August 2014 Railway Age

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TOMORROW’S RAILROADER A historic initiative

by BNSF could dramatically change the future for railroads and their employees

NEW FREIGHT CARS FOR NEW BUSINESS LRVS AND STREETCARS: EVOLUTION OR REVOLUTION?

RailwayAge

AUGUST 2014

visit us at www.railwayage.com Features

18

Tomorrow’s railroader

18

Changing freight car mix

26

LRT and streetcars advance in tandem

32

News/Columns From the Editor

2

Update

10

Watching Washington

16

Financial Edge

17

Perspective

44

Departments Industry Indicators

4

Industry Outlook

6

Market

8

People

37

100 Years Ago

37

Meetings

37

Products

39

Advertising Index

41

Professional Directory

42

Classified

43

26

ON THE COVER BNSF train operations may change radically.

Photo: Bruce Kelly

32

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August 2014 RAILWAY AGE 1

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From the Editor WILLIAM C. VANTUONO

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Revisiting 1958 and “The Trap”

S

ometimes, it’s useful to reflect on where you’ve been, if only to help you realize how far you’ve come.

Contributing Editor Frank Wilner’s cover story, about a landmark labor/management crew consist agreement on BNSF that, if ratified, will allow one-person train operation in PTC territory (p. 18, and also p. 16), presented an opportunity to journey way, way back into the pages of Railway Age to see just how far this industry has progressed, as far as work rules are concerned. You can’t make this stuff up: “The railroad that tries to abolish—or even transfer—a yard crew may be in for grave trouble. One railroad did abolish an obsolete yard operation. Several years later it had to pay all of the members of the yard crew all of the money they would have earned had the yard continued to operate. Finding the vanished crew posed its own problems. One had become a postmaster; another was a farmer; still another was in jail. All were finally paid.”

Here’s another one: “The shortest day of the year can be any day that a road crew does a few minutes’ work in a yard— or vice versa. A road service brakeman demanded—and got—100 miles’ pay for walking 15 steps to couple a road diesel to a bad-order diesel. He claimed this was a day’s switching. Implicit in the original agreements on the separation of yard and road duties was the understanding that each could do a few minutes’ work in the other’s territory when necessity and efficient operation demanded it. But referees’ decisions have raised a high wall between road and yard service. To avoid heavy penalties, management lives with these decisions—at the expense of efficiency.”

Today, we can shake our heads and chuckle at these examples of what was known as “featherbedding,” but 56 years ago, they weren’t so funny. They and many other examples of work rules gone haywire were published in one of this magazine’s watershed issues, “The Trap,” March 24, 2

RAILWAY AGE

August 2014

1958. As Associate Editor (and later, Editor-in-Chief, and today’s Senior Consulting Editor) Luther S. Miller— then new to Railway Age—pointed out, “Wasteful work practices are costing U.S. railroads more than $500 million a year, by conservative estimate. Some put the excess cost even higher. Out-of-date work rules are the principal culprits.”

“The Trap,” and the big question it raised—how does the railroad industry, including its employees, get out of the box it’s in?—marked the beginning of a long effort to modernize railroad work rules. That, and partial deregulation, were what saved this industry, paving the way for the prosperity and efficiency that everyone— management, labor, and customers—is benefiting from today.

Looking closely at the BNSF/SMARTTransportation Division GO-001 crew consist agreement, it seems like a good deal for all involved, including those workers classified as “Protected Ground Service Employees.” The labor protection provisions are generous, as are the available signing bonuses and voluntary lump-sum separation payments.

None of this would be possible in an industry strangled by excessive regulation and antiquated work rules, unable to invest working capital in modern technology.

One more Trap tale, my favorite: “ A baggageman on a western passenger streamliner found a metal garbage can in his baggage car. This was all right, because the garbage can contained a passenger’s personal effects. But wired to the garbage can, as a lid, was a galvanized iron wash tub. On the claim that the wash tub turned the streamliner into a freight train, the conductor, baggageman, and brakeman won the freight rate of pay, instead of the lower passenger rate, for their day’s work.”

Like I said, you can’t make this stuff up!

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Industry Indicators TRAFFIC ORIGINATED CARLOADS

SHORT LINE AND REGIONAL TRAFFIC INDEX FOUR WEEKS ENDING JUNE 28, 2014

MAJOR U.S. RAILROADS

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

JUNE ’14 73,326 3,707 38,265 24,530 119,8329 60,035 440,451 6,684 14,916 25,227 33,358 15,269 44,228 17,622 72,337 99,095 21,545 34,328 14,302 18,598 1,177,655

JUNE ’13 62,932 3,309 36,015 25,841 118,787 55,299 445,727 5,994 13,108 24,964 31,260 15,266 41,475 15,809 68,123 86,878 22,238 32,623 14,096 16,601 1,136,345

% CHANGE 16.5% 12.0% 6.2% -5.1% 0.9% 8.6% -1.2% 11.5% 13.8% 1.1% 6.7% 0.0% 6.6% 11.5% 6.2% 14.1% -3.1% 5.2% 1.5% 12.0% 3.6%

341,312

308,717

10.6%

1,518,967

1,445,062

5.1%

CARLOADS

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

COMBINED U.S./CANADA RR

FOUR WEEKS ENDING JUNE 28, 2014

INTERMODAL MAJOR U.S. RAILROADS

BY COMMODITY TRAILERS CONTAINERS TOTAL UNITS

JUNE ’14 120,259 957,126 1,077,385

JUNE ’13 115,177 894,241 1,009,418

% CHANGE 4.4% 7.0% 6.7%

7,144 230,399 237,543

7,111 210,237 217,348

0.5% 9.6% 9.3%

127,403 1,187,525 1,314,928

122,288 1,104,478 1,226,766

4.2% 7.5% 7.2%

COMBINED U.S./CANADA RR TRAILERS CONTAINERS TOTAL COMBINED UNITS

Source: Monthly Railroad Traffic, Association of American Railroads

AVERAGE WEEKLY U.S. RAIL CARLOADS: ALL COMMODITIES (not seasonally adjusted)

% CHANGE 3.3% 1.2% 5.7% -2.9% 1.3% 0.8% 8.7% -46.1% 8.7% 3.5% 44.8% 6.1% 6.8% 5.6% 15.1% 16.8% 8.5%

JUNE 2014 - 378,244 JUNE 2013 - 359,186 320,000 330,000 340,000 350,000 360,000

370,000 380,000 390,000 400,000 410,000

Copyright © 2014 All rights reserved.

RAILROAD EMPLOYMENT, CLASS I LINEHAUL CARRIERS, JUNE 2014 (% CHANGE FROM JUNE 2013)

CANADIAN RAILROADS TRAILERS CONTAINERS TOTAL UNITS

ORIGINATED JUNE ’13 44,976 23,205 28,735 11,669 21,054 6,484 10,000 11,543 21,072 10,667 1,741 2,016 18,029 12,487 41,734 9,841 83,933

TOTAL CARLOADS, JUNE 2014 VS. 2013

CANADIAN RAILROADS ALL COMMODITIES

ORIGINATED JUNE ’14 46,441 23,493 30,383 11,336 21,337 6,535 10,868 6,227 22,904 11,045 2,521 2,139 19,260 13,185 48,024 11,494 91,052

BY COMMODITY

Transportation (train and engine) 67,930 2.80%

Executives, Officials, and Staff Assistants 9,906 1.06%

Professional and Administrative 14,437 (-0.21%)

TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 166,139 % CHANGE FROM JUNE 2013: 1.02% Transportation (other than train & engine) 6,736 (-0.09%)

Maintenance of Equipment and Stores 29,940 (0.01%)

Maintenanceof-Way and Structures 37,190 (-0.67)%

Source: Surface Transportation Board

EMPLOYMENT UP FROM YEAR-AGO, PRIOR-MONTH PERIODS Figures released by the Surface Transportation Board show Class I total railroad employment rose 1.01% in mid-June 2014, measured against mid-June 2013, and was up 0.63% from mid-May 2014.

Transportation (train and engine) again powered the year-over-year gain, again overcoming declines in three employment categories; it also rose 0.63% over mid-May levels. Also bolstering the overall monthly gain: Professional and Administrative, up 2.4%.

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August 2014

Industry Outlook DOT issues open-ended tank car, “HHFT” NPRM

The U.S. Department of Transportation last month a long-anticipated Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) involving a new, stricter set of rules for crudeby-rail (CBR) train movements and other shipments of “flammable fuels,” designated as HHFT (high-hazard flammable trains). A 60-day comment period is now in effect.

The proposed rules—which contain several options and therefore are by no means definitive—cover train speeds, mandatory testing of oil and other products, and design standards for tank cars. Among other assertions, the proposed rule calls for older DOT111 tank cars (pre-CPC-1232 cars, the rail industry’s voluntary standard in effect since October 2011) used for the shipment of Packing Group I flammable liquids, including most Bakken crude oil, to be retired within two years unless retrofitted to comply

with updated standards.

In addition to enhanced tank car standards, the NPRM also calls for a classification and testing program for mined gases and liquids and new operational requirements for HHFTs that include braking controls and speed restrictions. It seeks further information on expanding comprehensive oil spill response planning requirements for shipments of flammable materials.

“Given the urgency of the safety issues addressed in these proposals, PHMSA (Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration) does not intend to extend the comment period,” DOT said.

DOT now seeks public comment on speed restrictions, and there are no fewer than five options. Option one is a 40 mph limit for all HHFT moves in all areas. A second option is a 40 mph limit for HHFT moves in HTUAs (highthreat urban areas. Option three is a 40 mph limit in areas with a population greater than 100,000. A fourth option is a 50 mph limit for HHFTs in which all tank cars meet the yet-to-be determined standards. The fifth option is a 30 mph restriction for HHFTs that do not comply with possible “enhanced braking requirements.”

The NPRM “proposes to require all HHFTs to be equipped with alternative brake signal propagation systems. Depending on the outcome of the tank car standard proposal and implementation timing, all HHFTs would be operated with either electronic

controlled pneumatic brakes (ECP), a two-way end of train device (EOT), or distributed power (DP).”

The proposed new tank car standards also contain several options. DOT said it “[p]roposes new standards for tank cars constructed after October 1, 2015, and that are used to transport flammable liquids as part of an HHFT— e.g., thermal , top fittings, and bottom outlet protection; tank head and shell puncture resistance.”

PHMSA) is requesting comment on three options for enhanced tank car standard requirements: • Tank Car Option 1 would have 9/16-inch steel, would be outfitted with electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes, and would be equipped with rollover protection.

• Tank Car Option 2 would also have 9/16-inch steel but would not require ECP brakes or rollover protection.

• Tank Car Option 3 is based on the 2011 CPC-1232 industry standard and has 7/16-inch steel, and does not require ECP brakes or rollover protection.

DOT also “proposes to require existing tank cars that are used to transport flammable liquids as part of an HHFT be retrofitted to meet the selected option for performance requirements. Those not retrofitted would be retired, repurposed, or operated under speed restrictions for up to five years, based on packing group assignment of the flammable liquids being shipped by rail.”

According to analyst Eshna Basu of The Motley Fool, “the General Electric-Alstom deal could create the world’s largest rail equipment maker.” Basu’s analysis followed GE’s multi-billion-dollar purchase of Alstom’s power business in June—a deal that includes Alstom’s acquisition of GE Transportation’s signaling and communications business.

“With this deal, GE has further cemented its foothold in the power and energy segment,” said Basu. “Where does this leave Alstom, though? For starters, it’s going to be several billions richer, and there are some big strategic advantages, too. The total deal value after GE revised the offer comes to $10 6

RAILWAY AGE

August 2014

billion. With this cash influx, Alstom can pay down a portion of its debt and increase shareholder returns. This leaves room for Alstom to strengthen its competitive position against peers such as Ansaldo, Siemens, and Bombardier through acquisitions and organic growth.

“In the post-takeover scenario, Alstom plans to hold on to its highspeed train manufacturing business and buy GE’s signaling business for $809 million. This would boost Alstom’s signaling sales by 40% and enable it to surpass Siemens to become the second-largest rail equipment maker in the world. Presently, Bombardier is the world’s top rail equipment maker

by sales, followed closely by Siemens, while Alstom holds third place. Aside from its power joint ventures, Alstom will surface as a pure transportation company and an integrated manufacturer of rolling stock, signaling, and control systems for mass transit.”

Top: National Steel Car; bottom: William C. Vantuono

GE deal a significant boost for Alstom?

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Market Amtrak Viewliner II prototypes in hand Amtrak has taken delivery from CAF USA four Viewliner II prototypes, one example each of (from top to bottom): Sleeper, Diner, BaggageDormitory, and Baggage. These single-level units are now under test on Amtrak’s Northeastern routes, where tunnel and catenary clearances preclude the use of bilevel Superliner equipment. There are 130 Viewliner IIs on order, 55 Baggage cars and 25 each of the other three types.

The field testing program includes compatibility tests for coupling cleanly and operating through a curve without interference with numerous types of Amtrak cars and locomotives. In addition, there are tests for speed, stability, braking, noise, and wheelset/rail interaction.

AMTRAK: Issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for up to 28 nextgeneration high speed trainsets to replace its current Acela Express equipment on the Northeast Corridor (NEC). Amtrak also issued a Request for Information (RFI) concerning 15 new Tier 4 diesel-electric locomotives, as well as one diesel switch yard locomotive.

INDIANA DOT: Selected Corridor Capital LLC as its “preferred vendor” to manage and operate Amtrak’s Hoosier State between Indianapolis and Chicago.

LACMTA: Awarded a $6.5 million contract to J.L. Patterson & Associates, Inc. (JLP) for finalizing the design of a double-track project along Metrolink’s Ventura County Line, north of Los Angeles. The Raymer to Bernson Double Track Project is located on part of the Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) Corridor.

8

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August 2014

NJ TRANSIT: Awarded a $54 million contract to Twenty-First Century Rail Corp. to add center sections to 35 cars of NJT’s existing light rail transit fleets serving two LRT lines, Hudson-Bergen Light Rail and Newark Light Rail, in order to boost passenger capacity.

awarded a €98.6 million ($133 million) upgrading and 20-year maintenance contract to a consortium including CAF Signalling, Revenga Ingenieros, and FCC Industrial e Infraestructuras Energéticas, for a section of the Barcelona-Valencia main line

SAN FRANCISCO MTA: Selected Siemens for a contract for 261 S200 light rail vehicles worth at least $1.1 billion, to replace the city’s aging LRT fleet. Final approval is expected in September.

CO-OPERATIVE BULK HANDLING (AUSTRALIA): The grain cooperative awarded a $133 million contract to Wi-Tronix LLC to provide monitoring and hosting services.

VIRGINIA: Pledged to commit to funding up to half the cost, or about $65 million, of the Columbia Pike streetcar project, designed to traverse the namesake avenue in Arlington and Fairfax counties, suburbs of Washington, D.C.

Worldwide ADIF ALTA VELOCIDAD (SPAIN): The HSR network infrastructure manager

SWISS FEDERAL RAILWAYS: Selected Harsco Corp. for a second major railway track and infrastructure maintenance equipment award, valued at more than $100 million, for 59 highspeed catenary vehicles that will be used for the construction, maintenance, and repair of overhead catenary systems throughout Switzerland.

TRANSPORT FOR LONDON: Selected MTR Corp. to operate the new Crossrail line; the £1.4 billion ($2.4 billion) concession will be for eight years.

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North America

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Update SUPPLY BRIEFS Herzog, Lilee Systems announce PTC partnership

Second-quarter earnings shine as Class I business surges

Herzog Technologies, Inc. announced last month it has partnered with Lilee Systems “to provide innovative Positive Train Control Solutions. HTI chose Lilee’s suite of products to support HTI’s Commercial ITCM Federation Hosting solution.” The parties will integrate Lilee’s hardware and software components with HTI’s service based Infrastructure-as-aService (IaaS) solutions, HTI said.

Progress Rail to buy Australian track business Progress Rail Services Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc., has signed a definitive agreement to purchase Pacific Rail Engineering’s (PRE) track business. PRE is an Australian-based company that designs and manufactures specialized track products for the freight and transit rail markets, Progress Rail said.

TransWorks, Raven Logistics form strategic alliance TransWorks and Raven Logistics last month announced a strategic alliance “that provides freight customers the benefits of a one-stop shop for managing transportation by either rail or truck.” Fort Wayne, Ind.-based TransWorks develops and manages computer systems for transporting large shipments of truckload freight, handling 5 million shipments annually. Naples, Fla.-based Raven Logistics provides rail freight rating, tracking, demurrage, and dispatching services. The alliance integrates the bimodal services of both companies and ultimately will offer customers a single web-based system for monitoring and managing train and truck shipments, the companies said.

10

RAILWAY AGE August 2014

A

rgument continues over the strength and depth of the U.S. economic recovery. But Class I railroads aren’t wasting time pondering such trifles, instead moving ahead with increasing vigor, posting record earnings and steadily improving operating ratios.

CSX Corp. announced record second-quarter net earnings of $529 million, or 53 cents per share, Tuesday afternoon, July 15, 2014, after the closing bell on Wall Street. Results were up from $521 million, or 51 cents per share, in the comparable quarter in 2013. CSX also beat Wall Street consensus per share estimates, recently raised, of 52.2 cents.

Second-quarter revenue rose 7% to

$3.2 billion, also “an all-time record,” CSX said, while the railroad notched an operating ratio of 69.3%.

“To propel service and capture growth opportunities, CSX is adding front-line personnel and making targeted investments in infrastructure and freight cars to efficiently grow our business and create competitive advantages for our customers,” said CSX Chairman, CEO, and President Michael J. Ward. “With the broad-based economic momentum we are seeing, the core earning strength of this company is improving and driving value for shareholders.”

Secular growth trends in the intermodal and oil and gas markets are contributing to CSX’s expectation for

modest full-year earnings growth in 2014, the railroad said.

Canadian Pacific on July 17 reported second-quarter net income of C$371 million (US$345 million), or C$2.11 (US$1.96) per diluted share, a record for the second quarter, and up from C$252 million, or C$1.43 per share, in the comparable quarter of 2013.

CP emphasized earnings per share were up 48% year-over year. Secondquarter revenue of C$1.68 billion was 12% higher than the year-ago quarter.

The operating ratio was 65.1%, “a 680 basis point improvement,” CP said.

“CP delivered another record quarter,” said CEO E. Hunter Harrison.

“The team has made great strides in my two years at CP and they continue to demonstrate resiliency by delivering these results despite continued operational challenges in the U.S. Midwest after a devastating winter.”

Kansas City Southern on July 18 reported higher second-quarter net income and revenue, which it said was powered by strong agriculture and automotive shipments.

Earnings for the quarter were $129.8 million, or $1.18 per diluted share, up sharply from $15.4 million, or 14 cents per share, in the comparable quarter of 2013. Revenue rose 12% to $649.7 million, a record.

KCS’s operating ratio was 68.3%.

Excluding lease termination costs, adjusted operating ratio was 67.0%, a 2.0 point improvement over secondquarter 2013, the company said.

Rebounding from a first quarter hampered by what its CEO called the “winter of a lifetime,” CN on July 21 reported second-quarter net income of C$847 million (US$789 million), up 18% from C$717 million in the second quarter of 2013.

Earnings per diluted share of C$1.03 (96 U.S. cents) rose 24% above earnings per diluted share of 83 Canadian cents.

Revenue rose 17% to C$3.1 billion (US$2.9 billion), CN said. The railroad’s operating ratio improved 1.3 points to 59.6% in the second quarter, compared with 60.9% in the compara-

ble quarter of a year ago.

On July 23 Norfolk Southern Corp. reported “record net income” of $462 million, or diluted earnings per share of $1.79, in the second quarter. Those marks were 21% and 23% higher, respectively, from the $465 million, or $1.46 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2013.

NS revenue rose 9% to $3.0 billion.

Its operating ratio was 66.5%, which the company deemed “a 5% improvement.” Those numbers beat Wall Street consensus analyst estimates of $3.03 billion in revenue, and earnings per share of $1.72.

NS general merchandise revenues increased 8% to a record $1.7 billion compared with the second quarter of 2013, while shipments of metals and construction, chemicals, and agricultural products also grew. Intermodal rose 11% to a record $650 million, and even coal gained 7%, rising to $672 million, NS said.

Said CEO Wick Moorman, “We see continued strength across most of our business segments and are optimistic that overall economic conditions will drive growth.”

Union Pacific on July 24 said secondquarter net earnings rose 17%, to $1.29 billion, or $1.43 per share, measured against $1.11 billion, or $1.18 per share, in the comparable quarter of a year ago. The results exceeded Wall Street consensus analyst estimates of $1.42 per share.

UP said its earnings per share were aided by its purchase of 8.3 million shares of its own stock for $806 million during the quarter. Second-quarter revenue rose 10% to $6.02 billion from $5.47 billion in the 2013 quarter, also beating Street expectations.

Strong demand for grain destined for export to Mexico and China, and a rise in coal shipments, contributed to the revenue stream, UP said.

“We are optimistic about the second half of the year,” UP CEO Jack Koraleski said in a statement, speaking on behalf of North America’s largest freight railroad–but in effect speaking for an entire industry.

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Update Strike hits Bombardier’s Thunder Bay facility

Roughly 900 workers at Bombardier Transportation’s Thunder Bay, Ontario, rail production plant (photo above) walked off the job on July 14, 2014, following a breakdown in contract talks with management.

Bombardier in response requested an injunction against the union after representatives from both sides spent hours

working out a revised picket line protocol. Bombardier said it filed the injunction request because it was concerned about access and safety for employees and managers trying to cross the picket line. On July 23, as the strike continued, Bombardier and representatives of Unifor Local 1075 workers, made revisions to the protocol and

reached an agreement. Justice Patrick J. Flynn, via teleconference from a Kitchener, Ontario, courtroom, made the agreement a legal order.

At issue are proposed changes by Bombardier to pensions and benefit packages, similar to what the company proposed in 2011, which triggered a brief strike at that time.

Unifor Local 1075 continued to work since its contract expired May 31; the union had been free to strike legally since June 10. “We’ve rejected their last offer,” Jerry Dias, president of Unifor, Canada’s biggest private-sector union, said. “We have zero interest in that.”

Bombardier’s proposal, spurned by Unifor, would enroll new hires in a defined contribution pension plan instead of the current defined benefit plan, and workers who started after May 2010 would lose their post-retirement benefits, Dias said.

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Wildfires damage Northwest U.S. rail lines A series of wildfires in central and eastern Washington state last month devastated entire communities and left several sections of railway damaged.

The largest fire, at more than 299,000 acres as of July 20, 2014, was ignited by lightning strikes six days earlier in the arid eastern foothills of the Cascade Range. An estimated 150 or more homes and other buildings have been lost, many of them in the town of Pateros, Wash.

That’s where Cascade & Columbia River Railroad (CSCD) took a direct hit. Larry Sorensen, general manager for CSCD, last month told Railway Age, “At this time, damage has been sustained to a wooden bridge structure and a few hundred ties around Pateros.

We are still evaluating the rail line, and will know more in regards to the customer impact as the week, and the wildfire, continues on.” A subsidiary of

Genesee & Wyoming, CSCD operates a 134-mile line between Oroville, Wash., and a BNSF connection at Wenatchee.

Just days before the destruction at Pateros, BNSF had deployed a fire train consisting of tank cars and firefighting apparatus to Trinidad, Wash., to protect against a smaller fire that threatened its Spokane-Seattle main line. As of July 20, that fire train and another one like it were stationed closer toward the Cascades, where a 6,600-acre fire was burning near Leavenworth. BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas said, “We have two Fire Trains positioned, one at Leavenworth, one at Cashmere, both on standby. We haven’t had to use them other than to soak down ties on bridges. No train impacts at this point due to fires.”

Union Pacific was not so lucky.

On July 19, a fire that broke out near Sprague, Wash., was driven

northeastward by sustained 30-to-40 mph winds. BNSF’s nearby SpokanePasco route was spared, but the fast-moving fire, which charred nearly 6,000 acres by nightfall, swept directly across UP’s Spokane-Hinkle route just north of Croskey, Wash., and just minutes ahead of an approaching train.

The crew of northbound manifest M-HKET-B (en route Hinkle, Oregon, to Eastport, Idaho) reported several instances of crossties burning along a roughly four-mile stretch of track.

UP immediately closed the route to all other traffic.

Neighboring Oregon has also been battling wildfires, but none have been as destructive to property as those in central Washington. At one point, BNSF had a fire train on standby near Madras, Ore., in case the 42,000-acre Shaniko Butte fire approached its track in the Deschutes River Canyon.

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Update All Aboard Florida initial operating segment set

All Aboard Florida will launch service in late 2016 as planned, but initially will operate trains linking Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, on the southern section of its planned overall system.

All Aboard Florida on July 8, 2014 unveiled its plans for its downtown Fort Lauderdale station, and also to double-track the southern segment

14

RAILWAY AGE August 2014

of right-of-way linking those three cities, as it continues planning to extend service north to Orlando.

A future extension would run west from Orlando to Tampa.

Plans for the downtown Miami station were unveiled last month, emphasizing intermodal passenger connections with Miami’s Metrorail service, bus services, and Metromover,

the downtown automated people mover.

Company President Michael Reininger repeated All Aboard Florida’s contention that service won’t compete with Tri-Rail because its trains will only stop in the three cities; Tri-Rail makes 16 stops between Miami International Airport and West Palm Beach.

“We don’t see this at all as a competitor to commuter rail; It’s complementary service,” Reininger told local media, echoing All Aboard Florida’s similar stance vis a vis Amtrak long-distance service in Florida.

The All Aboard Florida project, announced in March 2012, will stretch about 240 miles, using 200 miles of existing Florida East Coast Railway right-of-way from Miami and Cocoa, Fla., and 40 miles of new track to reach Orlando. Besides Tampa, a future leg north to Jacksonville, near the Georgia border, also has been proposed.

DART prepares to open DFW airport LRT link Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport are making final preparations on the last segment of the Orange Line, which arrives at the new DFW Airport Station on Aug. 18, 2014.

DFW International Airport built the station as part of its construction at Terminal A, the first of the legacy terminals to be renovated. According to DART President and Executive Director Gary Thomas, the partnership will allow DART to open the rail expansion four months sooner than scheduled, something he anticipated in an interview with Railway Age earlier this year.

“We could not have achieved this rail opening early and under budget without the incredible partnership with DFW International Airport,” Thomas said. DART has been operating test trains since last April on the extension.

The 5-mile segment links Terminal A

and Belt Line Station, with continuing service to Irving-Las Colinas, Dallas Market Center, and downtown Dallas.

With this opening, DFW International Airport becomes the third-largest American airport with a direct rail connection to the city center.

“Every renowned, world-class airport has rail service to the city center,” said Sean Donohue, CEO of Dallas/Fort

Worth International Airport. “One of our key priorities is to add more international service, and to be able to provide that same access to our customers is fantastic.”

The airport is one of the region’s major employment centers, and the LRT connection will offer direct access for the nearly 60,000 people who work there.

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Watching Washington FRANK N. WILNER

When you get a good deal, take it

A

rbitrator Robert O. Harris told the United Transportation Union (UTU) and railroads in 1991, then unable to agree at the bargaining table, “Welcome to the oldest established craps game in Washington. Like the suckers in ‘Guys and Dolls,’ you are risking your futures on the roll of the dice [when you fail to make a voluntary agreement].”

Intransigence then in collective bargaining over crew consist—the number of workers assigned to a train—didn’t turn out well for the UTU, which represented four of the then typical five-person crew.

Technology had rendered three of the on-board jobs unnecessary for safety, while high labor costs were chasing freight to lower-cost, non-union truckers, threatening all railroad jobs.

After the National Mediation Board released the parties under provisions of the Railway Labor Act, Presidential Emergency Board No. 219 (PEB) recommended binding arbitration if voluntary settlements, accompanied by cash bonuses, were not reached, railroad-by-railroad, within nine months.

The UTU, refusing to yield a single job, rejected binding arbitration and went on strike.

As Democrats then controlled the House and Senate, the UTU envisioned a labor friendly legislated outcome.

In fact, every Democrat on the House Rail Subcommittee voted to impose the PEB recommendations.

The entire House voted 400-5 to impose them, while the Senate did so by voice vote.

Labor’s staunchest ally, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), called the vote “good for business, good for the economy, and good for the nation.” Rep. Al Swift (D-Wash.) said he had “never seen an issue resolved with so little partisan politics.” The UTU’s devastated chief lobbyist, James Brunkenhoefer,

16

RAILWAY AGE

August 2014

called it “a bloody shirt that is going to be waved around for some time.”

Rather than continue the fight and risk losing more, the UTU settled, accepting crew consists of one conductor and one engineer, still in force on Class I railroads. The job losses occurred at greater personal cost than if settlements were made early. Those crew consist agreements soon will expire. Modern technology portends against their extension.

BNSF and a general committee of the Transportation Division of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation

Crew consist agreements established in 1991 soon will expire. Modern technology portends against their extension.

Union (SMART) seek to avoid a “bloody shirt” replay, with a tentative agreement offering every groundservice employee unprecedented blanket protection against furlough, substantially higher wages, and lucrative buyouts if crew consist is modernized voluntarily (cover story, p.

18). Those who made the deal understand new technology cannot be obstructed, but can be managed with innovative agreements to protect workers’ financial security.

Indeed, a decade ago, a farsighted UTU chose not to fight introduction of

remote control in yard operations.

Shrewdly negotiating job security and higher pay, the union told members, “We’d rather tell you why you are using remote control than explaining why you lost the jobs.”

The UTU, now SMART, was the loudest voice encouraging Congress to mandate Positive Train Control (PTC)—a $12 billion industry investment that makes an on-board conductor unnecessary for safety. Even without PTC, Amtrak, commuter/ regional railroads, and many freight regionals and short lines operate engineer-only in the cab, and with enviable safety records.

In exchange for obtaining flexibility in assigning jobs, BNSF offers career-long income protection for ground service employees—30 years or more for the newly hired—higher pay, and a Master Conductor craft monitoring PTC-equipped trains for safety compliance from a fixed or mobile location rather than on board the train. Contract language memorializes that conductors are in charge of train operation.

A perceptive SMART general committee envisions that when existing crew consist agreements begin expiring soon, and PTC is implemented, carriers unilaterally will remove conductors, triggering a PEB. And if the recommendations are similar to those of PEB No. 219, and a strike follows?

November elections likely will extend Republican control of the House. Pollsters says Republicans have a good probability to retake the Senate.

In a political environment increasingly influenced by younger technophiles oft suspicious of labor unions, undertaking to undermine the surge of new technology by seeking help out of Washington, D.C. is a fool’s errand.

Successful labor leaders know: When you get a good deal, take it.

Financial edge DAVID NAHASS

Takeaways from Railway Age’s Crude by Rail conference

R

ailway Age’s Crude By Rail conference in Washington, D.C., looked to identify the state of current issues in the CBR market and to discuss the potential regulatory changes and the impact the changing CBR landscape may have on the railroad industry.

It also discussed how the industry might develop partnerships to improve the way the CBR is handled and to insure long-term CBR viability.

The agenda was loaded with rail industry insiders who had a valuable perspective on CBR and its future.

I was among the speakers.

Since the conference, the Department of Transportation has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, with a 60-day comment period (p. 6), as Congress has demanded a final ruling by Sept.

30, 2014.

The issuance of the rule did not factor into account the potential for legal challenges that may surface once the ruling is passed.

One big unresolved issue is tank steel thickness—7/16-inch thick vs.

9/16-inch thick. Managing the required coordination between the U.S. and Canada is another high profile issue.

Robert Pickel from National Steel Car noted that there are roughly 97,000 cars in flammable (crude and ethanol) service today.

Other than the 25,000 cars built to the CPC-1232 specification after October 2011, the majority (65,000) of those cars are likely to require and may be able to be modified post-regulation.

Bob noted that in many cases the retrofit option for older cars may be overstated. In other words, the pool of cars potentially requiring retrofit is likely to be significant.

However, the pool of cars that can actually be retrofitted may be smaller

than is being assumed today. Talk about complicated!

Where and when is all of this modification work going to be completed?

A railcar repair shop and a tank railcar repair shop are two different entities.

All tank car shops can likely repair any railcar, but all railcar shops cannot repair tank cars. There are roughly 115 repair facilities that can work on tank cars. In many of those shops, project backlog is already into 2015 for the standard requirement for recertification (HM 216, formerly HM201).

Notwithstanding the regulatory winds, industry experts suggest the tank car backlog will last at least five years.

Add in the potential for retrofitting cars after the new regulations are finalized and you have a capacity problem on your hands.

The manufacturers will able to assist in the retrofit process, but the limitations on capacity highlight the practical realities and the logistical challenges the regulators are dealing with in connection with the change in specification.

The implementation period for the changing regulation is likely to be long and forgiving. A quick implementation

period would paralyze the transportation system and reduce carloads.

I think everyone would agree that is a lose/lose result.

Who is going to pay for the modifications?

Both lessees and lessors are worried about cost. Most DOT-111A tank cars are leased in “full-service” arrangements.

Typically, in these arrangements, the lessor makes the modifications and the lessee pays a portion of the cost over time. A very high-level estimate of the potential retrofit costs can run from as little as $20,000 to as high as $60,000 (again, courtesy Bob Pickel) depending on age and the scope of the modification.

Using these numbers, the impact on a lessee’s lease cost could be enormous.

I noted in my presentation that the discussions between lessees and lessors regarding the modification cost and the financial responsibility for such costs could become contentious.

The resolution on this point remains unclear at present.

What is going to happen to tank car demand once the regulations are finalized?

This is one place where I think all parties agree. Demand for new builds has been soft while companies await the publishing of the regulatory changes. A portion of the production quantities of tank cars being built have been cars that are not involved in CBR service.

Generally, all parties agree that the floodgates will reopen once the regulation is set and the environment has stabilized.

One big future question: For how long does the tank car backlog run at high levels?

Industry experts that I consulted with for this article suggest that it has another five years to run, minimum!

August 2014 RAILWAY AGE 17

TOMORROW’S RAILROADER

A landmark proposal involving BNSF and SMART-Transportation Division could significantly change the future of railroading.

A

gutsy, proactive, and far-sighted initiative by BNSF Railway, after negotiation with a general committee of its largest labor union, has produced a tentative Crew Consist Agreement and Wage and Rule Settlement that would, if ratified, allow freight trains equipped with Positive Train Control (PTC) to operate as early as next year with a lone engineer in the cab and no conventional on-board conductor between specific territories in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest.

Such PTC-equipped trains and their engineer would be monitored for safety compliance by a newly designated “Master Conductor” working from a fixed or mobile location other than the locomotive cab. The agreement would

18 RAILWAY AGE August 2014

recognize—for the first time in a rail labor contract—that the conductor is in charge of train operation.

The tentative agreement, which would significantly boost the pay of conductors and other ground service workers, involves BNSF and General Committee 001 of the Transportation Division of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation (SMART) Union (formerly the United Transportation Union). Ground service workers, in addition to conductors, include brakemen, helpers, switchmen, and yardmen. All are subject to promotion to conductor.

SMART General Committee 001 represents ground service workers in the territories of BNSF predecessors Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, Northern Pacific, and St.

By FRANK N. WILNER,

Bruce Kelly

Contributing Editor

Louis-San Francisco, as well as switching yards operated by BNSF predecessor Great Northern. The agreement would be in force only on those territories.

Improved pay and benefits, plus full-blanket furlough protection, would be provided to all affected ground service workers in exchange for an amended crew consist agreement to be phased in over two years, beginning Jan. 1, 2015. The ratification vote was scheduled to begin in mid-August, with results to be announced in September.

The agreement also would permit trains now requiring a brakeman or helper to be operated with a minimum of one on-board conductor or one yard foreman. For hybrid yard service, where the locomotive is operated by remote control

beltpacks and on-board controls during the same tour of duty, the minimum crew would be one foreman and one helper— one qualified to operate on-board locomotive controls.

Through freights not having operational PTC will continue to require a minimum of one conductor and an engineer.

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineer and Trainmen’s existing agreement with BNSF stipulates additional pay “when the engineer works engineer-only.” The BLET has a history of negotiating engineer-only agreements in exchange for higher pay, but on BNSF and other Class I railroads, a SMART crew-consist agreement requires a minimum of one conductor and an engineer in the cab. Those crew-consist agreements are nearing expiration, putting SMARTrepresented conductors at risk of losing jobs if railroads seek engineer-only operation with no enhanced position for the conductor, or choose to substitute an assistant engineer for the conductor.

Although the Railway Labor Act permits train and engine service workers to belong to either SMART or the BLET, SMART holds the BNSF contract for ground service workers, and the BLET holds the contract for engineers.

This tentative agreement, which may be a harbinger of similar ones on other BNSF territories and other Class I railroads, comes as union efforts to legislate or impose by regulation mandatory two-person crews are failing. Such legislation introduced in Congress has scant support, with no prospects for committee mark-up.

Although Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo, a former UTU officer, vowed regulation requiring two qualified crew members in each cab, the agency reportedly has run into a roadblock at the Office of Management and Budget—from which federal agencies must obtain permission to pursue initiatives—for failure to adequately demonstrate that such a regulation is warranted. No evidence has surfaced that a second person in the locomotive cab contributes to a more-safe operation, while evidence exists that the second person in the cab can cause a safety hazard.

Railroads also have telegraphed an intent to fight in federal court any such FRA proposed rulemaking. Congress also could block the FRA effort by withholding funding.

SMART’s Transportation Division has been asking state legislatures, most Republican-controlled, to impose twoperson crew requirements, with little success. States have authority so long as a federal law or regulation is not in force.

This tentative agreement provides for a snap-back—as if it had never existed—if legislation, regulation, or court action “materially” impairs the agreement.

Almost 6,000 SMART members—some 15% of SMART’s total freight-railroad-employed membership, and some 60% of BNSF ground service employees—would be affected by the proposed BNSF territorial agreement.

It provides that where a conductor no longer is in the cab of a PTC-equipped through freight train, supervision by the conductor of the engineer and train operation is to be August 2014 RAILWAY AGE 19

TOMORROW’S RAILROADER

Amtrak, regional/commuter railroads, and many smaller freight railroads long have operated with a lone engineer in the cab with no demonstrable reductions in train safety.

accomplished by remote means—which, someday, could include aerial drones with cameras, according to a side-letter accompanying the tentative agreement.

In designating a Master Conductor, the agreement provides for additional supervisory responsibilities for safe train operation throughout assigned territory, plus responsibility by the Master Conductor for crew transportation between trains, yards, terminals, and off-duty points.

The BNSF offer is among the most lucrative ever paid for work-rules reform.

Extensive career income protection assures that “no protected ground service employee shall ever be subject to involuntary furlough.” Reserve status positions will be created, further assuring that those protected and unable to hold any position in ground, engine, dispatcher, or yardmaster service, will be provided 100% of their compensation and benefits.

Additionally, ground service employees would have an option of choosing voluntary reserve status, assuring them

75% of their wages when not working. Those in reserve status would not be required to report to a railroad facility, but required to remain qualified for duty while in reserve status and awaiting recall.

Furthermore, the tentative agreement provides that downturns in business would not adversely affect protected ground service employees, who, rather than involuntarily furloughed, would be assigned to a work retention board, with pay and benefits, while awaiting recall.

There would be a $5,000 signing bonus, and all ground service entry rates of pay would be boosted to 100% immediately, conductor certification pay would be increased, and vacation and personal leave benefits would be enhanced.

Performance bonuses—for which middle management and locomotive engineers are now eligible—are built into the agreement for all ground service employees. BNSF also intends to offer, at its option, $100,000 lump-sum separation packages to certain protected ground service employees.

“It wasn’t that long ago that each train crew had five and sometimes six crewmembers along with a caboose. First the railroads went after the firemen’s craft, and through legislation the carriers were successful in eliminating all firemen with less than 10 years seniority. I was one of those firemen and realized then that you cannot count on legislation to protect your jobs. Then came the first generation of crew consist [agreements], followed by second, third, and sometimes fourth generation of crew consists, all with the intent of the carriers eliminating more crews. This was followed by first eliminating cabooses, thus placing the rear brakeman and conductor on the head end. Again, the carriers took advantage of this situation to eliminate more positions.

20 RAILWAY AGE August 2014

“Don’t think for a minute that the carriers are not looking down the road to take the same advantage of PTC technology. You each have seen the future and rightfully have jumped ahead of the game for the benefit of our membership.

“No doubt there will be those that criticize your efforts, but what are their options? You have eliminated all entry rates, provided protection for all your current ground service employees, obtained a Scope Rule for the future and restored jobs that had been previously lost, and provided a Snap-Back if two-person crews are legislated. You each have not only hit a home run, you have hit a grand slam.”

—Former UTU International President Paul C. Thompson, to SMART’s John Babler and Randall S. Knutson

Chuck Fox

FORMER UTU HEAD PAUL C. THOMPSON: “YOU HAVE HIT A GRAND SLAM”

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BNSF freight trains equipped with PTC could be operating with a lone engineer in the cab as early as next year.

SMART International Representative John Babler, who participated in negotiations, said decades-old labor agreements with BNSF and other Class I railroads mandating an engineer and conductor on every train start “have just about run their course, and the protections afforded may be subject to serious challenges by the carriers. The proposed agreement provides job security for decades into the future.”

BNSF says the agreement’s intent is to “reserve substantial work opportunities (many of them new opportunities) for BNSF ground service employees, and BNSF is absolutely

committed to and shall honor this spirit in the agreement.”

BNSF calls the proposed agreement “a new, transformational approach to railroad operations, pursuant to which the Master Conductor has a broad array of responsibilities and opportunities and may more fully deploy his/her talents and skills to advance the safety, quality, and efficiency of BNSF operations.”

SMART Transportation Division President John Previsich did not respond to Railway Age’s request for comment.

Although a BNSF official said Previsich “indicated” he “would not oppose” General Committee 001’s tentative agreement, and Babler said Previsich was “complimentary” of an April 30, 2014 Power Point presentation on it, Previsich said, via his Transportation Division website July 18, that he remains committed to “two people on each and every crew” (sidebar, p. 23). He did not specify a conductor, as opposed to an assistant engineer, as the second person.

In a letter to Babler and General Chairperson Randall S. Knutson, former UTU International President Paul C. Thompson expressed his support for the tentative agreement (sidebar, p. 20).

Prior to the merger creating SMART, the UTU won a federal court order blocking railroads from negotiating new crew consist agreements through national handling, ruling that crew consist be negotiated railroad-by-railroad, which the tentative agreement seeks to accomplish.

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PREVISICH: “SAFE, SECURE RAIL OPERATIONS REQUIRE TWO-PERSON CREWS” “Simply stated, the only safe and secure operation of any train includes a minimum of two people on each and every crew. Issues of predictability, fatigue, task saturation, operating requirements, crossing separation for emergency reasons, security and other issues remain at the forefront of any discussion regarding crew size, and to date, all such concerns remain unresolved.

“Although technology has produced many benefits for our industry and clearly aids in improving the safe

BLET National Legislative Director John Tolman did not respond to a request for comment.

Federal Railroad Administration spokesperson Kevin Thompson said, “FRA continues to believe that the highest level of safety is ensured with the use of multiple-person crews. We look forward to learning more about the BNSF/ SMART proposal and how it supports the intent of our rulemaking—protecting the public.”

PTC is a crash-avoidance safety overlay system utilizing the satellite global positioning system (GPS), wireless communications, and computers to prevent collisions and derailments

movement of trains, it is imprudent for anyone to assert that technology can replace the safety and security of a two-person train crew. Operations requirements cause it to be necessary that crews perform a number of tasks concurrently while operating the train. This can result in what the National Transportation Safety Board calls ‘task saturation.’ There are so many things to do that one of them falls off the radar screen.”

— SMART Transportation Division President John Previsich

by automatically applying brakes on trains exceeding authorized speeds, about to run a red signal, violate a work zone, or run through an improperly aligned switch.

PTC’s extensive capabilities are said to make the second crew member unnecessary in the cab. The National Transportation Safety Board, which has long advocated PTC installation, does not object to elimination of the on-board conductor when PTC is installed. Amtrak, regional/ commuter railroads, and many smaller freight railroads long have operated with a lone engineer in the cab with no demonstrable reductions in train safety. RA

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THE CHANGING FREIGHT CAR LANDSCAPE

T

he North American freight car market has changed dramatically in the past few years. Where coal gondolas and hoppers and intermodal platforms once accounted for the bulk of builders’ order books, tank cars and covered hoppers now dominate.

Based on strong first-half 2014 orders and a backlog approaching an astounding 100,000 units, Economic Planning Associates has once again raised its estimate for 2104-2015 freight car deliveries. “In spite of a lackluster economy, second-quarter 2014 railcar orders of 33,912 units far outpaced deliveries of 16,056, raising mid-year backlogs to a formidable 99,782 cars and platforms,” EPA said in its most recent forecast. EPA raised its short-term railcar deliveries estimate to 66,300 cars this year and 72,000 cars in 2015. Beginning in 2016, annual railcar assemblies will “ease very moderately, at historically high levels,” from 63,300 to 62,500 cars and platforms in 2019.

Tank cars remain dominant in terms of total railcar backlog share, but demand for other types of equipment “has increased significantly thus far in 2014,” EPA noted. “We

26 RAILWAY AGE August 2014

are especially enthused by the strong demand for all types of covered hoppers, mill gondolas, intermodal equipment, and Class F flat cars. However, the star of the railcar industry remains tank car equipment, primarily crude oil service cars.

Demand for tank cars has escalated once again. After three relatively modest quarters, orders for tank cars surged to 10,629 units in the second quarter, taking backlogs to the mid-year level of 52,589 cars.”

Longer term, EPA is hopeful that “stronger economic activities will provide support for certain railcar assemblies while an improvement in the financial environment, high gasoline prices, and strong government backing stimulate greater demand for ethanol and DDG cars. Replacement pressures and technological advances as well as legislative measures will also play a role in promoting the demand for a variety of railcars. Construction activities are expected to continue to advance, which should support movements of aggregates and structural steel products.

“Continued expansion in demand for crude oil, petroleum products, chemicals, and food and beverages will prop up

All photos: William C. Vantuono

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haulings of a variety of liquid products and the demand for tank cars. Growing worldwide nutritional needs and expanding exports will pressure current grain service cars as we proceed through the longer term while long-neglected segments such as equipment to haul waste, aggregates, and limestone show signs of revival and should add to the railcar delivery mix in the years to come. However, the most dynamic element in the long-term railcar environment will be tank cars to transport ever increasing volumes of oil and petroleum products.”

Based on its most recent information on the continued expansion in U.S. oil production and the need to upgrade tank car equipment, EPA anticipates further growth in demand for rolling stock. “Spurred by hydraulic fracturing, U.S. oil production has jumped from 5.0 million barrels per day in 2008 to 7.4 million last year and is expected to average 8.5 million this year and 9.3 million next year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration,” EPA said.

“This boom, along with a rise in natural gas liquids production, has dramatically lowered petroleum imports. The share of U.S. liquid fuel consumption met by net imports, down from 60% in 2005 to 33% in 2013, is expected to fall to 22% in 2015, which would be the lowest since 1970. The U.S. and Canada are expected to account for most of the world’s projected growth in production of oil and other liquid fuel through 2015, while China and less developed countries will drive most of the growth in consumption, according to the EIA’s July forecast.”

EPA believes that the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on so-called HHFTs (highhazard flammable trains) that carry crude oil, ethanol, and other volatile commodities (p. 6) should positively impact demand for oil carrying tank cars. The proposed rule calls for older DOT 111A tank cars (pre CPC-1232 cars, the rail industry’s voluntary standard in effect since October 2011) used for the shipment of Packing Group I flammable liquids, including most Bakken crude oil, are to be retired within two

years unless retrofitted to comply with updated standards— whatever those will be.

The DOT’s open-ended NPRM “does not directly answer the question of what car is preferred for hauling crude oil, but it does provide some thoughts about how the process might move forward,” says Railroad Financial Corp. Senior Vice President and Railway Age Contributing Editor David Nahass. “It is clear that the DOT would prefer the 9/16-inchsteel car design. That standard should have been established and the issue should be put to rest. Unfortunately there are so many hands in the cookie jar regarding this issue that a straightforward proclamation seems unfeasible right now.

If the DOT had established the 9/16-inch standard earlier without delay, all parties in the industry would have processed the change in specification and moved beyond it.

Then the issue of retrofits could have been handled separately, with a critical eye and a focus on the business and safety aspects of a massive shift in transportation fundamentals.”

For tank car builders, “the solution is easy,” says Nahass.

“Start selling the 9/16-inch car exclusively. A universal decision by the five carbuilders (Union Tank Car, Trinity, ARI, National Steel Car, and Greenbrier) to move to this design would end the debate and allow the regulatory agencies to focus on the retrofit issue exclusively. The mixing of the two issues—new car design and retrofit—makes the solution and final resolution that much more complicated and invites an endless parade of commentary and debate.

There are already too many parties involved in the decisionmaking process; inviting more to the party will make users and the public wonder if there will be a final resolution within the next 12 months.”

CARS FOR DOWNSTREAM PETROLEUM PRODUCTS

The other market segment experiencing rapid growth is covered hoppers—not just small-cube cars for the extremely dense sand used in hydraulic fracking, but high-cube models designed specifically for such downstream petroleum Formosa Plastic Corp. USA is among Greenbrier’s first customers for its new plastic pellet car.

August 2014 RAILWAY AGE 27

CHANGING FREIGHT CAR LANDSCAPE

Greenbrier’s new plastic pellet car is equipped with four Miner aluminum discharge gates.

products as plastic pellets and chemicals, demand for which is expanding. EPA reports “significant strength in each of the covered hopper segments.” High-cube cars accounted for 2,950 units in this year’s first half, and a rebound in grain hauling and reports of equipment shortages drove an increase in first-half orders for mid-sized cars. As expected, the escalation in fracking activities raised demand for small-cube equipment in the first half, and strong delivery levels are anticipated both this year and next.

One of the newest high-cube covered hoppers comes from The Greenbrier Companies, which last month introduced an all-new, 6,250-cubic-foot plastic pellet car. Railway Age got a close look at this car, both inside and out, at its unveiling for customers at Greenbrier’s Cleburne, Tex., shop. Designed with input from more than 50 plastic pellet shippers, the new car “has hit the marketplace with a lot of attention and orders,” according to Vice President Marketing Tom Jackson.

Consultant and car inspector Madeline Sixkiller worked closely with Greenbrier’s design team.

Among Greenbrier’s first customers is Formosa Plastic Corp.

USA, the U.S. subsidiary of Taiwan-based Formosa Plastics Group, a global producer of petrochemicals and plastics.

“Low natural gas prices have made the U.S. competitive again in the world energy market, and we are now headed for the second round of the ‘Energy Renaissance in America,’” observes Jackson. “On the rail equipment side, the first round was dominated by small-cube covered hoppers and large tank cars for frac sand drilling and crude oil transportation. The second round of equipment demand will be for specialty tank cars and large covered hoppers required for products such as plastic resin, petrochemicals, and fertilizers. We believe that North American chemical and plastics production will double by 2020, generating $67 billion in new chemical industry shipments.”

Greenbrier’s new “6250,” which is being built at the company’s Gunderson-Concarril Plant 2 in Mexico City,

CONVERTING ENERGY INTO DOWNSTREAM PRODUCTS

28 RAILWAY AGE August 2014

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is specially lined and equipped with four Miner aluminum pneumatic discharge gates that “make it ideally suited for the storage and transportation of free-flowing, light-density products,” says Senior Design Engineer Mike Gillis. “Its curve-sided, all-welded design and ten 20-inch-diameter hatch covers—four vented and six unvented—protect against vacuum pull and product contamination.”

This Plate C car, built to AAR’s M-1001 specification, features a continuous side sill, with side sheet reinforcement between 35-degree transverse slope sheets, 55-degree sideslope sheets, and a protected brake rod that runs through the side sill, with a slack adjuster inspection portal.

With a GRL (gross rail load) of 286,000 pounds, load limit of 219,000 pounds, and light weight of 66,500 pounds, it measures 67 feet, 10 inches in length (over couplers), 62 feet, 9.625 inches inside length, 15 feet, 6 inches in extreme height, 10 feet, 4.75 inches in extreme width, and 54 feet, 2 inches between truck centers.

Curve negotiation radius is 180 feet (uncoupled), 256 feet (coupled to a similar car), and 253 feet (coupled to a base car). The car rides on Amsted Rail ASF-Keystone® M976 Motion Control trucks and is equipped with Amsted Rail couplers and draft gear and Ellcon National handbrakes. Safety appliances are designed to AAR S-2044 requirements (RA, May, p. 42).

Greenbrier says its new 6250 can be configured with a variety of hatches, outlet gates, and interior coatings.

“Plastic pellet cars make approximately four turns per year, and typically sit in storage for three months or more, in SIT (storage-in-transit) yards,” notes Greenbrier Vice President Sales and National Account Executive Tim Schitter. “We project that every one billion pounds of plastic produced requires about 1,000 railcars. We’ve seen delivery projections of about 27,000 cars through 2018, but we believe that actual demand will be around 33,000 cars, with a peak in 2016 of 10,480 units.”

CHANGING FREIGHT CAR LANDSCAPE BEYOND TANK CARS AND COVERED HOPPERS

Looking at other car types, Economic Planning Associates points out that mill gondolas “exhibited strength in secondquarter orders, responding to a rebound in domestic steel shipments and strong growth in steel imports. Demand for three- and five-unit intermodal platform cars have picked up, and given the rising trend in intermodal traffic, we have raised our short-term forecast for intermodal equipment assemblies. But we continue to be concerned about the underwhelming growth of the economy as manufacturers, oil and gas producers, and coal companies struggle with the increasing number of government regulations that are dampening our economic potential. Hopefully, our economy can eventually embark on a stronger path of growth that will improve railroad traffic, revenue, and investments, leading to continued healthy growth in railcar demand.”

And what about the industry’s old standby, the coal car? “Even with an anticipated rebound in coal hauling this year, we remain cautious on the outlook for coal cars, primarily because we have heard that customers prefer to rebuild rather than purchase new equipment in the currently dismal coal environment,” EPA said.

EPA is also cautious about the motor vehicle market, noting that North American light vehicle sales dropped in January and February, and then rebounded through June as sales expanded to 16.92 million units. “We are factoring in some moderation in sales in the months ahead, and we continue to remain leery on the future course of auto sales through the next two years,” EPA said. “Until the economy is on more solid footing, employment advances at a more significant pace, and consumer income growth increases, we expect quarterly auto sales to remain relatively flat at high levels during 2014 and 2015.”

In other words, as Walter Brooke said to Dustin Hoffman in 1967’s The Graduate, “I just want to say one word to you. Are you listening? Plastics.” RA

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LRT AND STREETCARS ADVANCE IN TANDEM As North American cities make a comeback, and make their true transport needs known, streetcars and light rail transit systems both take the lead and go along for the ride.

By DOUGLAS JOHN BOWEN,

Managing Editor

32 RAILWAY AGE August 2014

the Twin Cities mix last June; Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) extends its Orange Line to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport this month. Siemens last month landed a contract for 261 LRVs sought by San Francisco Metropolitan Transit Agency.

Those developments account for systems already built and opened for service (or nearly so). The lists for both streetcar and LRT projects actively under construction, and under serious consideration, are longer still. (See sidebar, p. 34.)

OFFERING MODAL, POWER OPTIONS

No one can say the rail suppliers aren’t ready for the wave of urban rail transit now appearing. Companies large and small exhibiting at the APTA Expo 2011 in New Orleans clearly indicated their awareness of, and eagerness to serve, an emerging market with big growth potential (Railway Age, Nov. 2011, p. 19).

RATP Dev America

F

ive years ago, only the U.S. Pacific Northwest sported new streetcar lines, dismissed by many as an Ectopia fixation, or of a sepia-tinted past per New Orleans’ venerable fleet. Many, even within the rail industry, simply deemed streetcars as a mode not worthy of North America’s serious consideration.

Last year the debut of Utah Transit Authority’s Sugar House streetcar line shattered that notion.

Last month, Tucson, Ariz.’s Sun Link fleet (shown above) joined the U.S. streetcar ranks, putting to rest any insistence that U.S. streetcar growth is a fluke. And as 2014 comes to a close, expect to add Washington, D.C., and Atlanta to the growing U.S. streetcar list.

Simultaneously, additions, build-outs, and car orders involving bigger-brother mode light rail transit continue apace. St. Paul, Minn., added its Central Corridor Line to

FEDERAL FUNDING: IS IT ESSENTIAL? MUNICIPALITIES WEIGH THEIR OPTIONS Last month, streetcar proponents in Arlington County, Va., scored a victory when the state of Virginia pledged to fund roughly half the cost of the Columbia Pike streetcar, stretching along its namesake roadway in Arlington and Fairfax counties. The move could expedite the project’s construction—and avoid the angst of striving to secure federal funding for the project.

Such a development hardly is the first such instance; indeed, the initial San Diego Trolley Blue Line to San Ysidro, the first modern U.S. light rail transit operation, was put in place in 1981 without federal funding. At various times, the powers in Portland, Ore., have stated (or bluffed, or even threatened) to proceed with various LRT or streetcar growth whether federal funding was in place or not. Even New Jersey, hardly an LRT leader, eschewed federal funding in establishing its 34-mile RiverLINE in 2004 linking Trenton and Camden, N.J., though the line is a diesel light rail transit (DLRT) service, not electrified LRT. No matter; fervent rail proponents often mix congenital pessimism into their funding worldview, insisting that federal funding is essential for any U.S. urban rail progress.

Such assistance no doubt has accelerated U.S. LRT and streetcar expansion signficantly, particularly since the Federal Transit Administration has overseen its New Starts and Small Starts program in recent years with a

That includes heavyweight carbuilders like Siemens Mobility and Bombardier Transportation clearly marketing their ability to supply both LRT and streetcar products.

Siemens touted its flexible approach to manufacturing its S70 car for LRT or streetcar application, an approach now in full flower on the property at Utah Transit Administration.

“The Sugar House line is an excellent example showing what streetcars can do in American cities,” says Siemens Rail Systems President Michael Cahill. “The economic development spurred by such lines is and will be considerable.

When you have streetcars, you have on and off traffic; you have pedestrianism, and you attract bars and restaurants, which create a vibrancy in a city.” Cahill quips, “Bars and restaurants follow people.”

Bombardier, for its part, can point to Toronto as an example of supplying Flexity Freedom 100% low-floor streetcars for Toronto Transit Commission’s legacy lines, while Flexity LRT variants are destined for newer LRT lines in the Greater Toronto area.

More such municipal “two-fer” business potential is likely. West Sacramento’s proposed streetcar line will link with—and possibly be run by—Sacramento’s Regional Transit District, which operates LRT serving the California state capital. Tempe, Ariz., served by Valley Metro LRT,

friendlier disposition toward rail-related transit.

But at least two drawbacks can counter such benefits.

One is simple economics: Demand for federal funding assistance for LRT and streetcars far outstrips supply, as numerous municipalities have found for years when competing for successive rounds of Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants (not only with each other’s rail project, but with numerous bus and Bus Rapid Transit proposals in the mix).

The cost of time is the second obstacle. As Arlington County officials suggested (or sometimes state outright), the amount of time required to satisfy federal regulations and recommendations not only frustrates supporters; it encourages anti-rail partisans to keep sniping at a given project—as one Texas rail advocate puts it, “in hopes of spreading fear, uncertainty, and doubt”—and at least indirectly causing project costs to rise as delays mount, even if the project survives.

The choice may become more stark, and more immediate, if Congress fails to reauthorize a surface transportation funding program by the end of this month. Rail transit, indeed all public transit, remains a small portion of any highway-heavy legislation, thus relegating rail projects to the status of lesser hostage.

More U.S. locations, be they city, county, and/or state, may decide to proceed without federal aid.

seeks to build a 2.6-mile streetcar line augmenting LRT service in the Phoenix suburb. As plans for a new HudsonBergen Light Rail stop revive, Hoboken, N.J., is pondering a streetcar route to link the new station down its main commercial street en route to Hoboken Terminal, a major intermodal hub.

Competition among suppliers therefore will remain intense, with Alstom (Ottawa), Brookville Equipment Corp.

(Dallas streetcar), CAF USA (vehicles in Boston, Cincinnati, and Kansas City), Kinkisharyo, and United Streetcar LLC (Tucson, Ariz., and Washington, D.C.) bid for streetcar and LRT contracts as project possibilities mount. To be decided, possibly by the end of August: a car manufacturer for Detroit’s M1 Rail, the Motor City’s first modern streetcar line, for which construction started last month.

Complicating matters, at least for streetcar sales, are rising demands for options to traditional cars powered by overhead wire, as municipalities take an increasingly greater proactive role, and sometimes fiscal stake, in determining their needs.

(See sidebar above.) Various dual-powered vehicle specification have flooded the marketplace, with cities such as Washington, D.C., and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., making it a priority consideration. Dallas’ Oak Cliff neighborhood already has established the U.S. precedent, as it awaits four August 2014 RAILWAY AGE 33

LA HELPS LEAD THE WAY: LRT LINES MULTIPLY AT A RAPID RATE MOVE OVER, HOUSTON, DALLAS, AND DENVER; Los Angeles is bound and determined to match, and maybe raise, the bar on light rail transit development— with some streetcar thrown in—and help demonstrate that while streetcars are the current craze, North American LRT expansion is doing just fine.

The City of Angels now has moved into Tier 2 U.S. status in terms of percentage of population using rail and rail transit (Railway Age, July 2014, p. 34), on par with showcase cities such as Portland, Ore. And LA plans to rely heavily on LRT to increase that percentage.

Though deadlines often are revised, at press time Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) projected the following additions to its growing LRT network.

Gold Line Foothill Extension: To open in November 2016.

Expo(sition) Line Phase II: To open in December 2016.

Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor: To open in April 2019.

Downtown Regional Connector: To open May 2021.

Westside Purple Line Extension Phase 1: To open May 2024.

And while LACMTA also proceeds apace with two Bus Rapid Transit routes for the East San Fernando Valley Transit Corridors, Gov. Jerry Brown last month signed a bill revoking legislation passed in 1991 banning LRT (described as “above-ground rail transit”) from being built in the valley. Los Angeles thus is cleared to convert its Orange Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line to a light rail transit (LRT) operation in the future, though LACMTA has no funds in place for such a modal shift—county Measure R funds are largely spoken for.

Not that LA’s streetcar potential is being ignored. The City Council is supporting plans for a four-mile streetcar route (possibly including wireless operation) linking the Civic Center and the Convention Center (and, therefore, LRT), funded in part by Measure R funds and by a neighborhood property tax. LACMTA, along with the city’s Department of Transportation, have been authorized to seek federal funding for the project.

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Not that the customers automatically see the differences when it comes to rail submodes or modal power. Jason Kuehn, associate partner, vice present, transportation practice, for consultant Oliver Wyman, Inc., notes pointedly, “I don’t think most people would notice.” What riders do care about, he says, is the permanence of an LRT or streetcar route compared with buses. “If an area is unfamiliar, most people will opt for a fixed right-of-way, one they can see.

Buses don’t offer that,” he says.

Is the preference for LRT over bus really significant?

“Absolutely,” Kuehn says. “Light rail [also] tends to connect major important places; stadia, shopping malls, airports.”

Travelers know, or at least intuit, that, he asserts.

Siemens’ Cahill agrees. “The difference in passengers’ perception between a bus line and a streetcar line is the permanence; a bus could get redirected.” And it’s not just potential passengers who care, he points out. “A bus line doesn’t give business the confidence it might want. Fixed stations and fixed guideways do just that.”

The first portion of LA Metro’s Gold Line entered service in 2003. Currently, the line links downtown Los Angeles with Pasadena, Calif., serving 21 stations.

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August 2014 RAILWAY AGE 35

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Touting such advantages, suppliers are ready to market both streetcars and LRT, and the Federal Transit Administration seems more willing to help them do so than in years past. Still somewhat lagging, though, is FTA’s ability to communicate directly with a new crop of end-users: municipal and county authorities prodding traditional transit authorities and agencies (and sometimes avoiding those entities altogether).

At APTA Expo 2011, top FTA officials exhorted attendees to seek FTA’s guidance in advancing a burgeoning number of potential streetcar projects, with FTA reps presuming that transit agencies were the specific audience—a presumpTime-tested and still evolving tion somewhat inaccurate at best even in ■ With 40 years of development, HARTING’s market leading 2011, but one that at least one FTA connectors offer solutions for today. representative still held at an APTA 2014 ■ Reduced size with one third length versions, mixed contact types Rail Conference streetcar roundtable with hybrid connectors.

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Several roundtable participants at www.HARTING-usa.com that Montreal session, including Kansas City’s top transportation official, politely but pointedly noted such was not the case. Though Utah Transit 08.2014 Railway Age BW DIN .333pg.indd 1 7/21/2014 1:24:43 PM Authority and Seattle’s Sound Transit are active streetcar proponents, others such as DART and Portland’s Tri-Met appear more comfortable in a supportive role (DART as an operator, Portland as a cooperative partner). Still other operators, roundtable panelists informed the FTA, were disinterested or even downright hostile toward streetcars—including even some with successful light rail transit divisions.

That makes it mandatory for municipalities, or sometimes counties, to “learn to speak FTA,” the Kansas City spokesman observed, even as it behooves FTA to alter or expand its communications efforts to a “new” clientele – municipalities and/or counties.

For federal officials and suppliers alike, that clientele appears likely to grow in the years ahead.

“To state the obvious: Everything is political these days,” observes Oliver Wyman’s Jason Kuehn. “But we’re Recruiting for the future… moving ahead; the [urban rail] area is Visit our website for career opportunities. growing by leaps and bounds. Activity www.ltk.com is ongoing despite the pitfalls.” RA

Congratulations to the City of Tucson on the opening of the Sun Link Streetcar

36 RAILWAY AGE August 2014

People

Meetings

HIGH PROFILE Kansas City Southern has named Gary W. Jarboe Vice President Mechanical Operations for Kansas City Southern Railway (KCSR), closely coordinating with the leadership of Kansas City Southern de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. (KCSM). Jarboe, based in Kansas City, reports to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Dave R. Ebbrecht.

Jarboe has more than 40 years of transportation experience. Most recently, he was Director Commercial Improvement for Bombardier Transportation. He has also held a variety of operations leadership positions with Southern California Regional Rail Authority, Amtrak, and CSX Transportation. He has also been a dealership business owner. Jarboe holds a bachelor of science in finance from the University of Louisville in Kentucky. “We are excited to have Gary’s expertise to augment the mechanical team, especially as we continue to grow our asset base at record levels,” said Ebbrecht. “His leadership will be important as we expand operations in both the U.S. and Mexico.”

September 14-16

Genesee & Wyoming Inc.—Louis Gravel named President of Genesee & Wyoming Canada, succeeding Mario Brault.

Louisville & Indiana Railroad—John Goldman named President, succeeding Mike Stolzman.

Rio Grande Pacific—Bob Howery named Senior Vice President of Operations, overseeing operations of the Nebraska Central Railroad, New Orleans and Gulf Coast Railway, Idaho Northern and Pacific, and Wichita, Tillmann, and Jackson Railway. Scott Wollack named General Manager of New Orleans and Gulf Coast Railways.

Watco Cos.— Stacy Grant named General Manager of Great Northwest Railroad. Travis Chamberlain named General Manager of Wallula Switching Site.

SUPPLIERS Herzog Technologies, Inc. named Mark Bousquet Director of Quality Assurance. Nicholas Freeman named BNSF-Project Manager located in North Richland Hills, Tex. Parallel Infrastructure named Ron Bittner Vice President of Tower Development.

Parsons Brinckerhoff named Patrick Anderson Texas Transit and Rail

Manager, Austin. Brigette Thomas named U.S. West Business Development Manager, San Francisco. Joseph F. Miller named a Senior Systems Supervising Engineering Manager, Dallas. Rex Plummer named San Diego Area Manager.

Parsons Corp. named Patricia Walsh Vice President and Director of Business Development–Midwest, Chicago.

VHB named Michael J. Carragher, PE, President as of Jan. 1, 2015, and CEO, as of Jan. 1, 2016.

100 YEARS AGO in

(AUGUST 1914) MONORAIL STREETCAR DIES The monorail street car line which was built in the northern part of New York City a few years ago appears, after many vicissitudes, at last to be dead. A new line of ordinary street cars, with storage battery motive power, was put in service August 18.

The line is from the City Island Station of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad to Belden’s Point, about 3 miles. The opening of the line followed the condemnation of the monorail as unsafe a few months ago. The Union Railroad bought the monorail franchise from the Interborough Rapid Transit Company.

ASLRRA Eastern Region Meeting Hershey Lodge, Hershey, Pa. Tel.: 202-628-4500; Email: jbourque@aslrra.org; Website: www.aslrra.org

September 14-16 AARS 118th Annual Meeting Union League Club, Chicago, Ill. Tel.: 331-643-3369; Email: aars@supt.org; Website: www.supt.org

September 21-23 RSI/CMA 2014 Palais des congrès de Montréal (Montreal Convention Center), Montreal, Quebec.

Tel; 202-347-4664; Email: patrick@rsiweb.org

September 23-26 InnoTrans 2014 Berlin, Germany Tel.: 732-933-1118; Email: mjbalve@globaltradeshow.com; Website: http://www.innotrans. de/en/

September 24-25 North Carolina Railroad Co. Rail Forum: Progress in Motion Raleigh, N.C. Tel.: 919-954-7601; Email: NCRR_info@ncrr.com; Website: http://www.ncrr.com/newsevents/ progress-in-motion-forum/

September 28-October 1 AREMA 2014 Annual Conference & Exposition Chicago, Ill. Tel.: 301-459-3200, ext. 705; Email: lhamilton@arema.org; Website: www.arema.org

October 12-14 ASLRRA Southern Region Meeting Naples, Fla. Tel.: 202-628-4500; Email: jbourque@aslrra.org; Website: www.aslrra.org August 2014 RAILWAY AGE 37

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

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

Last Update Effective:

FRA Part #

Last Update Effective:

FRA Part #

Last Update Effective:

40 . . . . . . . . .10-3-12 209 . . . . . . . .2-12-13 210 . . . . . . . .8-14-89 211 . . . . . . . .7-20-09 213 A-F . . . . .3-25-14 213 G . . . . . .7-11-13 214 . . . . . . . . .7-1-14 215 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 216 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 217 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 218 . . . . . . . .6-25-12

219 220 221 222 223 224 225 228 229 230 231

. . . . . . . . .5-6-13 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 . . . . . . . . .1-1-14 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 . . . . . . .12-19-12 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 . . . . . . . .6-25-12

232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 242

. . . . . . . .6-25-12 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 . . . . . . . .5-14-13 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 . . . . . . . .7-13-12 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 . . . . . . . .1-28-14 . . . . . . . .1-28-14 . . . . . . . .6-25-12 . . . . . . . .6-25-12

Mechanical Department Regulations

The following is a list of booklets reprinted from the Department of Transportation Code of Federal Regulations 49 CFR Parts 200 to 399 that apply to the rail industry. They are printed in a convenient format and are kept current with updates from the Federal Register which may be supplied in supplement form.

Item FRA 50 or Code Part # Each more

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

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

232

Brake System Safety Standards

27.50

9.95 8.55 9.50 7.25 9.50

8.95 7.85 8.55 6.55 8.55

5.50 5.00

4.95 4.50

13.25

11.95

6.25 10.50 11.00 22.95 9.35 6.25 12.75

5.60

11.00 Each

14.75

9.90 8.50 5.60 11.50

13.50 Each

Technical Manual for Signal and Train Control Rules.

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

BKPSS

Passenger Safety Standards 22.80 Part 238, 239 - Order 25 or more and pay only $20.50 each

BKSTC

Signal and Train Control Systems Includes Part 233, 234, 235, 236 Order 25 or more and pay only $17.55 each

19.50

BKCAD

Drug and Alcohol Regulations in the Workplace Part 40 & 219

36.00

BKINFRA

Track and Rail and Infrastructure Integrity Compliance 33.00 Manual - Volume II, Track Safety Standards Update 1-1-14 Order 25 or more and pay only $30.00 each

1809 Capitol Ave, Omaha, NE 68102

Ph: (402)346-4300 • Fax: (402)346-1783 Email: orders@transalert.com

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

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

BKMFR

Mech. Dept. Regs.

Order 25 or more and pay only $24.50 each

46.00

$27.95

Part 213: Track Safety Standards

49 Part 213, Subparts A-F. Classes of Track 1 through 5: Applies to track required to support passenger and freight equipment at lower speed ranges. Includes Defect Codes and Appendices A, B, and C to Part 213. Softcover. Spiral bound. 114 pages. Updated 3-25-14.

BKTSSAF

9.90

25 or more

BKTM

The Railway Educational Bureau

Part 233 – Signal Systems Reporting Requirements FRA is issuing this final rule as part of a paperwork reduction initiative. The final rule eliminates the regulatory requirement that each railroad carrier file a signal system status report with FRA every five years. FRA believes the report is no longer necessary because FRA receives more updated information regarding railroad signal systems through alternative sources. Separately, FRA is amending the criminal penalty provision in the Signal Systems Reporting Requirements by updating two outdated statutory citations.

Effective date September 2, 2014.

Track Safety Standards Order 50 or more and pay only $8.95 each

$9.95

Part 214: Railroad Workplace Safety

UPDAT ED

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

Spiral bound. 74 pages. Updated 7-1-14.

BKWRK

Order Now!

Railroad Workplace Safety Order 50 or more and pay only $8.55 each

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

www.transalert.com

Add Shipping & Handling if your merchandise subtotal is: U.S.A. CAN U.S.A. CAN $4.10 $8.55 25.01 - 50.00 9.80 15.70 7.20 11.80 50.01 - 75.00 10.90 19.80

UP TO $10.00 10.01 - 25.00

$9.50

Orders over $75, call for shipping

*Prices subject to change. Revision dates subject to change in accordance with laws published by the FRA. 8/14

Products Thermal-controlled enclosures from Enersys

Legal Notice

If you bought Steel Products from one or more Defendants between April 1, 2005 and December 31, 2007, you may be affected by a Class Action Settlement.

What is the Settlement about?

Eight steel manufacturers, ArcelorMittal S.A. and ArcelorMittal USA, LLC (together “ArcelorMittal”), Nucor Corporation, United States Steel Corporation (“U. S. Steel”), Gerdau Ameristeel Corporation, AK Steel Holding Corporation, Steel Dynamics, Inc., SSAB Swedish Steel Corporation and Commercial Metals Company (collectively, “Defendants”) were sued by several businesses (“Plaintiffs”) who allege that the Defendants conspired, in violation of the U.S. antitrust laws, to restrict their output and therefore raise or “fix” the prices for certain steel products sold for delivery in the United States between April 1, 2005 and December 31, 2007.

A settlement has been reached with U. S. Steel, which has agreed to pay $58 million into a Settlement Fund. This is in addition to $105.9 million in settlements (pending court approval) that were achieved with Commercial Metals Company, AK Steel Holding Corporation, Gerdau Ameristeel Corporation and ArcelorMittal earlier this year. Proposed settlements in the case to date now total $163.9 million.

EnerSys® offers a new line of outdoor, thermal-controlled enclosures and shelters for batteries and power equipment, suited for transportation and utility applications, including outside plant and rugged roadside environments.

The enclosures use pre-engineered interchangeable components that can be divided into multiple thermal zones within the cabinet and can easily be expanded in the field without service interruption. Standard enclosures feature 19-inch or 23-inch dual rails in 12, 16, 20, 26, 30, and 36 rack unit equipment bay options. They are available with any combination of Direct Air Cooling (DAC), Thermo Electric Cooling (TEC), and Air Conditioning (A/C).

EnerSys also offers a line of robust NEMA 3R outdoor enclosures designed to house small cell to large Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) that provide AC and DC power, flexible cable management, and battery and auxiliary equipment space.

The enclosures are manufactured to meet NEC standards, and are certified to Telcordia GR-487 and UL listed. They feature pad-lockable door handles and hidden door hinges for security. EnerSys also offers complementary thermal systems, including direct air cooling, heat exchangers, battery cooling systems, and heaters.

All enclosures are protected with a five-year limited warranty, and thermal systems have a one-year limited warranty. EnerSys offers 24/7 nationwide service, covering product procurement, installation, and ongoing support.

“Energy consumption from cabinet and shelter thermal systems is one of the highest operating expenses of outdoor deployments,” says Jennifer A. Eirich, marketing manager, utilities/rail at EnerSys. “Our enclosure solutions feature efficient thermal management with low energy consumption to provide the lowest total cost of ownership.”

Enclosure solutions by EnerSys are sold by National Railway Supply (NRS).

Contact EnerSys, Tel.: 800-538-3627, ext. 1903; Website: www.enersys.com.

U. S. Steel denies the allegations. The litigation is continuing against the three non-settling Defendants.

Who is a Settlement Class Member?

You are a Settlement Class Member if you Purchased certain Steel Products directly from any of the Defendants or their subsidiaries or controlled affiliates at any time between April 1, 2005 and December 31, 2007 for delivery in the United States.

In general, “Steel Products” include carbon steel slabs, plates, sheet and coil products, galvanized and other coated sheet products; billets, blooms, rebar, merchant bar, beams and other structural shapes; and other steel products derived from raw carbon steel and sold by Defendants. The terms “Steel Products” and “Purchased” are more specifically defined in the full Notice and the Settlement Agreement.

Will I get a payment?

If you are a Settlement Class Member and do not opt out, you will be eligible to file a claim at a later date to receive money from the Settlement.

What are my rights?

If you are a Settlement Class Member and do not opt out, you will release certain legal rights against U. S. Steel, as set forth in the full Notice and in the Settlement Agreement with U. S. Steel. If you do not want to take part in the U. S. Steel Settlement, you have the right to opt out. To opt out of the Settlement, you must do so by September 10, 2014. Settlement Class Members have the right to object to the Settlement. If you want to object, you must do so by September 10, 2014. Information on how to opt out or object to the Settlement is contained in the full Notice and at www.SteelAntitrustSettlement.com. You may speak to your own attorney at your expense for help.

When is the Approval Hearing?

A Final Approval Hearing to consider approval of the U. S. Steel Settlement is scheduled to be held in Courtroom 2503, Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse, 219 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, IL 60604, on October 17, 2014, at 11:00 a.m. At that time, the Court will also consider Plaintiffs’ Counsel’s request for attorneys’ fees and/or reimbursement of litigation expenses. You may appear at the hearing, but your attendance is not required. The date and location for this hearing may be changed on further Order of the Court.

This is a Summary, where can I get more information?

You can get complete settlement information, including a copy of the full Notice and the U. S. Steel Settlement Agreement, by visiting www.SteelAntitrustSettlement.com.

www.SteelAntitrustSettlement.com August 2014 RAILWAY AGE 39

RAWrkSiteTrn1_2pg2014AllClass_Layout 1 1/22/14 2:53 PM Page 1

Products My Employees don’t have time for training.

Salco Safeguard™ BOV Operating System

Flexible Scheduling. Anytime. Anywhere.

Work Site Training Courses: Locomotive: • GE 7FDL Diesel Engine Maintenance • Testing and Troubleshooting 26-Type Locomotive Air Brake Systems • Locomotive Periodic Inspection and FRA Rules Compliance • Locomotive Electrical Maintenance and Troubleshooting • Locomotive Air Brake Maintenance and Troubleshooting • Distributed Power Maintenance and Troubleshooting • Distributed Power Operations, Training, and Operating Rules

Freight Car: • Freight Car Inspection and Repair • Single Car Air Brake Test • FRA Part 232 Brake System Safety Standards for freight and other non-passenger trains • Train Yard Safety

Track: • Track Safety Standards

CORRESPONDENCE TRAINING • WORK SITE TRAINING • CONSULTING

The Railway Educational Bureau 1809 Capitol Ave., Omaha NE, 68102 Toll Free (800) 228-9670 • (402) 346-4300 www.RailwayEducationalBureau.com

40

RAILWAY AGE

August 2014

Salco’s patent pending Safeguard™ BOV Operating System prevents unintended engagement with a tank car bottom outlet valve to avoid accidental openings.

Designed per AAR Task Force Docket T10.7.5, it connects to any bottom outlet valve and can be used on new tank cars or the retrofit of existing cars.

The UHMWPE bearing surfaces promote smooth operation, and the handle locks in place when not in use.

This eliminates the need for handle removal and storage, and reduces any potential for loss or theft. A spring action adapter ensures that the handle only engages with operator contact, while the operating guide controls the opening of the valve to 90 degrees. Additionally, the operating guide will not allow accidental disengagement of the handle until the valve is in the closed position.

For more information, visit Salco’s website at www. salcoproducts.com, or contact Customer Support at 630685-4661.

Defender LED work light from ProBuilt shines bright ProBuilt Professional Lighting’s new Defender® LED 6000 high-output LED work light is an extreme flood light with a 120 degree lighting angle. The ABS outer casing ensures that the light is durable for any work environment and has successfully passed a six-foot drop test. The universal mounting bracket allows the end user to mount the head onto a floor stand, magnetic base, or tripod. An internal cooling fan will automatically start to maintain optimal internal temperatures and ensure the unit is cool burning.

It produces 6,000 lumens of clean white light, equivalent to the light output of a 500-watt halogen, but is 85% more efficient—ideal for construction, industrial, utility, and maintenance work. Website: www.probuiltlighting.com.

Ad Index Company

Phone #

AB SKF

+01506538176

Anchor Brake Shoe

607-257-7000

Balfour Beatty Infrastructure, Inc. 888-250-5746

Fax

URL/Email address

Page #

stuart.kiernan@skf.com

30

607-257-2389

paula@onlinesms.com

29

904-378-7298

info@bbri.com

35

Brookville Equipment Corp

814-849-2000 ext.226 814-849-2010

e_mckillip@brookvilleequipment.com

34

CTC, Inc.

817-886-8243

817-886-8225

ljacobson@ctcinc.com

C2

Danella Rental Systems, Inc.

610-828-6200

610-828-2260

pbarents@danella.com

15

Ellwood Crankshaft & Machine

724-347-0250

724-347-0254

ecgsales@elwd.com

12

Garden City Group

800-231-1815

www.SteelAntitrustSettlement.com

39

Greenbrier Companies The

800-343-7188

503-684-7553

gbrx.info@gbrx.com

HARTING, Inc. of North America

847-204-4970

847-741-8257

bob.Laskowski@harting.com

36

Herzog Railroad Services, Inc.

816-233-9002

816-233-7757

tfrancis@hrsi.com

11

Irwin Transportation Products

724-864-8900

724-864-0803

bspringer@irwincar.com

31

LTK Engineering Services

215-641-8826

215-542-7676

tfurmaniak@ltk.com

36

Okonite Co.

201-825-0300

201-825-3524

info@okonite.com

C3

ORX

814-684-8484

glenn@orxrail.com

C4

RJ Corman Railroad Group

800-611-7245

859-885-7804

www.rjcorman

Railquip Inc.

770-458-4157

770-458-5365

sales@railquip.com

22

Rails Co.

973-763-4320

973-763-2585

rails@railsco.com

14

3

5

Railway Educational Bureau, The 402-346-4300

402-346-1783

bbrundige@sb-reb.com

RailWorks

866-905-7245

952-469-1926

jrhansen@railworks.com

38, 40 23

S & C Distribution Co.

708-396-1755

708-396-1754

info@sandcco.com

13

Sealeze Unit of Jason, Inc.

804-275-1675 ext.235

smaclaughlin@sealeze.com

15

Transcore

214-461-6443

800-923-4824

www.transcore.com

21

Vossloh Group

+00 49 239 252 273

00 49 239 252 274 info@vossloh-north-america.com

Western-Cullen Hayes

773-254-9600

773-254-1110

co@wch.com

7 14

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

Advertising Sales MAIN OFFICE Jonathan Chalon, Publisher 55 Broad St., 26th Floor New York, NY 10004 (212) 620-7224 Fax: (212) 633-1863 jchalon@sbpub.com AL, AR, IN, KY, LA, MI, MS, OH, OK, TN, TX Emily Guill 20 South Clark Street, Suite 1910 Chicago, IL 60603 (312) 683-5021 eguill@sbpub.com CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, NC, PA, RI, SC, VT, VA, WV, CANADA – QUEBEC AND EAST, ONTARIO Mark Connolly 55 Broad St., 26th Floor New York, NY 10004 (212) 620-7260 Fax: (212) 633-1863 mconnolly@sbpub.com

AK, AZ, CA, CO, IA, ID, IL, KS, MN, MO, MT, NE, NM, ND, NV, OR, SD, UT, WA, WI, WY, CANADA – AB, BC, MB, SK Heather Disabato 20 South Clark Street, Suite 1910 Chicago, IL 60603 (312) 683-5026 Fax: (312) 683-0131 hdisabato@sbpub.com BELGIUM, PORTUGAL, SWITZERLAND, GERMANY, EASTERN EUROPE, BALTIC STATES, MIDDLE EAST, SOUTH AMERICA, AFRICA (EXCEPT SOUTH AFRICA), FAR EAST (EXCEPT KOREA, CHINA, HONG KONG, INDIA), ALL OTHERS, TENDERS Louise Cooper International Area Sales Manager The Priory, Syresham Gardens Haywards Heath, RH16 3LB United Kingdom +44-1444-416917 Fax: +44-(0)-1444-458185 lc@railjournal.co.uk

SCANDINAVIA, THE NETHERLANDS, SPAIN, GERMANY, AUSTRIA, KOREA, HONG KONG, CHINA, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, SOUTH AFRICA, RUSSIA, RECRUITMENT ADVERTISING Steve Barnes International Area Sales Manager The Priory, Syresham Gardens Haywards Heath, RH16 3LB United Kingdom +44-1444-416375 Fax: +44-(0)-1444-458185 sb@railjournal.co.uk ITALY, ITALIAN-SPEAKING SWITZERLAND Dr. Fabio Potesta Media Point & Communications SRL Corte Lambruschini Corso Buenos Aires 8 V Piano, Genoa, Italy 16129 +39-10-570-4948 Fax: +39-10-553-0088 info@mediapointsrl.it

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

August 2014 RAILWAY AGE 41

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY

STRATEGIC PLANNING: • Commuter rail tranSitionS • fra ComplianCe programS • operationS auditing

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

Kansas City Office (913) 661-2424 OPERATIONS TRAINING & CONSULTING: www.tcsrailservices.com • engineer training & CertifiCation OTHER SERVICES: • eXCellent HiStory witH fra, ntSB • Staffing • interim management • meCHaniCal & part 238(Qmp)

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

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

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

Available For Lease

TRAINING

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

◆ Mill Gondolas - 65’ 6” interior length with 5’ sides and 52’6” interior length with 4’6” to 5’ sides. ◆ 3,600 cu. ft. Open Top Hoppers. 45 degree slopes for aggregate, coke, coal, etc. ◆ 4,240 cu. ft. tub bottom rotary gondolas. Interior bracing has been removed. ◆ Box Cars – 286K Gross Rail Load, 60’ 9” inside length, 12’

RECRUITMENT

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

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

MARKETPLACE SALES Contact: Jeanine Acquart Ph: 212/620-7211 Fax: 212/633-1165 Email: jacquart@sbpub.com

ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED 42

RAILWAY AGE

August 2014

Plug doors.

For additional information and pricing, please contact John Goodwin PHONE (605) 582-8318 FAX (605) 582-8304 www.carmathinc.com

EQUIPMENT SALE/LEASING

Railcars for Lease:

PERC INTERNATIONAL 70 STAINLESS STEEL TANK CARS AVAILABLE FOR LEASING •DOT CLASSIFICATION 115 A 60W6 •BUILT BY UNION TANK CONTACT FOR DETAILS •304L STAINLESS fernando.origel@grupoperc.com •INSULATED •LOAD LIMIT 173,200 Lbs. cpereda.lopez@grupoperc.com •CAPACITY 20,880 GAL •GENERAL PURPOSES

· 52’-2500 Cu.Ft. Mill gondolas—263 GRL · 5125 Cu.Ft. Pressure Differential Covered Hoppers —286 GRL · 23,500 Gallon Tank Cars—Coiled and Insulated Contact: Elliot Lewis-(479) 802-5207 or el@everestrailcar.com www.everestrailcar.com

EMPLOYMENT Locomotive Electrician - Locomotive Repair facility in Kansas City, Missouri, is looking for an experienced electrician with repairing and troubleshooting diesel locomotive high and low voltage wiring, must be able to read electrical schmatics, relocation expenses paid, supervisor position available.

Call 816-483-5329.

Plasser American Corporation Regional Sales Representatives SEE THE FULL JOB POSTING AT RAILWAYAGE.COM JOB BOARD

RailwayAge.com The News Destination for the Rail Industry

GLOBAL RAIL TENDERS

Get up-to-the-minute business intelligence by subscribing to GlobalRailTenders.com

TURNING OPPORTUNITIES INTO NEW BUSINESS

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August 2014 RAILWAY AGE 43

Perspective PETER THOMAS

The role of “Big Data” in railroading

F

reight rail is a rapidly evolving sector that is increasingly aligned with and connected to innovative, 21st century technology that keeps our economy moving.

Railroads are an incredibly fuel-efficient mode of transportation. Today’s freight trains can move one ton of goods about 500 miles on a single gallon of fuel.

According to the AAR, on average, railroads are four times more fuel efficient than trucks.

Truly, the railroad industry is on a roll. Revenue is up 19% since 2009 to $80.6 billion, creating 10,000 new directly related jobs and countless other ancillary jobs. Capital investment, at around $20 billion, is at record levels.

Some $21 billion in wages were paid last year alone, roughly a $1 billion increase since 2009.

However, system inefficiencies in transportation account for 2.5% of total costs to the railroads. For example, crews may be scheduled, as are locomotives, freight cars, routes, and Yard/terminal movements. But once these all get rolling, the slightest snag in the system— bad weather, breakdowns, unscheduled maintenance, etc., can unravel even the best-laid plans.

There are many opportunities to improve productivity, reliability, velocity, and safety—with a substantial payoff. For example, improving an operating ratio by just 1% could result in a savings of $800 million to a Class I railroad. Through state-of-the-art technologies, annual fuel costs can be cut by an additional 10%.

For the railroad sector, data-based innovation is critical for an industry that owns, maintains, and upgrades its own infrastructure, to the tune of $20 billion a year. (Compare that to the $40 billion a year in federal subsidies that goes to the nation’s highways.) Data-based innovation has the ability to help improve rail system inefficiencies. For example, with smart

44

RAILWAY AGE

August 2014

interconnected networks, shippers can have continuous contact with their carloads as their goods move across the country. Many intermodal containers are now integrated, data-wise, with the various vehicles that move them, and the collaboration is saving time and energy.

The key challenge, of course, is how to handle the highly complex scale, volume, velocity, security, and regulations associated with industrial data—things that can get complicated in a hurry.

As a way to maximize direct capital investment in railroad equipment and

The challenge is utilizing Big Data to improve efficiency, reliability, velocity, productivity, and safety. infrastructure, North America’s railroads have been working to capture “Big Data” and figure out the best way to utilize it, to improve efficiency and capacity. One example is proactive maintenance, which is crucial as even minor delays on a rail line can wreak havoc on schedules and deliveries up and down the system.

Sophisticated software can collect and analyze locomotive performance through automated diagnostics and root cause analysis that provides alerts to potential trouble areas well before a mechanical or electrical failure occurs.

The resulting improved reliability and availability equates to bottom line savings and decreased life cycle costs.

When we pull “Big Data,” crunch the numbers, and apply the results to

real-world operations, the outcomes are flexible, efficient solutions for the network and its machinery.

How is GE helping the railroads in these efforts?

We’re calling it the Industrial Internet, where our expertise in hardware is met with expertise in software to enhance reliability and performance, providing savings for our customers. Our goal is to help our railroad customers reduce or eliminate unplanned downtime, and optimize asset, network, and operational performance.

RailConnect 360 is GE’s brand of solutions that provides railroads with data-driven insights to achieve strategic business outcomes. It is a configurable systems-level solution that addresses their most complex needs.

To support these solutions, RailConnect 360 is using its own operation system, powered by GE’s Predix, called Railroad Operations System (rOS). This system connects our solutions that support the entire rail enterprise—the asset, network, operations, and supply chain.

We knew our customers wanted more outcomes from GE technology, so we responded with a $1 billion investment to build a software center in San Ramon, Calif. GE has hired 1,000 software engineers to support the 10,000 engineers already deployed in our industrial business.

The “brilliant machines” of the Industrial Internet can evaluate tradeoffs, optimize decisions, and apply lessons learned, and then provide the appropriate information to other machines, companies, and people for decision making, collaboration, and action. This is a revolution—a data revolution—that can change the rail industry.

Peter Thomas is Commercial Leader, RailConnect 360 for Erie, Pa.-based GE Transportation, a subsidiary of Fairfield, Conn.-based General Electric Co.

OKONITE The Premier Manufacturer of Vital Circuit Signal Cables Okonite is the only cable company with over 100 years of experience in the design and production of vital circuit signal cables. Signal cables are an integral component of the uncompromising safety, security and integrity of a railroad’s signal system and, therefore, must meet the highest performance standards.

Others may attempt to accelerate and achieve approval of signal cables with very limited and short-term test measures. Only Okonite signal cables can meet the most discriminating and essential test requirements — the tests of longterm and trouble-free time and service in railroad cable installations of all types.

Only Okonite continues to make ongoing commitments for substantial capital investments associated with our unmatched and specialized in-house compounding facilities and highly advanced manufacturing technologies in orderto further strengthen our proven dedication to excellence in our service and quality for vital circuit signal cables. It has also been demonstrated that Okonite can provide concurrently the necessary response and capacity to effectively process high levels of cable requirements associated with other important railroad programs such as Positive Train Control.

Only Okonite — Proven Experience, Proven Reliability and Proven Quality and Service.

THE OKONITE COMPANY

Okonite Cables...A higher Standard!

102 Hilltop Road, Ramsey, NJ 07446 201.825.0300 Fax: 201.825.9026 www.okonite.com

In case you’re wondering, Jim is older. By eight minutes.

The McClellans. Talented? Sure. Good with their hands? You bet. But it’s what they’ve brought to the shop every day for over 30 years that makes a real difference - an obsession with detail that’s a part of everything they do... whether it’s making axles, machining wheels... or roasting marshmallows.

Jim and Tim. Brothers since 1963. ORX machinists since 1982. And kings of the backyard family shindig since 1993.

ORXperience

Tim and Jim McClellan

www.ORXrail.com | 814.684.8484