s responsibility, then it’s nobody’s responsibility,” Matthews said. “ ere’s a risk that in the present system, we won’t get a comprehensive, resilient design standard that will keep systems safe and operating and legitimate alternatives as the climate continues to deteriorate.”
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Turnouts in poor condition can increase the risk of a worn wheel with steep flange angle and acute flange tip metal flow getting wedged between the switch blade and the stock rail and causing a derailment. An example of this condition is depicted in Figure 1(a) (p. 38). Typical poor turnout conditions include the switch of a turnout being out of adjustment, or the switch point being gapped, worn, chipped, or broken.
As part of the Association of American Railroads’ Strategic Research Initiatives Program, MxV Rail investigated the interaction between worn wheels and measured switch point rail profiles to assess the likelihood of a derailment when these profiles interact.
MxV Rail researchers obtained the Cartesian coordinates of 320,000 wheel pro les measured by a wayside wheel pro le detector and calculated the minimum ange tip radius and maximum ange angle of these pro les. e team identi ed nine wheel pro les that had a minimum ange tip radius less than 0.1 inch (2.5 mm) and a maximum ange angle greater than 77.5 degrees. Measured wheel pro les for those cars with one of the nine severely worn wheel pro les were used in NUCARS® analyses to calculate both the lateral wheelset displacements relative to the center of the track and the angles of attack at a point just before switch blade contact was made. e NUCARS® analyses were performed using an empty hopper car (part of the standard NUCARS® library) traversing the diverging route of a measured
le -hand turnout with a 0.46-degree kink angle and a 39-foot-long switch rail length in the facing direction at 40 mph.
MxV Rail engineers developed 3D CAD models of the measured wheel pro les and the portion of the track leading up to and including the switch point. In these 3D models, the wheelset was constrained relative to the track with the lateral wheelset displacement and wheelset angle of attack determined by the NUCARS® analyses. e wheelset was moved longitudinally along the rail to nd potential contact points that were assessed to determine the likelihood of a derailment.
Based on the NUCARS® analyses, engineers found that four wheelsets ran with a signicant o set to the center of the track as they
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Figure 1: (a) Terminology describing the worn state of a wheel flange and (b) Wheel in (a) contacting the switch blade in a 3D computer-aided design (CAD) model
approached the switch point. Two out of the four wheelsets ran with an angle of attack typically associated with the negotiation of a 1to 2-degree curve, thereby angling the ange tip radius toward the switch point. Figure 1(b) shows an example of interaction between one of these four wheels and the measured switch point. e measured switch point was in good condition and, in each of the nine investigated measured wheel pro le cases, the acute ange tip metal ow did not become wedged between the stock rail and the switch blade point.
Worn wheels with an acute ange tip radius, o en accompanied by a steep ange angle, were found to run with both a lateral o set from the center of the track and a noteworthy angle of attack. Contact between a worn wheel and the switch point rail pro le did not show an increased risk of derailment for a switch in good condition.
Association of American Railroads (AAR) Manual of Standards and Recommended Practices, Section D, Trucks and Truck Details, M-976. 2019; 31–39.
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William H. Galligan’s remarkable book on the history of a remarkable railroad, Kansas City Southern, isn’t a pure history book. Instead, it’s a chronicle of a company that evolved from a “ ercely independent” railroad (as former CEO and 2020 Railway Age Railroader of the Year Pat Ottensmeyer described KCS to me) to one whose ultimate destiny became forming, with Canadian Paci c—another remarkable railroad—North America’s rst and only transnational, Canadian Paci c Kansas City. So in a very real sense, Vision Accomplished is the rst installment in a saga that continues with CPKC, what CEO Keith Creel (our 2021 Railroader of the Year) rightfully calls “a once in a lifetime partnership.”
Creel, who shared Railroader of the Year honors in 2022 with Ottensmeyer, is now tasked with progressing the vision of his KCS predecessors, as well as those of CP, combining the best of both into one that is uniquely CPKC’s. It’s not o en that such an opportunity presents itself. He is certainly up to the task, having profound respect for the history and traditions of both railroads.
Creel follows in the footsteps of such
railroaders as Arthur E. Stilwell, who founded KCS in the late 19th century; Mike Haverty (our 2001 Railroader of the Year), who pushed it southward into Mexico; the late Dave Starling (2012 Railroader of the Year), who continued Haverty’s vision of a “NAFTA Railroad”; and Pat Ottensmeyer, who joined forces with him in a long, drama- lled process to create CPKC.
Bill Galligan, who joined KCS in 1992 (the same year I joined Railway Age) and ran investor relations and communications until his 2018 retirement, describes KCS best:
“Arthur E. Stilwell chose to build his railroad in the ‘wrong’ direction, north-south rather than east-west ... It was precisely his disregard of conventional wisdom that gave birth to the core tenet of KCS’s identity. From the very beginning, those responsible for charting the company’s strategic direction based their decisions solely on what they felt was best for the company and its employees, customers and shareholders, even when some of their initiatives ew in the face of conventional thinking. ere remained throughout its 135-year history a strong contrarian element to the company’s corporate culture. As one later executive of KCS was fond of stating, ‘ e one thing you can say with some certainty about conventional wisdom is that it’s usually wrong.’
“Looking back, it can be said that ying in the face of conventional late 19th century thinking proved to be exactly the right decision. To declare that this north-south railroad company beat the odds and survived understates the magnitude of its eventual success. In 2009 during its celebration of 20 years of broadcasting, CNBC brought together a panel of nancial news reporters to guess what company’s stock, if purchased in 1989 and held to 2009, had provided its share owners the greatest percentage pro t. While the guesses were predictable—Microso , Apple, IBM—the correct answer was a shocker: KCS. Not too shabby for a railroad built in the ‘wrong’ direction!
“ e story of KCS is of a company that charted its own path from day one. It was a company led by a succession of individuals with vision, who were not afraid of taking risks in pursuit of ful lling those visions. Without the resources of the earlier land grant railroads, this Kansas City-based company forged a di erent approach to growing its franchise. It compensated for
its modest size by developing an outsized, personalized commitment to its customers, suppliers and rail partners. While larger railroads with their vast rail network sometimes cajoled customers and smaller railroads into conforming to their service o erings, KCS sought to develop mutually bene cial relationships with multiple constituents. For years, KCS heard from shippers that they like doing business with the company. When you’re smaller, every relationship is a priority. is hands-on, relationship-based philosophy born in the late 19th century remained a core operating principle of KCS through the entirety of its existence as an independent railroad ...
“ is book is the story of a succession of individuals who through the strength of their personalities, vision, courage and character led the railroad through one perilous situation a er another and in so doing cra ed a corporate culture truly unique in the railroad industry. It is a story of a railroad that by rights should have died dozens of times but did not. Not only did it survive, it grew to become a major participant in the North American supply chain.”
For me, Vision Accomplished brings back many wonderful memories of my formative years with Railway Age in the late 1990s, reporting on privatization of Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México. I traveled extensively on newly formed TFM (which became KCS de México in 2005) with railroaders like Chris Aadnesen, Bill Lyman, Dave Brookings and Jim Chavez, the nucleus of the team implementing Mike Haverty’s vision, transforming FNM’s Northeast concession into a rst-class operation.
Close to 30 years a er I rst set foot in Mexico, later hi-railing CP’s British Columbia main line and riding on the head end of a CP freight through the Spiral Tunnels across Canada’s Continental Divide, I witnessed in April 2023 Keith Creel and Pat Ottensmeyer driving the Final Spike in Kansas City, the culmination of the CPKC transaction, which Railway Age had spent the better part of two years covering.
rough it all, there was a fascinating backstory punctuated by sharp curves and unique personalities, winding up with the CP/CN competition to merge with KCS. It’s all chronicled in engaging detail by Galligan in Vision Accomplished
Pat Ottensmeyer, Galligan writes, “had been
a major contributor, at times the most important and in uential contributor, to the development of KCS’s merger transaction strategy. He had rst helped formulate the process the transaction team used to evaluate bids received from ... prospective acquirers. en he was integral to the person-to-person negotiations that followed the o ers. He kept the dialogue and negotiations uid, collegial, professional and productive. e strategy had proven to be sound, and its execution by the board of directors and transaction team was awless.”
Of Keith Creel, now shaping a new CPKC story that undoubtedly will be the subject of a railroad history book many years from now, Galligan writes:
“One could not be a KCS employee and be in the company of Keith Creel for a few minutes before getting the sense that his demeanor, attitude, spirit, con dence and fortitude was strikingly similar to that of past KCS executives ... A number of observers saw him as a clone of his mentor and CP’s predecessor, Hunter Harrison, and Creel was always quick to pay tribute to his former boss and close friend. He did not shy away from
the comparisons, but he was very much his own man, determined to de ne himself and not be seen as a shadow of Harrison.
“When Creel told people CP was the perfect partner for KCS, and a CP-KCS merger was the only Class I railroad merger with a chance of winning regulatory approval in today’s political climate, it was not merely lip service ... In his heart and soul, Creel believed in this combination, and his sincerity and the strength of his convictions came through.
“In good part because of Creel, CP came across as a dynamic, hungry and determined railroad that, while smaller than all Class I’s except KCS, was not afraid to take on big challenges and had the forwardthinking management team to succeed. Creel’s CP bore many similarities to KCS; would that not be a combination to behold? Creel certainly thought so.”
Bill Lyman describes Vision Accomplished as “delightful,” a “page turner” that doesn’t “bury the reader in numbers.” Author Fred Frailey calls it “riveting ... Read it and be amazed at what determined people can do.”
I call Vision Accomplished a book worth much, much more than its cover price.
—William C. Vantuono
HIGH PROFILE: Katherine Stephens has been elevated to Senior Vice President and Chief Operating O cer for the Canada region at infrastructure consulting rm AECOM. Stephens joined AECOM in 2007 and has held a variety of leadership roles across North America. She served most recently as Senior Vice President and Director of Operations for the U.S. West regional Environmental Business line, helping to implement the rm’s “Sustainable Legacies” strategy, and supporting technical teams to bid and deliver on projects “that have a lasting impact on communities,” according to AECOM. In her new role, based in Toronto, Stephens is now responsible for driving long-term growth, providing operational leadership, and overseeing strategic insight and hiring for business activities in the Canada region. “We are thrilled for Katherine to build on her outstanding track record at AECOM and take our business forward as we collaborate with clients across Canada on the country’s largest and most impactful infrastructure projects,” said Richard Barrett, Chief Executive of AECOM’s Canada region. “Katherine has a demonstrated history of leading highperforming teams to continually improve operational e ciency, enhance client satisfaction and manage organizational change while successfully balancing short-term business objectives with long-term growth.” “Over the course of my career, I have been dedicated to fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation on my teams,” Stephens said. “I’m honored to step into this new role and partner with Richard and the senior leadership team, where we will continue to improve operating performance and remain committed to delivering on clients’ expectations. As a Canadian, I have a deep understanding of the region and look forward to bringing the breadth of my experiences within the global AECOM network to this role.”
STV last month appointed Claire Brinkley as Vice President and Strategic Growth Director for the firm’s transportation South/Central group. Based in Charlotte, Brinkley will work closely with clients in the Carolinas while “spearheading the firm’s strategic business expansion into the growing highway and transit market,” STV said. Brinkley is a certified planner and professional engineer (PE) with more than 18 years of experience in the transportation industry. Before joining STV, she led the Charlotte office for a national architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) firm and held various leadership roles on a range of projects and programs. Serving on various industry organizations and associations, Brinkley is a member of the Board of Directors for the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) of North Carolina; Director-at-Large on the Board of Directors for the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) Charlotte Metro
Chapter; Mentor Protégé Committee member for the Institute of Transportation Engineers NC Section; and a member of the American Planning Association. Brinkley earned her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from North Carolina State University.
Sacramento, Calif.-based Sierra Northern Railway elevated Brenton A. MacDonald to Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. In his new position, MacDonald is responsible for working with the railroad’s customers; engaging in new business development and contract negotiations; working with senior leadership at Union Pacific and BNSF; overseeing railroad operations for the West Sacramento, Oakdale, Concord and Ventura divisions; and aiding in railroad maintenance and construction activities. He will report directly to SNR CEO Kennan H. Beard III. MacDonald joined SNR in 2013 and most recently served as its General
Manager. He has held positions as Manager of Safety & Training, as well as Conductor and Engineer. MacDonald previously was employed by UP at Hinkle, Oreg., as Manager of Locomotive Maintenance.
Wells Fargo Rail last month appointed Ryan Miller Director of Mechanical Operations. He succeeds Greg Johnson, who will retire after 10 years with Wells Fargo Rail and more than 36 years in the industry. Miller will be responsible for all aspects of mechanical operations for the company, one of the largest railcar and locomotive lessors in North America. Based in Rosemont, Ill., he will “lead the strategic direction across the business’s maintenance, engineering, logistics, procurement and industry relations functions.” Most recently Vice President of Equipment for TTX Company, Miller previously held operations and equipment leadership positions with BNSF and Kansas City Southern (now CPKC) , as well as Trinity Industries. He has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Texas Christian University and is a Six Sigma Black Belt. “We’re excited to have someone with Ryan’s background join our leadership team and look forward to leveraging his more than 20 years of industry experience,” said Head of Wells Fargo Rail Tim Kubiak.
Cummins has promoted Ricardo Roman to Vice President, Components Finance; Michelle Probst to Vice President, Leadership and Talent Development; Gbile Adewunmi to Vice President, Power Systems Industrial Markets; and Matt McQueen to Vice President, Engine Business Supply Chain. Ashwath Ram was promoted in January to Vice President, Supply Chain and India Leader.
Jacob Noe has been elevated to Director of Safety at Dallas, Tex.-based TNW Corporation, which operates three short line railroads with four transload facilities in Texas and owns a railcar storage facility. He is responsible for leading the corporate safety culture, objectives, and strategic functions for all TNW properties and their associated departments. This includes safety performance and vision training strategies, regulatory policy development, and regulatory compliance and reporting. Previously, Noe was TNW’s Manager of Railroad Safety and Operations. Before joining TNW in 2023, he was a second-generation employee of Norfolk Southern for 28 years.
Most rail professionals don’t devote time to ocean freight rates or shipping industry consolidation. Sure, there was plenty to discuss when the water outside the Port of Long Beach turned into the world’s most expensive parking lot. (Apologies to Harry Reid International Airport, but 882 private jets at the Swi ie-enhanced Super Bowl LVIII party can’t compete with 109 container ships.) Rail industry professionals are mostly concerned with what happens when the containers on those ships get hooked up to a locomotive.
During the past seven or so years there has been consolidation in ocean freight shipping. A crowded eld of competitive shipping companies has seen consolidation from roughly 20 into the hands of six to eight.
Governments and executive branches itter between a laisse-faire approach to consolidation in a speci c industry and wanting to protect consumers from the potential market impact when too much market share is consolidated in limited suppliers. All one must do is watch the European Union and Federal Trade Commission look for ways to grab Google by the horns as if it were all that di cult to download a Firefox browser or to select a DuckDuckGo search engine. Usually, big nes are paid and imperceptible changes are made.
As a result of these mergers, ocean-borne freight rate pricing power, while still responding to the supply and demand pressures of the global economy, is signi cantly consolidated in the hands of this particular group of companies. Let’s call them “Oceans 8.”
Je erson Clay, Vice President of Sales for Cargo Services, Inc. (who also outlined the shipping industry consolidation history), described the volatility and pricing power of rates before, during and a er consolidation. Clay notes that the pre-pandemic freight rate for a 40-foot box from Shanghai to Long Beach was roughly $1,200. Early in the pandemic, that rate fell to $800. Post-COVID hibernation, the rate rose astronomically to above $20,000, according to e Wall Street Journal and Reuters. January 2024 rates were $1,500, but the Red Sea crisis and Lunar New Year have pushed those rates to $3,000.
To subvert Federal Maritime Commission
rules, the Oceans 8, Clay notes, formed collusive alliances to increase rates. As no racketeering ring is perfect (like e Sopranos), global economic so ness creates a circumstance where price collusion doesn’t always mean high pro ts. Even today, the Oceans 8 can’t agree on whether ship capacity is under- or over-supplied.
Why the discussion on freight rates and shipping companies? A er all, this is Railway Age, not Marine Log. e connection to Clay came from a rail industry veteran who suggested that railcar manufacturing was in the same place as the shipping market following consolidation.
e suggestion is that consolidation of most manufacturing (for a high economic barrier of entry business; e.g., railcar manufacturing and international shipping) into the hands of a couple of companies allowed for two (heretofore uncommon) paths in the new railcar market: manufacturing caps and price control.
e Federal Reserve tracks a producer price index (PPI) for rolling stock, railcar parts and maintenance-of-way equipment. is PPI starts to increase at a higher clip a er the consolidating impact of the 2019 sale of the American Railcar Industries manufacturing assets to e Greenbrier Companies. is does not mean that the business of railcar building is immune to the forces of economics. e ARCI (American Railway Car Institute) number for 4Q23 orders was an incredibly low 4,164 (that’s only 16,656
annualized). But as the railcar industry has built just below the rate of replacement for the past four years, a low order number is more worrisome than the anomaly of 16,194 in 2Q23.
In the October 2023 Railway Age “Financial Desk Book,” the concept of supply inelasticity related to railcar manufacturing was introduced. is is another angle on the same theme. If the Fed Railcar PPI is compared to the index that tracks the price of moving a 40-foot box from Shanghai to Long Beach, there is a clear increase in volatility that follows shipping company consolidation.
From the consumer perspective (and this is the point), when price starts to disconnect from demand, the market changes. While it is not a guarantee that this happens in the railcar manufacturing space, it feels like the potential is there. When all the other salient factors that have been impacting railcar pricing (supply chain, commodities, labor, etc.) become less impactful or less volatile parts of the landscape, supplier consolidation will still mean something.
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There are no new proposals or final rules to report for this issue. Be sure to check back next month to see if there are any changes to FRA regulations.
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