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New York State of Chaos
Here are a few “different” lyrics I’ve thought of to Billy Joel’s iconic song, “New York State of Mind” (Turnstiles, 1976). Given the current state of confusion—much more so than usual—enveloping the U.S. DOT, Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, and the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority and its two regional/commuter railroads, Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road, it’s fitting to rename Joel’s tune “New York State of Chaos.”
Some folks like to get away
Take a holiday from the neighborhood
Hop a train to Red Bank
Ronkonkoma, or Old Greenwich
But I’m taking Amtrak
On the Hudson River Line
’Cause I need to escape, clear my mind
From a New York state of chaos
The MTA, Amtrak and NJT
They’re swirling in a giant mug
Of polluted, murky USDOT tea
It’s a rancid political circus for all to see
Yet it’s very clear: It’s retaliatory
A congestion pricing kill strategy
No one wins, no one gains
Yes, it’s a New York state of chaos
Railway Age Contributing Editor David Peter Alan dissects the state of chaos: “In the current game of Empire State Politics, we have Gov. Kathy Hochul and many New York City elected officials sparring with the POTUS 47 Administration over transitrelated issues. The most contentious is the congestion pricing toll. U.S. Transportation
Secretary Sean Duffy wants to kill it, while the MTA is fighting USDOT in court. There is also the controversy about the need to shut down one of the East River Tunnel tubes to accommodate rehabilitation in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. Hochul and other New York officials are calling for construction to take place on nights and weekends, as was done in 2020 with New York City Transit’s L-train tunnel under the East River. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo pushed for the L-train project to proceed with only nighttime and weekend construction—and the project was a success. Disagreement between Cuomo and then-NYCT President Andy Byford was a factor in Byford’s decision to leave the MTA. Cuomo faced major problems later that forced him out of office, but he might return: He is running for Mayor of New York City and appears to be leading other Democrats in the primary contest. Democrats usually win the office. If Cuomo wins the primary and then the Mayoral election in November, he and Byford—now with Amtrak and overseeing a major Penn Station expansion, which Duffy yanked from the MTA and reassigned to Amtrak while reducing Amtrak funding— will face each other again. This time, Cuomo will not have direct authority over Byford, as he did when he was Governor.”
My take is that Cuomo will probably do his best to intervene and micromanage everything, regardless of whether that falls under his purview as Mayor. That’s his style. Meanwhile, the POTUS 47 Administrationinduced chaos continues—not just in New York, but globally. Hang in there!
WILLIAM C. VANTUONO Editor-in-Chief
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Industry Indicators
‘FREIGHT RAIL HOLDS THE LINE AS ECONOMIC SIGNALS DIVERGE’
“Recent shifts in U.S. policies on trade and immigration have introduced volatility in financial markets and heightened uncertainty for firms,” the Association of American Railroads reported last month. “The ultimate outcomes and impacts of these policy changes remain unclear. Nevertheless, U.S. rail volumes have thus far remained stable, and many core economic indicators continue to signal underlying resilience. Railroads have long adapted to changing conditions, a legacy of resilience that continues today.
“U.S. railroads originated 1.13 million total carloads in April 2025, up 6.2% (65,524 carloads) over April 2024. That’s the largest year-over-year percentage gain in 16 months and the third largest in nearly four years. Carloads averaged 225,569 per week in April—slightly below March, but otherwise the highest since October 2024, with gains in 13 of 20 categories tracked by AAR. Through the first four months of 2025, total carloads were up 1.8% (67,282 carloads) over the same period last year, with 11 of 20 carload categories seeing gains.
“U.S. rail intermodal traffic, which is not included in carload counts, totaled 1.36 million containers and trailers in April 2025, up 7.4% (93,244 units) over April 2024. Weekly intermodal volume averaged 272,300 units in April 2025. The only April with higher intermodal volume was April 2021. In fact, April 2021 holds the all-time intermodal record for any month, averaging 290,955 units per week. Year-to-date intermodal volume in 2025 through April was 4.90 million units, up 8.1% (365,456 units) over 2024 and the second highest ever for the first four months of a year (again behind 2021). Intermodal volume closely tracks port activity, making it a bellwether for international trade trends.
“The AAR Freight Rail Index (FRI)—which tracks seasonally adjusted intermodal units plus carloads excluding coal and grain—fell 1.8% in April from March, following a 0.7% month-to-month increase in March and a 1.8% increase in February. Despite the April dip and macroeconomic uncertainty, the Index remains well above levels seen through most of 2023.
“In recent years, coal has frequently recorded the steepest year-over-year declines among major carload categories. In April 2025, however, it posted the largest gain, rising by 53,736 carloads, or 23.2%, from a year earlier. April and May 2024 saw unusually low coal volumes, providing a low base for this year’s percentage increase.
“Excluding coal, U.S. carloads were up 1.4% in April, their third year-over-year gain in the first four months of 2025. Year-to-date carloads were up 0.6% (15,851 carloads).
“Chemical volumes hit a record average of 33,745 per week in April, a new all-time high. Year-to-date carloads
through April were 596,918, up 2.2% over last year and the most ever. March and April are typically among the highest-volume rail chemical months of the year, in part because fertilizer shipments, which fall under chemicals, tend to peak in early spring as farmers prepare for planting.
“Grain carloads averaged 22,842 per week in April 2025, up 8.6% over April 2024 and the second most (behind October 2024) for any month in more than two years. It was the best April for rail grain carloads since 2021. Variations in rail grain volumes are closely linked to variations in U.S. grain export volumes. According to USDA data, railroads account for close to 40% of U.S. grain exports, on average.
“Rail carloads of industrial products, a composite category that includes motor vehicles, steel, chemicals, and crushed stone, among others, fell 0.7% in April, their third decline in the first four months of 2025. In April, declines in carloads of metallic ores and crushed stone overcame gains in steel products and chemicals. Over the past couple of years, this category has generally underperformed, reflecting weakness in U.S. manufacturing. To the extent weakness in factory output continues or output deteriorates further, rail volumes will be impacted.
“In March 2025, U.S. carloads of primary metal products (mainly steel) saw their best month since September 2021. Carloads in April 2025 were down slightly in absolute terms from March, but they were still up 6.0% over April 2024. That’s the biggest yearover-year percentage gain in 16 months.”
shippers to take a wait-and-see approach to large asset purchases. Potential tariffs on these assets would significantly impact ROIC and is a concern for rail shippers. The North American fleet has been stable the past few years, though cars in storage numbers have been modestly trending down (on the lower end of the 18%-20% range). Panelists do not believe that CARB rules will trigger new locomotive purchases. “The cycle is broken for new locomotives.” Panelists believe that shippers will prioritize modifications to locos vs. new loco ordering.
Class I CEO’s recent commentary: “Not a hill of regulatory risk to climb. There are mountains of regulatory risk … I think it’s nice to talk about. I don’t think it’s very probable. I don’t think it’s possible. I don’t think it’s going to happen. And I don’t think it’s necessary.” We note, however, that he is the first Class I executive to publicly come out and say “no” to future consolidation.
WE HOSTED A CALL WITH INDUSTRY EXECUTIVES ON THE RAIL EQUIPMENT OUTLOOK, as a strong start to 2025 is overlooked due to pullforward and causing shippers to delay large asset purchases. Coal volumes buck secular trends, used equipment pricing remains strong, and panelists remain skeptical of Class I service improvements.
Panelists are seeing demand for coal cars for the first time in years amid resurgent coal demand (QTD +22% Y/Y). A sharp recovery in natural gas prices combined with elevated energy demand (hot weather, data center demand) are supporting the near-term outlook for thermal coal volumes while export remains steady. Recent years have seen interruptions to coal’s declining secular trend but are likely to be viewed as temporary tailwinds embedded with political risk. Norfolk Southern and CSX will likely make coal car orders in the near future but mainly due to replacement needs as opposed to a reaction to demand.
Used equipment prices will remain elevated despite soft volume. Expectations of lower interest rates heading into 2025 led shippers to defer railcar orders as supply chain operators hoped for lower acquisition costs. However, despite sluggishness on the demand side, new-build prices remain elevated on input price inflation and higher steel prices, putting a floor on used prices. A muted new-build order book is also preventing an influx of capacity.
Tariff uncertainty is keeping shippers very cautious on rail equipment spend. The thin margin nature of rail equipment is causing
Despite railroads posting improving service metrics, some panelists believe rail service has actually worsened over the past year. One panelist pointed to 50,000 merchandise shipments he tracked. Dwell time worsened at 75% of the terminals, and transit times worsened by 10% over the past 13 months. Acknowledging severe weather this winter, panelists were skeptical on the prioritization of rail service and volume growth at the Class I’s.
We also hosted a call with Farrukh Bezar, Chair of STG Logistics. Our takeaways: The freight “air pocket” should be followed by sequential growth, though still below last year’s levels. The intermodal pricing environment remains sluggish and hinges on the TL market while rail service remains solid. Class I’s look for long-term growth drivers amid steady loss of share to highway. We remain cautious on the intermodal market, including JBHT and HUBG.
Current demand has stabilized, though air pockets in the transloading business have yielded material declines. RPU has been the biggest challenge for IMCs and is likely a 2026 story. STG expects a sequential step-up in volumes (off the air pocket) though Y/Y is still expected to be lower. Despite industry reports of full warehouses, STG doesn’t expect to see significant levels of assessorials (nothing close to COVID levels), and surcharges are to be determined.
STG does not see a rail merger likely, though it believes it is in the realm of possibilities, especially given 1) lack of organic growth drivers and 2) ambiguity on the next generation of rail leadership. We believe the only possibility would be a Western carrier acquiring an Eastern carrier, and the current rules in place would likely need to change. We do not believe a merger is likely and note a
STG sees a considerable long-term volume and earnings growth opportunity for the rail industry but emphasized a mindset shift is needed to seize it. We concur and believe railroads will need to rekindle growth to defend valuations. Bezar offered two preconditions for this to occur: 1) the Class I’s (especially the truck-competitive Eastern rails) need to demonstrate sustained service improvements and 2) a notable shift in commercial focus is needed from peer competition to truck conversion.
The growth runway is considerable as 87% of U.S. transport spend moves over the road (OTR), and even modest share gain represents a significant volume opportunity for the rail network (we note, however, that a good portion of that 87% fits more naturally with OTR moves). This requires a focus on EBIT growth and moderation in pure OR optimizing, though Bezar remarked this was not inconsistent with PSR (despite popular belief), which he believes would have had a chance to coexist with growth if the pandemic had not interrupted operations drastically.
The intermodal pricing environment remains subdued. Shippers had gradually started to pull forward bids to lock in low rates at the start of the year, but a recent slowdown has led them to expect sluggish pricing to persist. The fate of rates continues to hinge on TL pricing, and Bezar sees a recovery that is unlikely to bring us back to 2021-2022 high watermarks, with 2019 being a better yardstick. This would offer a potential 15%-25% improvement in pricing from current levels (which show little in the way of pricing gains for IMCs). We continue to see intermodal pricing as more of a 2026 story, which we believe is the consensus view at this stage. However, if we get to the latter half of this year with no improvement, notable gains in 2026 could prove elusive.
– Jason Seidl, Elliot Alper and Uday Khanapurkar, TD Cowen
STG’s Farrukh Bezar sees a considerable long-term volume and earnings growth opportunity for the rail industry but emphasized a mindset shift is needed to seize it.
Light Rail 2025 delivers a focused, in-depth look at the technical, environmental, and socio-economic challenges of planning and operating light rail transit (LRT) systems in today’s urban environments.
Should Attend
Keynote Speaker
Program
•
•
•
•
•
• Special Regional Tour
ANDY LUKASZEWICZ Deputy Chief Officer
Operations
RAIL 2025
market
Industry Outlook
SFMTA Taps WSP-PGH Wong JV for CBTC
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has selected WSP–PGH Wong Joint Venture (JV) to provide program management support for the Muni Metro system Train Control Upgrade Project (TCUP), a new communicationsbased train control (CBTC) system for the agency’s 71-mile light rail network. CBTC technology will enhance the original SelTrac™ ATCS CBTC system in Muni’s subway, which Alcatel (then Thales, now Hitachi Rail) installed in 1998, and extend it to surface-running Metro service. Net work-wide CBTC is expected to reduce travel and station wait times, expanding Muni Metro’s capacity by up to 20% and promoting “reliability, efficiency and safety with fewer system failures,” the JV noted. The JV’s scope of services includes supporting program management; design engineering compliance and construction, including systems engineering and integration, testing and commissioning; and post-delivery maintenance support. Hitachi Rail GTS USA will supply the CBTC system for the project’s nine-year design and deliv ery schedule, with the new system projected to enter service between 2028 and 2034.
LITTLEJOHN & CO., LLC
ment firm based in Greenwich, Conn., has RAILPROS SQUARE CAPITAL PARTNERS, originally acquired RailPros in July 2020. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Headquartered in Irving, Tex., RailPros is a provider of outsourced safety management, design and engineering, inspection, site and program management, utility observation, real estate permitting, and training services to rail operators, utilities, state DOTs and con tractors working near rail infrastructure. Rail Pros manages projects and serves clients in all 50 states and Mexico. and
served as financial advisors to RailPros on the
WELLS FARGO, acted as financial advisors, and acted as legal counsel to Little john in connection with the acquisition. DECHERT LLP
Court Square on the transaction.
A new joint venture of BROOKFIELD INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERS L.P.
itive agreement to acquire
FARGO’S rail operating lease portfolio of approximately 105,000 railcars for $4.4 billion. Initial joint venture equity ownership will be GATX (30%) and Brookfield Infra structure (70%). Additionally, Brookfield Infrastructure has entered into an agreement to directly acquire Wells Fargo’s rail finance lease portfolio, composed of approximately 23,000 railcars and approximately 440 loco motives. GATX said the company “will hold a series of annual call options that, if exer cised, will enable GATX to acquire up to 100% of Brookfield Infrastructure’s equity interest over time. If each annual call option is exercised, GATX would acquire Brook field Infrastructure’s equity interest in 10 years or less.” The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including required regulatory approvals and clear ances, and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026 or sooner. GATX’s initial equity contribution will be approximately $400 million “and will be funded through general operating cash flow and financing activity. Future call options, if exercised, also will be funded through general operating cash flow and financing activity and will fit manageably within GATX’s ordinary capital investment plan. It is expected that the joint
venture will be a static pool of assets. GATX’s current and future investment and growth initiatives across its businesses are expected to be unaffected by this acquisition.” In addi tion to the partner equity contributions, WELLS FARGO SECURITIES, LLC, BOFA SECURITIES, MUFG BANK SUMITOMO MITSUI BANKING CORPORATION (SMBC) providing the joint venture with a fully underwritten $3.2 billion, five-year unse cured term loan and a $250 million unse cured revolving credit facility.
the transportation and THE BROE is now the exclusive operator of PORT MUSKOGEE RAILROAD in Oklahoma. Under a signed Railroad Facilities Operating Agreement with the Port, PMR becomes the 30th rail road in the OmniTRAX network and the company’s fifth U.S. port partnership. Located on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, with Foreign Trade Zone status and year-round naviga ble access to the Gulf of America, the Fort Gibson, Okla.-based Port connects global
October
W OMEN IN RAIL
Speakers
Watching Washington
Railroad Retirement: ‘Don’t Tread on Me!’
St udents of freight railroading are conversant with how Congress and the Surface Transportation Board’s predecessor Interstate Commerce Commission imposed on the industry such rigid economic regulation that railroads became starved of investment capital, were forced to defer normalized maintenance and failed to meet customer wants.
Just in time, Congress recognized how and why the railroad industry was on the cusp of chaotic market failure and took bolt cutters—the 1980 Staggers Rail Act— to the regulatory chains. Privatesector freight railroading was thus rescued from the clutches of insolvency with renewed ability to serve customers.
For the industry’s (freight and passenger) retirement, survivor, disability, sickness and unemployment programs financed by railroad employer and employee payroll taxes and administered by a three-member independent Railroad Retirement Board (RRB), it is customer service déjà vu. Government again is the villain. The victimized customers are railroad employees in danger of losing, or facing delay in receiving, benefits for which they and their railroad employers collectively pre-paid.
As background, Railroad Retirement programs are born of Great Depression hardships. After Congress mirrored them for application to other industries, it left the rail programs separate. As for retirement benefits, rail workers receive an equivalent to Social Security (Tier I, for which equivalent payroll taxes are collected), plus a second retirement benefit akin to a private pension plan (Tier II, which additional payroll taxes finance). Other railroad benefit programs similarly are financed through carrier and employee payroll taxes deposited into a dedicated National Railroad Investment Trust (NRIT) from which benefits and RRB administrative expenses are paid
As for NRIT, it is managed by seven trustees, three from management, three from labor and an independent member
chosen by those six. NRIT is empowered by statute to invest in government and private-sector assets. The latest available 2023 return on investment was 12.1%.
Notwithstanding that railroads and rail employees alone fund RRB-administered benefit plans, Congress treats NRIT’s $26.5 billion surplus as if it were (which it is not) part of the General Treasury. It is accounting legerdemain intended to help mask the enormousness of federal budget red ink. The deception serves only to harm rail workers by eroding RRB’s ability to provide them with prompt and seamless payment of benefits.
Unlike perennially underwater federal budgets, whose imbalance is manifest in the $36 trillion national debt, NRIT has a surplus projected to remain so for at least 75 more years. This is because rail labor and management agree on the essentiality of imposing sufficient payroll taxes to assure NRIT solvency. Payroll taxes rise and fall as a mechanism and motive to manage the benefits programs efficiently. It is this responsible financial husbandry that has made financially secure Railroad Retirement programs a target of irresponsible congressional budget writers and Executive Branch mandarins.
Although law prevents these cohorts from expropriating the NRIT surplus, their erroneous treatment of it, as if it were part of the General Treasury, and their restricting its use by RRB,
fabricates an illusion of lower annual federal deficits. Collaterally damaged is RRB, the programs it administers, and rail workers and their families for which the programs are designed.
In 2023, for example, Congress temporarily reduced Railroad Retirement unemployment and sickness benefit payments by 5.7%. Only because NRIT was flush with cash to pay those benefits did Railroad Retirement present itself as convenient prey. By restricting the payout of those earned benefits, congressional accounting desperados portrayed their own budgets as less underwater while leaving thousands of furloughed and sickbed rail workers to struggle financially.
Unlike Congress, which is unable to balance a budget, railroad employers, which alone fund unemployment and sickness benefits, scrupulously pay to keep NRIT fully solvent through a sliding scale of contributions between 2.15% and 12% of payroll, based on claims experience.
In another instance, Congress imposed, then canceled, a 25% reduction on what RRB may spend to do its job. According to sources within RRB who asked not to be identified, the forced spending reduction would have resulted in the furlough of 160 of RRB’s 728 employees, caused the closing of numerous field offices where initial retirement benefit claims must be applied for in person, and halted upgrades to RRB’s aging computer systems, telecommunications and software.
Separately, Congress has been flatlining RRB’s own budgets as another gimmick to make the General Treasury appear less broke, this despite RRB spending is out of the NRIT, which is distinct and apart from the General Treasury.
RRB’s congressionally set budget for this fiscal year is about the same, dollarwise, as it was in 2012. Not once has it been increased by the rate of inflation, which cumulatively between 2012 and 2025 is 39%. While there has been no
RRB Chairperson Erhard R. Chorlé
Watching Washington
meaningful increase since 2012 in what RRB is permitted to spend annually, the prices of RRB purchased goods and services, employee compensation, rents, utilities and supplies have soared by near 40%.
Congressional flat-lining of RRB budgets for no fiscally sound reason has prevented hiring to fill vacancies. RRB employment has dropped almost 25%, from 884 in 2012 to 667 today.
Then there is a POTUS 47 blanket hiring freeze on federal government agencies in his desire to reduce government’s footprint. Given RRB’s employee attrition rate, and the two to three years required to train new specialists in the intricacies of RRB programs, RRB’s ability to function efficiently is gravely compromised. If RRB’s claims backlog is to be reduced, say RRB sources, RRB employment must rise to at least 850. Agan, while the money to fill RRB vacancies exists in dedicated NRIT accounts, Congress won’t allow it to be spent, and POTUS 47 separately is blocking new hiring.
Although RRB’s business plan is to process disability claims within 90 days, staffing shortages have resulted in 18-month delays, say RRB sources. They told Railway Age that RRB was forced to make a difficult choice to prioritize the processing of new retirement applications over claims processing and
payments so as to “minimize” wait times for new retirees.
Restrictions on RRB spending also hobble what are said to be “urgently needed” upgrades to information technology systems essential to processing retirement applications; processing and paying claims; and enabling audits and investigations that uncover, prosecute and reclaim funds lost to fraud and abuse.
Another looming undermining of RRB’s ability to serve its rail employee customers is a POTUS 47-controlled General Services Administration that ordered RRB to close seven of its 53 field offices—another ploy to mask unrelated federal budget red ink. Although the order was cancelled, it may not be permanent, given the POTUS 47 Administration’s near daily flip-flops.
Truth is that even closing all 53 RRB field offices would not save the General Treasury a single penny. Field offices, as with all RRB administrative expenses, are funded 100% by the solvent NRIT. Sadly, staffing shortages created by spending restrictions on RRB and POTUS 47’s hiring freeze forced the closing of RRB’s Louisville, Ky., field office. RRB sources say that wouldn’t have occurred had RRB spending not be restricted or the POTUS-47 hiring freeze not been in place.
Executive Branch directives targeting RRB are so politically problematic to 10 House Republicans that they wrote POTUS 47 in April asking he throttle them back. Given extensively reported fear among congressional Republicans of reprisals from this vengeful President when disagreeing with him, their in-writing plea is an exceptional indicator of the harsh reality facing soon-toretire railroaders and all railroaders who may need to file disability, sickness and unemployment claims.
The 10 Republicans are Don Bacon (Neb.), Rob Bresnahan Jr., (Pa.), Brian K. Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Nick LaLotta (N.Y.), Michael V. Lawler (N.Y.), Ryan Mackenzie (Pa.), Carol Miller (W.Va.), Chris
Smith (N.J.), Pete Stauber (Minn.), and Michael Turner (Ohio).
Perhaps similarly principled members of Congress will demand an end also to the abhorrent accounting hijack of NRIT’s surplus that deviously helps to mask the size of federal budget deficits while imposing needless human suffering through RRB spending restrictions.
Nowhere is the “Don’t Tread on Me!” slogan more appropriate than to be applied to the various Railroad Retirement programs that are fully funded by railroads and their employees for the exclusive use of rail workers.
This issue is not at the top of C-suite concerns but is a topper for those keeping trains moving in all conditions. It would help build bridges of understanding and respect if top officers led the fight.
Railway Age Capitol Hill Contributing Editor Frank N. Wilner is author of “Railroads & Economic Regulation” and “Understanding the Railway Labor Act,” available from Simmons-Boardman Books, 800-228-9670.
FRANK N. WILNER
Capitol Hill
Contributing Editor
RRB Labor Member John Bragg
RRB Management Member Thomas R. Jayne
2025 EQUIPMENT LEASING GUIDE
MANAGING THROUGH DISCONTENT
BY DAVID NAHASS, FINANCIAL EDITOR
Afew months into the current Administration, the tariff picture remains unclear. If the goal of today’s economic strategies is to increase domestic industrial demand and output, one might be hard pressed to see the results from the railcar orders of the past three months. A total of 5,085 railcar orders in 1Q25 leaves
a severe case of dry mouth. The order breakdown follows traditional dynamics: about two-thirds general freight railcars and one-third tank railcars.
Today, at the time when this article is being written, railcars manufactured in North America continue to be exempt from any type of additional tariff or taxation under the USMCA. That has been a relief to companies taking railcar
deliveries in the first five months of the year who thought on any given day that the price of their railcar could have gone up by 25% or even 60%.
What has happened instead is that the price of steel, responding to tariffs placed on steel imported from pretty much anywhere outside the U.S., has jumped up considerably since January 2025. How much? Hot rolled coil steel
Bruce Kelly
2025 EQUIPMENT LEASING GUIDE
went up as high as $945/ton (from $700 in November 2024) and plate steel has settled above $1,000/ton from a November 2024 price of just over $800.
Component suppliers are also feeling the pinch, and that is having an impact on new car prices. Component suppliers also bear a larger risk of having to use steel in their products that can be subject to tariffs potentially increasing prices.
But the tariff picture isn’t so much about the juice, it’s really about the squeeze. The concern about tariffs, the impact on demand, the worry that the tariff landscape could change at any time, has led to a tangible hesitation on behalf of potential purchasers of railcars that has slowed the market to today’s levels.
Ditto for the impact of interest rates that, contrary to many people’s earlyyear expectations, continue to remain
elevated in anticipation of tariff-related inflation, increasing debt loads and the recent downgrade by Moody’s that stripped the U.S. of the last of its perfect credit ratings. After dipping down to almost 4% in early April, the benchmark ten-year Treasury has settled squarely above 4.6% with all the current economic turmoil.
So, with a tariff picture that makes the situation for railcars clearly unclear (a phrase favored by Theodor Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss), the prognostication for railcars remains quite unclear. The national fleet is shrinking, but loadings generally are up slightly YOY by about 2%, led by (hold onto your chair) coal. Cars in storage are in the low end of the most recent range approximately 295,000 railcars over which they have trended over the past six months, meaning that most of the 1.6 million railcars in North
America remain consistently active.
Lessor-owned railcar fleets remain at high utilization levels greater than 95% as companies leasing railcars are reticent to give them up due to the lack of available replacement inventory and the cost of new/replacement cars, the cost of return maintenance and the everincreasing cost of empty freight.
This is the fourth-plus year of almost “full” utilization for the operating lessor railcar owners. What started out as an exception to a history of volatility has started to feel like a rule. It is what GATX’s Paul Titterton called a “Supply Led Recovery” at Rail Equipment Finance 2025. It shows no signs of abating.
By this point, the overwhelming majority of the lessor-owned cars should have churned, and their rates are higher than they were pre-pandemic (see “Around the
William C. Vantuono
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2025 EQUIPMENT LEASING GUIDE
Market” in this Leasing Guide). But the hesitation to return cars and the unwillingness to commit to new cars is creating a new kind of market.
This kind of over-fleeting is being used by the shipper community to hedge against costs, as a hedge against downturns in railroad service, and as a hedge to handle additional growth if there is an economic surge. It is a circumstance unique to today’s leasing marketplace.
Faith in the future and in growth is not high on anyone’s list. If full bonus depreciation gets passed in the current tax bill, this will certainly help to provide some small motivation for growth, but it is more likely to spur a more fervent volume of secondary market trades over new builds.
The questions that will hang over the market if the new build pace continues at current levels are: What happens if there actually is an economic burst of activity and loadings increase materially? How will the industry respond after years of fleet contraction? Will the industry be able to respond effectively to the challenge? For an industry used to a kind of consistency, this is high drama for the future.
LOCOMOTIVES SIT ON THE PARK BENCH
The undoing of the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) electric car rules by the EPA drove the last nail into the already displayed coffin for CARB’s similarly related locomotive rules (covered in the February 2025 Financial Edge). If nothing else, the policy changes coming out of the Executive Branch set back any sales momentum for locomotives that are at the Tier IV EPA emissions standards.
That does not come as a great surprise to anyone, and it misses the key point that really matters to today’s locomotive market. Over the past four years, there have been roughly 800 new locomotives manufactured in North America. Over the same span, there have been roughly 1,000 locomotives rebuilt by the manufacturers. The only problem? The overwhelming majority were manufactured and/or remanufactured by Wabtec. This isn’t a problem if you’re Wabtec, who deserves credit for creating a dominant market position.
While the shifting market has moved to favor Wabtec, overall, the national fleet has continued to age. In fact, the
average age of the fleet has increased every year since 2016 and now sits at 28 years. The national locomotive fleet is anchored by a rough total of 1,000 locomotives built per year between 1997 and 2016, with more than 50% of those built between 1999 and 2009. (Most of the data in this section is courtesy of Dr. David Humphrey of Railinc, who presented it at Rail Equipment Finance 2025.)
At Rail Equipment Finance 2025, Oliver Wyman’s Jason Kuehn noted that the average working life of a locomotive tends to be about 25 years. Through rebuilding and overhaul, that window can very easily be extended. These do not provide a cure for the long term; they are only short- or medium-term preventive or prophylactic solutions. North American rail lacks a cohesive strategy for the future of motive power. It is challenged directly or indirectly by today’s EPA emissions compliance requirements (impacting efficiency, fuel consumption and availability); a scattershot handling of the future of locomotive fueling by the Class I railroads; and a domestic energy policy that could kindly be described as schizophrenic as it rejects science, stifles innovation and promotes reactionary thinking.
The math becomes pretty simple from there. As an industry, we are heading into a situation, rebuilds aside, for which we are unprepared. As Wabtec stretches its dominance over the new and rebuild market, what role remains for Progress Rail today and in the future?
For as long as most people can remember, there have been two primary manufacturers of new six-axle locomotives. Occasionally, as any industry insider will tell you, North American rail has struggled with managing its supplier base. Sometimes it is the result of poor execution and pricing from suppliers; sometimes it is the result of competitive forces in a small (by number of customers) marketplace.
EMD (Electro-Motive Diesel) is a subsidiary of Progress Rail, itself a very small subsidiary of Caterpillar (59th on the 2025 Fortune 500 list). It doesn’t take the imagination of Dr. Seuss to conceive of a world where Caterpillar, seeing little upside in the locomotive market, decides Bill Steck
2025 EQUIPMENT LEASING GUIDE
that it’s not in its best interest to continue to participate in the locomotive marketplace and closes up shop.
Walk that forward a little bit and reflect on the future locomotive needs of the Class I railroads when there is only one primary supplier. Cost is one problem, but that is probably manageable. But where will the locomotives come from when the supply chain has atrophied over several years and the ability (and the willingness) of one supplier to supply the market with the necessary number of units to replenish the North American fleet with whatever the next generation of reliable and serviceable locomotives needs to be made available? Perhaps EMD gets sold. Then it is up to the next buyer or another builder of locomotives, such as Alstom (who builds mostly passenger locomotives), which would need to fill the locomotive supplier gap.
There are roughly 25,000 road locomotives operating in Class I service, again with an average age of 28 years. At some
point those units will require replacement. Maybe it’s not today, but this need will transcend emissions requirements, fuel selection and individual railroads. To be clear, this isn’t a matter of blame. Companies have budgets and profitability goals, and they are run by people. People make choices. If the industry finds itself with one primary supplier of six-axle locomotives, it might look back on some of the choices that were made and wonder how it got here.
In the past 70 years, the peak of new locomotive production was roughly 1,500 units in one calendar year (2013). Do the math: One supplier who hasn’t manufactured more than 300 locomotives on average over the past seven years may not be able to meet that demand. The industry cannot be shortsighted about its future.
AROUND THE MARKET
As noted earlier in the text, the dearth of new railcar orders has continued to
provide foundational strength to the operating leasing of railcars. Except intermodal, loadings excluding coal are floating barely above 2024 volumes. Add coal into the mix and the numbers trend slightly higher.
The commodity mix in early 2025 is different than 2024, with almost every commodity group lagging 2024 except for coal, grain and chemicals. Meanwhile on the intermodal front, an almost 8% YOY increase is in large part due to pull-ahead loads trying to avoid tariffrelated concerns. Most industry watchers expect an “air pocket” (the “quiet quitting” of 2025) through mid-year as the world resets to a new tariff-based landscape. Yes, Virginia, 30% is still a tariff, whether you’re passing it along (like Walmart) or suggesting for the moment you will eat it (like Home Depot).
The AAR notes that coal volumes in 1Q25 were down by roughly 50% from the 1Q09 peak. The 2Q25 rebound in coal that is materializing has put a new spin
on traffic mix. In mid-May, coal loadings were up 20% over the previous year. Part of that is the price of natural gas, which had trended up to approximately $4.00 per MMBTU before backing off to the mid-$3.50 range.
As a result of all these factors, including the over-fleeting and tariff concerns discussed earlier, railcar market stability has been maintained, even as modest softness in some commodity groups has been present. Here’s what going on around the market.
Covered Hoppers for Grain: Loadings are on a two-year run. This market continues to be living with the shadow of the aging out of older cars over the next seven years. There is limited availability, and prices have come down off highs from a few years ago, but rents remain strong. For 5,200cf cars, expect rates in the high $500s to low $600s FS (full service) for five years. For larger cars for DDG or soybean service, look for rates in the high $600s. Looking at the older
2025 EQUIPMENT LEASING GUIDE
side of the spectrum, 4,750s continue to punch above their weight in the high $300s to low $400s.
Covered Hoppers for Plastics: This market has reached a moment of
saturation, and it is being quickly reflected in reduced lease rates across all sizes of cars. Some of this is clearly tariff-related but is also a harbinger for some general economic weakness. For 5,800cf pellet
WE KEEP YOU ROLLING
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hoppers, expect mid-$300s; for 6,200cf cars, look for mid-500s to low-600s.
Covered Hoppers for Cement and Sand: This market has softened a bit, and rates have come down slightly. Look for low $200s FS and don’t expect much improvement. Rumors of a fracking boom driving demand have more likely than not been exaggerated.
Mill Gondolas: The hottest car on the planet for the past year-plus has recently cooled to the touch. Metals loadings continue to decline, and scrap prices have stepped back from early-year peaks. 52-foot gons—still an expensive car to build—are trending in the mid-$500s. Heading to the West? 66-foot mill gons are trending higher, as they usually do, in the mid-$600s.
Centerbeam Flat Cars: There is some hesitation in this market as the new housing market continues to list with the economic tides held back by rising costs, inflation threats and persistently high interest rates. As cars come off lease, many are likely
coming back right now, so expect rates to keep them on lease to be low—low 300s FS would probably be a win right now.
Boxcars: Even with the pull forward of imports for tariff dodging, you know before the air pocket, this market has fallen back on its heels a bit: 50-foot Plate F boxes are in the high 500s FS, while a 60-foot box is running in the low-$700s for an older railcar. Expect to pay more (high-$800s) for a newer one.
Tank Cars: There has been some softening here as well. This is not unexpected considering the lower price of oil over the past few months, but the ongoing strength speaks to the over-fleeting and the high cost of offloading and onboarding tank railcars. For DOT117Rs, look for prices ranging from the mid-$900s to the low-$1,000s. For DOT117Js, look for prices in the low- to high-$1,200s. For pressure cars, look for rates in the low $1,000s. Expect continued strength here as the industry works through the recertification cycle and builds are low.
Probably some upside here.
Coal Cars: Coal is, well, having a moment. A year ago, loadings were down 17%. Today, they are up 5% YOY. The growth in loadings and the policies rushing out of the Executive Branch in support of coal have given many investors in coal equipment an exuberance and enthusiasm that they have not felt in quite some time. As mentioned in the April 2025 Financial Edge summary of Rail Equipment Finance 2025, the realization that coal and the coal car fleet will require new equipment at some point seems to have taken root. The surge in demand and increase in loadings is reflected in today’s current lease rates. Coal gons have risen into the mid-$300s FS, while rapid discharge cars are trending in the high-$300s to low-$400s.
Railroads & Economic Regulation traces the development, failures and successes of railroad economic regulation by an insider who was a White House appointed chief of staff at the Surface Transportation Board and a senior officer at the Association of American Railroads.
“Frank Wilner has written an exhaustive history of our nation’s railroads and the complicated, intriguing and often confusing federal regulation and lawmaking.”
Nick Rahall Member of Congress (West Virginia, 1977-2015)
“As a new member of the Surface Transportation Board, the book would have been indispensable to me. It places today’s regulatory issues into context based on their history and paints a picture of the characters who have made the railroad world what it is today.”
— $69.00 plus S/H
Debra L. Miller Member, Surface Transportation Board, 2014-2018
A mobile classroom built FOR RAILCAR SAFETY.
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Interior Classroom: Climate controlled with seating and access to rooftop platform
Key Safety Components: Valves, fittings, insulation and more
Expert-Led: Greenbrier specialists and safety advocates
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equipment leasing guide
DIRECTORY LEASING RESOURCE
The 2025 Guide to Equipment Leasing (pages 12 through 20) is supported by companies that provide equipment leasing and financial services and products to the rail industry. All of these firms have advertisements elsewhere in this section or have used paid profile space to present their background and capabilities.
AITX (American Industrial Transport, Inc.) is a premier provider of integrated railcar solutions, offering a wide array of services across railcar leasing, fleet management, and repair services. With a diversified portfolio of nearly 120,000 railcars and over twenty owned and operated railcar service providers including full-service tank and freight car shops, mobile services onsite partnerships and railcar storage facilities, AITX serves a crucial role in the rail transport industry. AITX offers shippers and railroads the expertise, capabilities, and services to keep their products on-track and their business moving ahead.
Tina
Beckberger,
Chief Commercial Officer
American Industrial Transport, LLC 300 S. Riverside Plaza, Suite 1925 Chicago, IL 60606 aitx.com
Progress Rail offers a wide variety of freight cars and leasing options to meet our customers’ specific transportation requirements. Understanding the needs of our customers and supplying an optimal solution is what we do best.
Learn more at ProgressRail | Freight Car Services, or contact us at info@progressrail.com.
Our Rail division offers a full suite of leasing and financing solutions to rail shippers and carriers across North America. We’re a top lessor of high-capacity railcars and offer flexible lease terms, a diverse fleet and dedicated customer service that’s focused on building long-term relationships. Our turnkey-ready cars are available to support your increasing demand, free up capital for growth and minimize out-of-service time.
Let’s explore how our full suite of services can help support your operating priorities and power your growth.
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The Greenbrier Companies is a leading international supplier of railroad equipment and services to global freight transportation markets. Greenbrier designs, builds, and markets freight railcars in North America, Europe and Brazil through its wholly owned subsidiaries and joint ventures. We are a leading provider of railcar wheel services, parts, maintenance and retrofitting services. Greenbrier owns a lease fleet of over 12,000 railcars, manages nearly 450,000 railcars and offers fleet management, regulatory compliance and leasing services to railroads, lessors and rail shippers.
Learn more about Greenbrier at www.GBRX.com | Info@GBRX.com
Thomas P. Jackson, Vice President of Marketing & General Manager One Centerpointe Drive, Suite 200 Lake Oswego, OR 97035 Tom.Jackson@GBRX.com
Railway Equipment Leasing and Maintenance (RELAM) Inc. offers high-quality Maintenance of Way (MoW) equipment available for both short-term and long-term leasing. We customize leasing solutions to help you optimize productivity and maximize profitability. Share your upcoming projects with us, and our team will develop a tailored program to meet your needs. Our fleet includes a wide range of MoW equipment, as well as hi-rail vehicles, ensuring comprehensive support. Falcon Equipment in Canada offers a diverse selection of truck options, expanding RELAM’s support across North America.
Locations include Cleveland, OH, St. Louis, MO, Sacramento, CA, Northern WI, and multiple locations across Western Canada.
Request a proposal or more information at quotes@relaminc.com or call (800)-962-2902
TrinityRail® provides our customers with comprehensive rail transportation products and services designed to enhance value by optimizing the ownership and usage of railcars.
Available is an owned and managed fleet of approximately 143,000 railcars. Access is also provided to TrinityRail’s extensive engineering and manufacturing platform, parts, maintenance, and on-site Field Support for operational assistance and technical training. RSI Logistics also offers software and logistics solutions to optimize your fleet management and improve your rail operations.
More information is available at www.trinityrail.com
Gregg Mitchell EVP, Leasing and Services 14221 N. Dallas Parkway, Suite 1100 Dallas, TX 75254 800-631-4420
You have product to move. We have the cars to do it. PNW Railcars’ fleet is among the youngest in the industry, and continuously expanding, to handle and transport whatever you need to move dependably: agriculture, automotive, aggregates, chemicals, energy, forest products, plastics, and steel. Thanks to our ongoing investment and supply relationships, we can also accommodate any configuration requirements you may have. Give us a call and see how we can help you.
PNW Railcars, Inc. 121 SW Morrison Street Suite 900 Portland, OR 97204 Tel.: 503-208-9295
Email: sales@pnwrailcars.com
Union Tank Car Company and Procor, Marmon Rail Companies, are leaders in designing, building, and leasing railroad tank cars and other specialized railcars. The fleet consists of approximately 120,000 railcars available for lease or sale to customers in chemical, petrochemical, energy, and agricultural/food industries. UTLX and PROX perform railcar maintenance services at more than 100 locations across North America. All our tank cars are manufactured in the U.S. Marmon Rail Companies are a division of Marmon Holdings, a Berkshire Hathaway company.
Union Tank Car Company and Procor UTLX.com PROCOR.com
ADVERTORIAL
The Most Important Topic of All: The Customer
With a leased and managed fleet of over 144,000 cars and a comprehensive platform enhanced by its manufacturing and services capabilities, TrinityRail® is a leading provider of rail transportation products and solutions.
And while the company also offers a broad range of additional services, including railcar parts, maintenance and management solutions, one area of importance shared by everyone across the organization is a focus on the customer.
If one spends any amount of time talking to Stephanie Moxley, Vice President of Customer Operations, this becomes crystal clear immediately.
Moxley joined TrinityRail in 2017 as a member of the sales team. This experience positioned her well to better understand the value of fostering strong connections with customers and the need to understand their business. In 2024, she took over the customer delivery group and went to work applying her inclusive perspective and driving home a sense of collective accountability.
Soon she would adopt three guiding principles that would become something of a mantra within the organization:
- We keep our commitments.
- We are easy to do business with.
- We understand our customers’ needs and provide solutions.
Indeed, TrinityRail continually holds itself to the high standard of delivering superior customer service and is aligned throughout the entire organization by this concept.
Look no further than Charley Moore, Chief Commercial Officer, who unabashedly confesses that, “We want to be viewed as being the best in the business by our customers”.
It’s All About Relationships
This philosophy is driven by a sense of having a symbiotic relationship with the customer and truly understanding their needs and shipping challenges.
Says Marla Adams, a director on the customer delivery team, “The relationships that we build and cultivate with our customers help us with future challenges. We have built some amazing relationships with our customers and we are responsive to them. Customers have other options of who to lease cars from, but they renew with us because of the relationship and our ability to offer other services as part of our platform. We take a lot of pride in this. We take care of them”.
Josh Purvis, another director within the customer delivery team agrees, adding that, “What we do really well is we learn and understand our customers’ business which allows us to take on their challenges. We partner with them”.
With the company in the unique position of being both a major lessor and builder of railcars, TrinityRail can leverage its expertise within both
spheres, while augmenting their leasing offerings with extensive engineering resources, responsive maintenance and repair, logistics solutions, and a complete line of parts to keep its customers’ railcars in service and their fleet optimized.
Purvis continues, “Our willingness to listen to the customer and bring other services in, such as engineering, makes us different. We also work together with groups like our field support team and other cross functional teams, which are second to none.”
A Diverse Team Makes a Difference
One unique aspect of Moxley’s group is the various backgrounds that each member brings to the team.
Nearly all members of the customer delivery team have experience from some other aspect of the shipping and logistics industries.
“Our diversity in experience and skillsets work well with different customers and is a major strength. We have people from the Class Is, short lines, and shippers, all of whom bring a different piece of knowledge to the team to make us stronger,” says Purvis.
Added up, this mosaic of experiences sets TrinityRail in the position of understanding their customers’ business and shipping needs from multiple angles of the supply chain, regardless of the industry.
A Bright Future Ahead
TrinityRail has recently made changes through realigning its Leasing & Services and Commercial organizations, with organizational changes aimed at improving communication with its customers and enhancing their overall experience.
Moxley will play a crucial role in the new alignment, with members of both the fleet and customer delivery groups now reporting directly to her. The new organization will handle railcar shopping, order delivery, and managing the entire experience for car orders. What this ultimately means for the customer is the consolidation of several processes and teams into one streamlined effort to make things easier for them to do business with TrinityRail
These changes are also intended to continue TrinityRail’s ability to meet its core values and are a firm step forward in its journey of Delivering Goods for the Good of All™.
For more information about how TrinityRail can help meet your shipping needs, visit www.trinityrail.com.
SLOW, BUT STEADY
Telematics providers are upbeat, despite sluggish adoption.
BY JOANNA MARSH, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Although rail telematics providers and users would like a speedier and more widespread integration of telematics technology in North America, vendors are still pleased with the progress made thus far and are upbeat about telematics’ future, sources told Railway Age
“The opportunity for rail telematics is massive. As the industry modernizes, visibility and accountability are becoming non-negotiable,” Geoforce CEO James S.
MacLean III said. “Operators who embrace connected asset tracking now are positioning themselves to lead in efficiency, safety, and service. We’re here to make that transition not only possible, but practical.”
“It’s great growth, but in terms of market share, it’s very small, and we need to go faster in order to deliver the benefits to the industry,” David Shannon, General Manager of RailPulse™, told Railway Age.
COSTS AN ONGOING CONCERN
For the rail industry to fully adopt
telematics technology for locomotives and railcars, telematics providers need data to prove the technology’s worth. But getting all that data also warrants a wider pool of participants to draw that data from, and this is the Catch-22 that telematics providers are encountering, according to sources.
“To deliver the big value to the industry, you need a critical mass of railcars,” Shannon said. Of the 1.6 million cars in rail service in North America, “some significant percentage needs to be equipped to get some of the large-scale benefits. Right now,
the primary benefits are being delivered to the individual fleet owners who have a small subset of cars instrumented in RailPulse. We’re getting benefit today. But the bigger industry-wide benefits will come as we get to scale.”
TrinityRail® noted that it “has demonstrated a commitment to mitigating modal shift within the rail industry through the collaborative effort of RailPulse™. “As a founding member, TrinityRail has joined other leading companies in the rail industry to pursue a neutral, open-architecture, industry-wide railcar telematics infrastructure. Through RailPulse, we aim to create a platform allowing users to see the location, condition and health of railcars
across the North American fleet.”
One of the most visible factors hindering a fuller adoption of telematics is costs: Shippers may be hesitant to invest in telematics equipment for their fleet, particularly if the shipper leases railcars.
“I think that’s part of the challenge right now,” said Brad Myers, EVP and COO of Amsted Digital Solutions, an offering of Amsted Rail. “If you don’t own the asset, and you’re going to make, let’s just say, rough numbers of a $700 investment for five years of service, plus the hardware times a 1,000- or 10,000-car fleet, it starts to get really expensive. And you don’t own the railcar. So, you might lease the cars for three to five years, and you give them back again. What do you do with the equipment?”
If not as many shippers have a lot of interest in footing ancillary expenses and costs, then the onus may be on the lessors to figure out how to help their customer base to monetize these investments, Myers said.
“This idea of experimentation to get to innovation is the theme that people need to embrace. And, you know, it’s still very limited,” Myers said. “What’s interesting is, you look at rail carloads, for example, where you might have a product load of $150,000 worth of goods or bulk product, and people are worried about spending $350 to outfit onboard technology and spend $3 or $4 a month. That’s understandable if you have 5,000, 10,000 and so on cars, but when you look at the aggregate of the spend in the rail transportation side, the benefits, the ROIs, are tremendous. But people are probably struggling with just the idea of change.
“When I get on and I order from Amazon, I never talk to anybody, right? From the moment I push go and I place the order, it keeps me updated. It tells me, it’s being packaged, it’s being delivered. And then it tells me it’s eight stops out, and then it gets there. In our rail space, you place the waybill, basically, a 417, on a railroad, you must follow that thing every step of the way. What a nightmare. And people are on the phone every day, multiple times a day, trying to follow their railcars. Amazon would implode if that were the business.”
“That’s the environment that we’re in, and it’s hard to get people to think about it
TELEMATICS
in that context when you’ve got a different level of service expectation,” Myers noted. “The way they do that is through technology, and it’s not terribly expensive. So, how do we bridge that?”
But beyond costs, there are other factors at play, according to Myers. Companies also seem to choose to settle with the status quo whatever works, however imperfect. “You’ve got people that actively manage railcars, and I think their attitude is, is the data we have today good enough?” Myers said. “Well, they don’t know what that experience looks like if it were enhanced and optimized, so that people who spend a lot of their time extracting data could instead spend more effort on value-added opportunities. I think there’s still a little bit of that experimentation kind of attitude right now across the industry, other than a few pockets of people who are the leaders, from a customer perspective.”
Shippers may also be concerned that proprietary company data would become more available to more actors, Myers added. “However, most shippers forget that when you book a railcar to be moved from A to B, the railroad knows where the car is going. If it’s a leased asset, the lessor knows where the car is going because they all get the same data. The railroads obviously have the greatest level of detail. So, there’s other parties that already know the direction and location of the assets.”
Shannon agreed that one of the biggest hindrances to widespread telematics adoption is the perception of how much it might cost. If five years of owning a telematics device will cost $800 to $1,000 per railcar, “you’re going to have buyers that say, for me to spend that much money on a railcar, I need a hard, fast, quantitative ROI that I can step up to. And if you want me to move faster, give me some help on the cost,” Shannon said. While the early adopters have been willing to take on some risk, “the majority of buyers are going to wait until they see that we’ve solved that value equation in a proven way, and the market is getting the energy on its own.” That’s why working with the early adopters to document and demonstrate the benefits is so key, Shannon stressed.
Since Shannon came on board with RailPulse three years ago, he has seen RailPulse grow from “essentially an idea
ZTR introduced a mobile application designed specifically to support field installations by validating the communication status of all telematics devices during setup.
TELEMATICS
to a successful trial,” proving the concept that “there can be a competitive ecosystem where multiple telemetry vendors are serving the needs of the rail market, and they’re innovating and competing for the rail industry in North America.”
Jared DeVries, regional director for railcar telematics at ZTR, also sees the newness of telematics as giving the industry pause, even though telematics has been adopted to some degree in other forms of freight transportation.
“While telematics has been widely adopted in over-the-road and off-road industries for decades, it remains relatively new territory for the rail sector,” DeVries said. “A key challenge is that many rail stakeholders are still unfamiliar with how telematics technologies apply specifically to railcar operations—how the data is collected, interpreted and turned into actionable insights. However, at the same time, expectations keep shifting, with many buyers focused on the ‘next big thing’ instead of proven solutions that work today.”
Still another factor is market uncertainties, DeVries noted. “There’s also the added complexity of market uncertainties and tariff pressures, which can affect longterm planning, along with the evolving
landscape around potential AAR regulation of railcar telematics. Despite these hurdles, the value of telematics is increasingly recognized, and adoption continues to grow as the industry gains clarity and confidence.”
Said Geoforce’s MacLean, “Many rail operators view telematics as a high-cost investment, often sidelined due to tight budgets and competing priorities. Integrating new systems with legacy infrastructure can also feel overwhelming, especially when data consistency and compatibility are in question. Uncertainty around standardization and future regulations adds to the hesitation, and concerns about data security, particularly around cyber threats and operational privacy, remain top of mind. But these challenges also point to the industry’s biggest areas for growth. As operators see the proven ROI through better asset utilization, reduced dwell time and streamlined reporting, momentum is building. Geoforce helps accelerate this shift with solutions that are easy to deploy, cost-effective and purpose-built for the complexity of rail operations.”
Said Shannon, “There are tech challenges, but the biggest challenge is not technical. It’s accelerating the pace of adoption so that we can accelerate the delivery of the
benefits that this technology can provide to the industry and the public.”
One tech challenge is power. “Telematics and the growing demand for on-board railcar devices and equipment all need an electric power source,” according to Railway Equipment Company (RECO). “Solar, the primary source thus far, is quite limited in the power it can produce as well as when and where it is effective.” RECO has developed a generator that can be attached to the end of a railcar axle and a power converter that will produce “significant” electrical energy for on-board devices as well as for charging a battery. The company’s Gen™ axle generator converts the mechanical energy obtained from a rotating wheel into electrical energy. “This generator will provide a significant level of watts that can power on-board devices and charge a storage battery,” RECO explains. “With the railcar moving at 10 mph, the generator will produce at least 5 watts of electricity. At 50 mph, it will produce 75 watts. Generator output is 3-phase alternating current, which feeds to the power converter. The converter takes the raw 3-phase AC current and converts it to a regulated nominal 12 volts direct current, which can be used to charge an external battery as well as power on-board devices and equipment. If the railcar is stationary for extended periods of time, the power converter will take the battery off-line and go into a sleep mode, preserving charge. Small and compact, the EX-Gen™ generator and power converter have been designed for extreme high and low temperatures, and to withstand the severe mechanical shock and abuse in a railcar environment. With the level of electrical power available, the opportunities for on-board devices and equipment have been greatly expanded.”
TURNING CHALLENGES INTO OPPORTUNITIES
Although the adoption of rail telematics has been at a slower pace than what telematics providers would like, that hasn’t stopped these providers from continuing to enhance and bolster existing offerings.
“We’re turning these challenges into opportunities by applying the lessons and measurable success we’ve had in other industries—particularly in reducing leasing and maintenance costs—and
RECO’s Gen™ axle generator converts the mechanical energy obtained from a rotating wheel into electrical energy.
TELEMATICS
adapting those solutions to the rail sector,” DeVries said.
Nor has it stopped railcar owners from being willing to install telematics devices on their fleets. “As a pure play manufacture, we don’t have a lease fleet and therefore not part of the RailPulse consortium,” said FreightCar America Chief Commercial Officer Matt Tonn. However, “during the past two years, we have applied various telematic devices per customer request. In short, we are very familiar with the installation and commissioning of this valuable technology. All our railcar designs are ‘telematics ready,’ so installation is straightforward.”
TrinityRail® said the company “is taking a broader view of resolving shipper supply chain challenges through innovative shipment management products and services. Whether its telematics, yard management, shipment tracking, or rail-rate and traffic analysis software, TrinityRail’s suite of solutions are designed with the needs of
customers in mind.”
In 2019, TrinityRail introduced Trinsight®, described as “a next generation digital platform that utilizes secure, cloudbased GPS and telematics data to track the location of railcars from origin to destination, and report on cargo status and railcar health. Trinsight also employed a powerful yard management tool that allowed shippers to monitor any railcar from the time they entered the yard to departure.”
With the 2023 acquisition of RSI Logistics, a provider of rail shipment management software solutions for more than 40 years, TrinityRail “added a portfolio of advanced logistics solutions to improve the end-to-end rail transportation experience of its customers. Now, with all our digital and telematics solutions under the RSI Logistics brand name, we deliver a broad roster of digital products, terminal services and expertise that addresses every phase of a rail-centric supply chain. Through RSI Logistics’ specialized services, customers
can more effectively manage their rail shipping while enabling internal logistics personnel to concentrate on core business needs. Many of these companies utilize this level of expertise to improve the effectiveness and reduce the administrative cost of their rail transportation program.”
TrinityRail points to RSI’s Rail Command® and Rail Impact® products. Rail Command “helps shippers control demurrage charges by making it easy to see how long railcars have been at a location through advanced track and trace capabilities. The product provides an all-in-one shipment tracking, comprehensive railcar fleet control, streamlined freight processing, and reporting automation experience. Rail Impact is a rail rate analysis tool designed to help shippers efficiently negotiate freight rates. It offers access to a vast database of serving carriers, cost models and railroad financial data updated via the Uniform Rail Costing System (URCS). The tool allows shippers to analyze rates as if
they were railroad pricing managers, track market trends and access critical information, such as routing options and fuel surcharge miles, all in one place.”
ZTR “has been working with industry stakeholders and regulatory bodies to support the development of telematics standards and future regulations, and it maintains an open feedback loop with customers and partners so that ZTR can use the feedback to enhance current sensors and develop new solutions, DeVries said. “For years, ZTR has helped customers in the maintenance-ofway equipment and construction markets improve visibility, streamline operations and drive down costs through telematics. We’re now showing how similar benefits—optimizing fleet size, improving asset utilization and avoiding unnecessary maintenance—can be achieved with railcars. A key part of our approach is the use of demonstration pilots that allow rail customers to see the technology in action within their own operations. These pilots
help translate unfamiliar technology into real-world results and build the foundation for broader adoption.”
Amsted Digital Solutions last year divested its transportation management software to focus solely on the onboard hardware telematics and related machine learning aspects, according to Myers. The company describes its IQ Series gateway as a “maintenance-free, low-power telematics device that uses advanced machine learning technology and eliminates the need for specialized external sensors.”
“Our approach basically is, think of it like a router in your home. You might have multiple laptops in your home. And in our case, all we want to be is that modem. We don’t want to be all the laptops. We want to be the thing that feeds and generates the data,” Myers said.
DeVries says ZTR’s advancements in its railcar telematics offerings include a focus on improving ease of deployment and data quality. ZTR introduced a mobile application designed specifically to support field
PETTIBONE SPEED SWING
TELEMATICS
installations by validating the communication status of all devices during setup. ZTR also focused on bolstering hardware capabilities and enhancing sensor configurations to improve battery life and offer better-quality data.
“We’ve expanded our hardware capabilities by making our sensors Intrinsically Safe to complement our gateway device,” DeVries said. “These sensors are certified to C1D1 (Class I, Division 1) standards, the highest safety rating for hazardous environments. This certification ensures our devices can operate safely around flammable gases or vapors—making them ideal for railcars carrying chemicals, fuels or other hazardous materials.”
Meanwhile, at RailPulse, there are now four certified vendors, up from three in 2024: Amsted Digital Solutions, Nexxiott, Wabtec and ZTR. Since last September, RailPulse also emerged from trial pilot mode, and the entity now has more than 40 companies using the platform, according to Shannon. In April 2024, RailPulse
TELEMATICS
had 2,000 to 3,000 railcars, and now it’s approaching 17,000.
“Every vendor that wants to work with the North American rail industry and bring telematics into the rail industry and be part of RailPulse introduces more to that innovation pipeline. Competition is always a good thing in terms of driving innovation, driving efficiency, etc.,” Shannon said. “And we are seeing innovative and creative developments coming from the telematics companies. We started with a finite set of things that we wanted to be able to track, to demonstrate, and we continue to track those things.”
RailPulse’s telematics offerings are also increasing in variety, Shannon said, with technologies ranging from those for monitoring wheels, bearings, tank temperature and pressure, to those for doors, hatches and valves. “Through innovations of the telemetry vendors, through the desires of the railcar owners, we’re seeing the introduction of new technologies. Many are still
being evaluated for their efficacy and value, while others are a little further along in the process. RailPulse strongly encourages this type of experimentation as it will lead to even greater benefits for the industry.”
Over the past year, RailPulse has also added more railcar lessors, because more shippers “are saying they want this kind of data to be able to either have better visibility of their freight or other driving requirements,” Shannon said. Participation in RailPulse “means that stakeholders will have greater insight into equipment health and enable the industry to move from a reactive to a predictive maintenance strategy.”
“A key focus right now is on making sure the technology delivers what it needs to deliver at scale in order to actually change behavior,” Shannon said. “So, we have very active mechanical committees within RailPulse made up of car owners looking at the performance of certain sensors, for example, those for monitoring hand brakes, to make sure that they have high
COMING TO SEATTLE, WA – AUGUST 26-28, 2025
The Principles of Wheel/Rail Interaction: Revitalized and reimagined with a tighter focus on practical application for 2025, The Principles of Wheel/Rail Interaction, is an intensive, full-day course covering the fundamental aspects of wheel/rail and vehicle/ track interaction.
The Rail Transit Seminar is devoted to examining wheel/rail, vehicle/track interaction on light rail and subway operations. The Seminar brings together track and mechanical users, researchers and suppliers in a positive, educational setting like no other in the industry. Information on where and how the latest technology is being used to improve wheel/rail interaction and overall performance on transit systems through a combination of seminar sessions, dedicated Q&A periods, and technical “InfoZone” sessions.
Register at www.wheel-rail-seminars.com
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confidence in the data coming off those sensors. With very high confidence in the data and as we get to scale, the industry will be willing then to change their operating and maintenance behavior based on what the data is saying. That’ll deliver the huge benefits to the industry through a healthier fleet that’s predictively maintained.”
Although rail telematics still appears to be in the early stages of adoption, dozens of telematics providers are eager to enter a rail market that they see will only grow.
Geoforce’s MacLean says his company’s offerings steer away from traditional automated equipment identification systems and help shippers and railcar owners track railcars, maintenance-of-way equipment and rail construction assets. “We meet these challenges [toward telematics adoption] head-on by focusing on simplicity, reliability, and long-term value,” he said. “Our devices are easy to install, even on aging fleets, and built rugged enough to withstand harsh rail environments. We
design our platform to integrate cleanly with existing systems, making it easier for operators to get actionable data without overhauling their entire tech stack. We also work closely with customers to map out ROI from day one, whether it’s improving asset utilization, reducing demurrage fees or enhancing safety and compliance reporting. By making the business case clear, we help operators secure buy-in from both the field and the front office.”
Hoping to gain a greater foothold in the U.S. market is Israel-based Tri-Logical Technologies, which provides AI-powered, vibration-based railcar health monitoring, according to International Business Development Director Tatiana Voloshin. “At Trilogical, we are committed to transforming railcar operations and health management, delivering meaningful value to stakeholders across the railway industry. Our breakthrough technologies, including AI-driven Health Monitoring Algorithms, help railroads, fleet owners and shippers
Through acquisition of RSI Logistics, TrinityRail added a portfolio of advanced logistics solutions to improve customers’ end-to-end rail transportation experience.
enhance safety, minimize downtime and unlock greater revenue potential.”
Voloshin described Tri-Logical’s offering as “a proprietary AI-driven solution that leverages advanced vibration analysis to detect wheel flats in real time, by using
a RailBlazer telematics device mounted on the railcar body. The car-mounted design eliminates the need for costly trackside or truck-specific systems, offering a smarter, real-time approach to railcar health management.”
WHEEL/RAIL PROFILE OPTIMIZATION
ON WIENER LINIEN’S VIENNA UNDERGROUND LINE U6
BY JEFF TUZIK
One of the surest and most common signs that something is amiss at the wheel/rail interface is accelerated wear of the wheels, rail or both. Occasionally the solution to the problem is straightforward and site-specific. But more often, abnormal wear appears as a symptom of fundamental, systemic wheel/rail dynamics gone awry. Correcting these
types of problems is anything but simple and requires involved measurement, analysis and remediation. This is the situation in which Wiener Linien, operator of the Vienna Underground, found itself in 2022.
Wiener Linien began to encounter dramatically increased wheel wear on the Vienna Underground line U6 after a 2022 rail renewal and grinding/milling project. Figure 1 shows one such example
of a heavily worn wheel with significant rolling contact fatigue (RCF) damage, as well. From the outset, it was clear that the scope of the problem (and ultimately, the solution) necessitated broad expertise, Lukas Prettner, Head of Track Systems at voestalpine Rail Technology GmbH, told members of the International Collaborative Research Initiative at its September 2024 workshop. This joint project ultimately drew on expertise from
Figure 1. A worn and RCF-damaged wheel characteristic of the type found on Vienna Underground’s line U6, circa 2022.
Wiener Linien’s engineering department, voestalpine Railway Systems, the Railway Infrastructure Design Institute at TU Graz, and engineering firm PJ Messtechnik GmbH.
A wheel/rail interaction project like this would be a complex undertaking on any rail line, but Line U6 provides some unique complications. The line itself was designed in 1890 for steam operation. It was converted to an electric tramwaylike service after WW1, and now operates as a metro/mass transit line; its fleet of Bombardier Type T and T1 vehicles is classified as light rail vehicles and was designed specifically to be able to use Wiener Linien’s tramway network in order to access the shop. “This means that the vehicles and the wheels themselves have a quite specific design,” Prettner said.
The 2022 rail renewal, grinding, and milling program was implemented to reprofile worn rail and to remediate defects found throughout the line, including significant corrugation and RCF at multiple sites and dipping welds. Some degree of RCF development is unsurprising, Prettner said, given that line U6 has very sharp curves, including one with a 123-meter radius (14.3-degrees).
Prior to the rail renewal project in 2022, line U6 had less of an issue with wheel wear, Prettner said, as wheel and rail shapes have adapted to each other. Following the renewal, flange wear rose dramatically. Figure 2 shows a comparison of wheel flange width compared to
wheel diameter in 2019 and in 2022. The high flange wear was accompanied by plastic deformation and spalling, as well. But the real question, Prettner said, was why the wheel wear problems began after the track was renewed and was thus in nominally ideal condition; “clearly something had gone wrong at the wheel/ rail interface.”
Voestalpine’s first step was a destructive analysis of several wheels. This revealed significant hardening of the wheel surface (from a baseline of approximately 283HB [Brinell] to as high as
341HB). There was also significant cold deformation and crack initiation found at the flange root (see Figure 3) Prior to the 2022 renewal project, voestalpine was also running a concurrent test on line U6 examining the wear behavior of higher hardness rail steel on the high rail in curves. The test was set up so that the high rail in the test site repeatedly alternated between steel types: 45 meters of 400 UHC® HSH® steel and then 45 meters of R350HT steel. The low rail was set up the same, but using 400 UHC® HSH® and R260 steels. Results indicated
Figure 2. A comparison of wheel flange widths in 2019 and 2022.
Figure 3. Photos from an analysis of worn wheels taken from line U6.
wheel/rail
that the harder steel showed a 50% reduction in terms of both wear and RCF and reduced corrugation to a minimum. These results convinced Wiener Linien to adopt R400HT steel, specifically the 400 UHC® HSH®, as the standard for high and low rails in curves during the 2022 renewal. But the presence of harder rail in some curves should have had no bearing on the increase in wheel wear that later occurred, Prettner said, as the test trials have just been conducted in a single curve. In the discussion, Prettner added that it has also been proven several times that hard rails have no negative influence on wheel wear.
The investigation into the cause of accelerated wear began at Wiener Linien’s Engineering Department with a preliminary analysis of the nominal (as of 2022) wheel profiles on nominal rail profile S48U and the design of a new wheel profile. This analysis showed contact conditions that indicated two-point contact on the high rail, with likely very high forces at the gauge corner/flange root and face (see figure 4). “It’s easy to imagine from this image that you’re going to get high friction and contact pressures in keeping with the flange wear we were seeing,” Prettner said.
The team then prepared a more
sophisticated analysis in the form of a multi-body-simulation (MBS) model. This allowed them to model the dynamic behavior of the specific car and train configuration that runs on line U6. The Bombardier Type T/T1 is a three-car multiple-unit with motorized two-axle bogies at the front and rear of the consist, and two unpowered single-axle bogies in the intermediate car that are steered according to the articulation angle (see figure 5). Once the model was developed, voestalpine simulated tangent track and multiple curves ranging from 123 m radius (approximately 14.3 degrees) to 800 m radius (approximately 2.2 degrees).
“When you’re dealing with very complex simulations like this, you need data from the field to know you can trust the model,” Prettner said. The team set up a wayside measurement site to do that, collecting lateral and vertical loads for comparison to the MBS results. The results were encouraging. Maximum lateral force was simulated 9.8 kN and measured at 11.2 kN. Maximum vertical loads were simulated 42.8 kN and measured at 42.5 kN. “Jointly, we decided that the model was accurate enough to move forward with.”
Wiener Linien also designed a new wheel profile to specifically avoid the deleterious contact conditions causing accelerated flange wear. The new wheel (see figure 6) had a number of geometry
Figure 4. Analysis of wheels showing suboptimal contact conditions, particularly 2-point and flange root contact.
Figure 5. A model of the Bombardier Type T/T1 developed for multi-body simulations.
changes, but the primary differences were that the new wheel provided singlepoint contact; the flange root radius was increased from 10 mm to 14 mm; and the flange was made thinner, effectively providing more clearance between the rail gauge corner and the flange root and a better steering behavior in the curve. The team provided Wiener Linien with their measurements, simulations of dynamic behavior, and recommendations to optimize the design, especially regarding contact pressure and switch/ crossing interaction.
On the rail side of the equation, voestalpine provided updated rail profiles with increased relief at the gauge corner (again, to reduce the propensity for flange wear) and a slight flattening of the field to help reduce the development of hollow worn wheel) (see figure 7). “The biggest change overall was the shift from twopoint contact to single-point contact,” Prettner said. “[Wiener Linien] has already started to implement the new profiles and should be seeing the benefits shortly, if not immediately.”
Simulations of the new wheel and rail profiles compared to the old ones indicate that the overall wear reduction should be significant. The combination of improved curving, a repositioned contact patch, and reduced contact at the gauge corner and flange root provided a 3x improvement in simulations. “The wear number [a summary expression of traction and creep forces at the contact patch] went from 655 to 221—a three-fold improvement—under the new conditions
in tight curves,” Prettner said. Wiener Linien as of September 2024 was in the process of implementing these changes, but all parties involved in the project are confident that significant wear and damage reduction will be realized, Prettner said. He also pointed out that material design (like wheel and rail metallurgies and hardness) only plays a part in engineering an optimal wheel/rail interface. “You can do a lot with material alone, but if you want the best performance, other factors like complementary wheel and rail profile
designs are critically important.” The project also showcased how engineering know-how of transportation companies can successfully be supplemented by the expertise of external partners in a concurrent process of teamwork.
Jeff Tuzik is Managing Editor of Interface Journal. https://interfacejournal.com/. This article is based on a presentation made at the 2024 International Collaborative Research Initiative. https:// www.icri-rcf.org/
Figure 6. Weiner Linien’s new wheel design for line U6.
Figure 7. The modified rail profile implemented on line U6.
AUTOMATED ROLLING STOCK INSPECTION WITH WAYSIDE AND ONBOARD TECHNOLOGY
BY TRAVIS GORHUM, SENIOR RAILWAY RESEARCH ENGINEER, ENSCO, INC.
Rolling stock inspection and monitoring are essential to safe and efficient railway operations for both freight and passenger trains. Today, a variety of wayside and onboard inspection technologies are used to automatically assess components such as bearings, wheels, and trucks, as well as systems that monitor the overall condition of a railcar. The East Palestine derailment highlighted the importance of automated rolling stock inspection in ensuring public safety. In the years ahead, wayside and onboard technologies will remain a central focus of the railway industry. This article explores current inspection technologies and emerging needs.
BEARING INSPECTION
TECHNOLOGIES
Railcar bearings can experience various types of defects which can result in increased temperature. In some instances, a defective bearing can rise in temperature to the level of causing a bearing burn off, where the bearing and journal melt causing the railcar to be compromised and increasing the risk of derailment. Common root causes of defective bearing conditions include spalling on
the raceways of the bearing, fretting between the bearing components and journal causing loose conditions of press fit components, and cracking steel roller cages caused by repeated wheel impacts from a slid flat wheel.
High temperatures in defective bearings can be detected by Hot Bearing Detectors (HBD), also known as Hot Box Detectors, which use infrared sensors to measure bearing temperature as a train passes. If a bearing exceeds a set temperature threshold, the detector issues a warning to the train crew via radio and sends data to a central operations center for further analysis and potential intervention.
Potential defects in a railcar’s roller bearings can also cause the bearings to generate abnormal sounds that can be detected by Acoustic Bearing Detectors (ABD). An ABD uses specialized microphones mounted in or near the track to detect and categorize the sounds generated by defective bearings such as spalling in a bearing’s cup, cones, or rollers.
A third method, onboard monitoring, involves mounting small sensors directly onto the bearing adapter. These devices typically measure temperature and acceleration, providing continuous real-time data as the train operates.
WHEEL INSPECTION TECHNOLOGIES
Train wheels can develop several types of defects, including flat spots, out-of-round wear, spalling, shelling, and built-up tread. These irregularities can cause repeated impact forces when the wheels turn, increasing the risk of damage or failure. Wheel Impact Load Detectors (WILD) use strain gauges or similar sensors attached to the rails to measure the force of these impacts as the train passes.
Wheel profiles can also wear down in ways that increase derailment risk, such as thin flanges, thin rims, or hollow treads. Wheel Profile Detectors (WPD) use lasers and cameras to capture the shape of each wheel, providing valuable data to ensure they remain within safe limits. This data also supports predictive maintenance by showing how wheel wear evolves over time.
TRUCK, BRAKE, AND DRAFT SILL INSPECTION TECHNOLOGIES
Various conditions can cause truck hunting, such as hollow worn wheels, worn friction wedges, and out-of-tolerance side bearings in combination with empty railcars operating on tangent track at higher speeds. This form of suspension motion results in a railcar’s truck
rapidly oscillating from side to side which can cause damage to lading or potentially result in a wheel climb derailment. A Truck Hunting Detector (THD) utilizes strain gauges, or similar sensors, added to a WILD to measure lateral loads in addition to the vertical loads measured by WILD.
Normal braking of a railcar causes the brake shoes to press against the wheel tread causing the wheels to heat up. When a brake system is not functioning correctly, it may not apply enough pressure to the wheels, causing a “cold wheel.” Similarly, when the brakes are released a railcar’s brakes may become stuck and constantly apply pressure to the wheels, causing a “hot wheel.” Both hot and cold wheel temperatures can be detected using infrared sensors in Wheel Temperature Detectors (WTD) (also known as Hot/Cold Wheel Detectors). WTD are an important technology for assessing rolling stock braking health and can play an important role in routine brake inspections.
A growing area of innovation is machine vision technology, which uses high-resolution, high-speed cameras to inspect railcars visually. Systems may use area scan cameras (similar to digital cameras) or line
scan cameras (similar to document scanners) to create detailed images. These images can be reviewed manually or processed with computer vision algorithms to automatically detect defects. This is especially helpful for inspecting components that are hard to access manually, such as the draft sill area beneath the railcar. For example, machine vision can identify cracked carrier plates or missing bolts that might otherwise go unnoticed.
LOOKING AHEAD
Automated rolling stock inspection has made major strides in recent decades—and the future promises even more innovation. Technologies such as thermal imaging, fiber optic sensing, advanced acoustic analysis with artificial intelligence (AI), and sophisticated data analytics are poised to further enhance rail safety and reliability.
The Transportation Technology Center (TTC) in Pueblo, Colo., plays a vital role in advancing these technologies. With more than 50 miles of test track and specialized infrastructure, TTC offers a unique environment to test and validate inspection systems under real-world conditions. The facility supports collaboration across government, industry, and
academia to accelerate innovation in rail safety.
As part of that mission, TTC hosts the Annual TTC Conference & Tour, which brings together transportation professionals to explore current research, safety technologies, and field-tested innovations. The next conference will be held October 7-8, 2025, and features technical presentations and a guided tour of the TTC facility. The tour includes a look at testing capabilities, live demonstrations, sponsored equipment displays, and an overview of key infrastructure supporting rolling stock inspection and monitoring.
To learn more about TTC’s testing capabilities, research programs, or upcoming events, visit ttc-ensco.com or ttc-conference.com.
People
TED BAUN
The Greenbrier Companies
HIGH PROFILE: In January 2026, The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. will have a new CCO (Chief Commercial Officer): Ted Baun, who has joined the company’s North American Commercial Team as Senior Vice President. He will succeed Tim Schitter, who will retire at year-end.
Baun brings more than 30 years of experience in the rail industry to Greenbrier. Most recently, he served as the CCO for PNW Railcars, overseeing its tank and freight railcar fleet and directing efforts to maximize new railcar leases and renewals. Before joining PNW, he spent 23 years at FreightCar America (FCA) and its predecessor, Johnstown America, including 11 years as CCO. At FCA, Baun managed production planning, scheduling, pricing and commercial activities. He also held a senior sales role at Mitsui Rail Capital, LLC from 2003 through 2005.
“We are excited to welcome Ted to Greenbrier’s leadership team,” said Brian Comstock, Executive Vice President and President, The Americas. “His deep railcar manufacturing and leasing expertise make him an ideal fit for the Chief Commercial Officer position. Ted’s business acumen, industry knowledge and commercial experience are invaluable as we continue to enhance our offerings, invest in our lease fleet and boost customer experience. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to Tim for his unwavering dedication and numerous achievements during his 11 years at Greenbrier. We wish him all the best in retirement.”
“I am honored to join Greenbrier and help expand its leadership in railroad transportation products and services,” Baul said. “Greenbrier enjoys a rich heritage of innovation and exceptional customer experience. I am eager to lead the best team in our industry, driving impactful initiatives that deliver significant value to our customers. Together, we will build on Greenbrier’s legacy and explore new avenues for growth and excellence.”
ArthurChandler is joining Jacksonville, Fla.-based Pinsly Railroad Company, LLC as Vice President of Engineering, responsible for overseeing the short line holding company’s annual capital spending program and leading key initiatives across the Engineering team. Chandler has 20 years of railroad industry experience, having spent half of his career with CSX and the other half with Genesee & Wyoming. He
began his career in 2005 as a Management Trainee in Engineering at CSX, where he later held roles of increasing responsibility in various locations. His final position at the Class I was Assistant Division Engineer in Buffalo, N.Y. Chandler in 2014 joined Genesee & Wyoming, where he served as Director of Engineering Testing and Compliance, Chief Engineer of Advanced Engineering, and most recently, Chief Engineer
of Production. He led teams responsible for internal rail flaw testing; track geometry testing; and large-scale capital projects, such as tie replacement and track surfacing. Chandler also played a key role in developing departmental rules and policies, creating associated training programs, and advancing safety initiatives. Chandler earned a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Delaware and a Master of Business Administration from Florida Atlantic University. He is an active member of industry organizations, including the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, Association of American Railroads, and American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association, and contributes to multiple committees.
Ronald Forrest on June 2 became Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Metro Transit in St. Louis, Mo., one of five Bi-State Development enterprises, which also include Gateway Arch, Riverboats at the Gateway Arch, St. Louis Downtown Airport, and St. Louis Regional Freightway. Charles Stewart, the current EVP and COO, will aid in the transition until his retirement at the end of June. Metro Transit runs MetroLink, a 46-mile, 38-station light rail system; MetroBus, a 400-vehicle bus fleet with a service area of about 600 square miles; Metro Call-A-Ride, a wheelchair lift-equipped paratransit service; and Transit Assets operations. Forrest has more than 25 years of public transit leadership experience. Most recently, he served as Deputy COO at Metro Transit in Minneapolis, Minn., where he and his team were responsible for delivering approximately 60 million customer trips annually in the Twin Cities region. “Chuck [Stewart] has been a pivotal figure in Metro Transit’s growth and success over the last several years, and his dedication to public service has left a lasting impact on our organization as well as the communities we serve,” said Taulby Roach, President and CEO of Bi-State Development. “We are deeply grateful for his contributions and wish him all the best in his well-deserved retirement. We are excited to welcome Ronald to our transit team. His extensive expertise in operations management and his dedication to innovation and customer-centric solutions will be invaluable.”
NEXTGEN RAIL SYSTEMS
October 30 & 31, 2025
Hyatt Regency Jersey City
Jersey City, NJ
Next-Gen Train Control is now Next-Gen Rail Systems
Railway Age’s Next-Gen Train Control has been the industry’s single-most important communications and signaling event since 1995.
For our 30th annual conference, we are expanding our program to encompass the entire system. Expert-led sessions will examine the complex integrations incorporating signaling, train control, telematics, artificial intelligence, deep data analysis, cybersecurity measures and more.
Register and connect with industry leaders, explore innovations, and stay ahead of rail project trends and regulations.
Featured Speaker
Tom Prendergast CEO
Gateway Development Commission
Sponsorships:
Contact Jonathan Chalon, 212.620.7224, jchalon@sbpub.com
Learn More: www.railwayage.com/nextgen
45G Modernization: We Need a Hat Trick
In sports, there are many terms that reference multiple things happening simultaneously or in quick succession. A “hat trick” refers to scoring three goals in one hockey game. A “parlay” is a gambling bet that two or more things will happen in a single game or in a series of games. Today in Washington, the short line industry is facing multiple challenges and opportunities that need to be dealt with at the same time.
On the legislative front, we are racing against the clock to secure enough Congressional co-sponsors to include the much-needed 45G tax credit modernization proposal in tax legislation being prepared by Congress, and we are working hard to preserve CRISI (Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements) Program funding in the upcoming transportation appropriations bill and the next surface transportation reauthorization bill.
On the regulatory front, the new Administration is giving us what may be a one-time chance to identify existing regulations that can be modified or repealed. Similarly, the Surface Transportation Board is undertaking a serious effort to make its process more responsive and transparent and is seeking industry input to aid in that endeavor.
A hat trick is achieved through preparation and skill, and maybe a little bit of luck. A winning parlay bet is based almost entirely on luck. What the short line industry needs today is a hat trick, and we need to put in the work needed to get that done. Some of that work is being done, and done well.
We are coming off a productive Railroad Day on Capitol Hill where we had 305 Congressional meetings with some 327 well-prepared and engaged attendees. One of the primary missions was to secure cosponsors for the 45G modernization bills, and we now have 72 cosponsors for the House bill (H.R.516) and nine cosponsors for the Senate bill (S.1532).
As we anticipated, the measure is not included in the recently passed House
tax bill, so our new uphill climb Plan A is to get in the Senate version of the tax bill and then survive as the two sides come to a compromise proposal.
Since its creation in 2015, the CRISI grant program has provided short lines with large chunks of infrastructure funding unavailable elsewhere.
Unlike most federal grant programs, which allow only public bodies as eligible applicants, short lines can apply directly for these grants, and they have done so with relentless determination. Since the program began in 2015, 240 awards totaling more than $2.7 billion have gone to projects benefiting short lines.
In the most recent round of grant awards, short lines received 81 out of 122 awards. That is a testament to the hard work short lines put in to prepare good applications, line up the required local or private matching funds, and build the public support needed to promote the project with the decision-makers.
In response to the USDOT’s recent RFI on regulatory reform, ASLRRA has submitted a detailed filing identifying burdensome and unduly expensive regulations that could be repealed without compromising safety. These include Signal Employee and Dispatcher Certification, which are not justified with cost-benefit ratios of 8:1 and 3:1, respectively; the final rule establishing Emergency Escape Breathing Apparatus (EEBAs) requiring up to $107 million in industry cost with no quantifiable benefits; and the Train Crew Size rule, for which there is no data supporting the need.
The filing also addresses the opportunity to use the currently statutorily mandated Risk Reduction Program (RRP) as an alternative to the existing prescriptive and costly federal regulations and urges an industry-wide working group managed by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to further develop this idea.
This is all good work, but it is not enough to get the job done. Doing so requires a much higher level of engagement, and the need for that engagement
is driven by one simple fact: Most Congressmen, Congressional staff and Administration officials (FRA Administrator nominee David Fink being a notable exception) know far less about short lines than we think they do, and short lines themselves are the only source of that information.
To get our hat trick, there are three areas where short lines need to step up engagement:
1) Short lines need to invite Members of Congress and agency leaders to see their operations in the real world.
2) Short lines need to get shippers, local economic officials and other third parties involved in telling our story. In our first 45G legislative campaign, we enlisted more than 1,000 shippers who publicly supported the effort.
3) Finally, short lines need to publicize the good news benefits that flow from the programs we are promoting. As I noted, since the beginning of the CRISI program, 240 short lines have received awards, and we now have asked those short lines to give us the project details and quantify the benefits so that we can help publicize them before key decision-makers.
None of these three things are easy. All of them are time consuming. Each of them is necessary.
The origin of the term “hat trick” comes from cricket, where in the late 19th century, a British bowler, H. H. Stephensen, achieved the feat of taking three wickets in three consecutive deliveries. Fans were so impressed that they collected money and bought him a hat as a reward. Placing a parlay bet on multiple outcomes is easy to do, fun to follow and rarely successful. If we want the hat, we must do the work.
Mechanical Department Regulations
FRA News:
There are no new proposals or final rules to report for this issue. Be sure to check back next month to see if there are any changes to FRA regulations.
Part 215: Freight Car Safety Standards
49 CFR 215. Prescribes the minimum safety standards for freight cars allowed by the FRA. Includes safety standards for freight car components, car bodies, draft system, restricted equipment and stenciling. Softcover, spiral. Updated 12-28-23
BKFSS Freight Car Safety Standards $12.00
Order 50 or more and pay only $10.80 each
Part 231: Railroad Safety Appliance Standards
49 CFR 231. General requirements for safety appliances including: handbrakes, brake step, running boards, sill steps, ladders, end ladder clearance, roof handholds, side handholds, horizontal end handholds, vertical end handholds, and uncoupling levers. 106 pages. Softcover. Updated 12-28-23
BKSAS Railroad Safety Appliance $14.00 Order 50 or more and pay only $12.60 each
Part 229: Locomotive Safety Standards
The Locomotive Safety Standards cover the laws governing inspections and tests, brake system, draft system, suspension, electrical, cabs and cab equipment plus more! Softcover. Spiral bound. Updated 12-28-23
BKLSS Locomotive Safety Standards $16.00 Order
Part 228: Passenger Train Employee Hours of Service; Recordkeeping and Reporting; Sleeping Quarters
49 CFR 228 for records, recordkeeping, and reporting of hours of duty of a railroad employee. Also covers the construction of employee sleeping quarters and health requirements for camp cars. Softcover. Spiral bound. Updated 12-30-24.
