Weekly Rail Review

WRR - 08-15-2008

August 29, 2008 Weekly Rail Review No Comments

 WEEKLY RAIL REVIEW
FOR THE 7 DAYS ENDING FRI, AUGUST 15, 2008
THE WEEK’S TOP RAIL AND TRANSIT NEWS (in chronological order):

(MON) A federal judge in Massachusetts issued a restraining order against three Massachusetts Institute of Technology students to prevent them from making a presentation at a computer conference that would show how to hack into Boston MA’s bus and subway fare collection system to obtain free rides.  The order was in response to a complaint filed by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, which said that the students would be presenting before the agency had a chance to fix the flaws in the system.  An MBTA spokesman said that, after the presentation showed how to hack into the system, it then noted that it was illegal to do so and that the material presented was “for educational use only.” (ffd: wire services)

(MON) The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) announced that it was, for the time being, dropping plans to add weekend service to its Penn Line or midday runs to its Camden Line.  MTA Chief Administrator Paul Wiedefeld said that the agency had so far been unable to reach agreement for more Penn Line trains with Amtrak and for more Camden Lines trains with CSX, due mainly to capacity issues.  The wanted service increases are part of a sweeping, 28-year plan MTA unveiled last September to triple capacity on MARC.  Among other improvements, the plan envisions replacement of Amtrak’s B&P Tunnel in Baltimore by 2020 and of CSX’s Howard Street Tunnel in Baltimore by 2035. (ffd: Baltimore Sun)

(MON) Simmons-Boardman Books released the fifth edition of the book, “The Railroad: What It Is, What It Does.”  The book, first authored by the late John Armstrong in the 1970s, is considered by many the best textbook overview of the railroad industry.  The publisher said that the new edition contains nearly a hundred pages of new information including new chapters on business development and marketing, and on labor relations, including the Railway Labor Act. (ffd: Railway Age)

(MON) Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) marked its 25th anniversary.  DART operates Dallas area bus and light rail transit services, the latter now a 45-mile network.  Currently, DART is building a 28-mile light rail line between Dallas and Carrollton TX, and is planning to fully double its light rail network by 2018. (ffd: Progressive Railroading)

(MON) The National Mediation Board, which arbitrates cases covered under the Railway Labor Act, announced a new “Arbitrators’ Caseload Report” section of its web site, nmb.gov.  A NMB spokesman said that the report shows grievance cases by arbitrator and whether or not a case is late, meaning a decision that has not been rendered within six months of when an arbitrator heard the case.  The spokesman added that the report also provides a direct link to an NMB database reflecting current updates. (ffd: NMB, Progressive Railroading)

(TUE) Utah Transit Authority (UTA) broke ground for its FrontRunner South commuter rail line.  The project will extend the FrontRunner’s initial Ogden-to-Salt Lake City line 44 mines south to Provo.  Scheduled for completion in 2012, the eight-station line will run along existing Union Pacific right-of-way. (ffd: Progressive Railroading, UTA)

(TUE) The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced the launch of a new Risk Reduction Program (RRP).  An FRA spokesman said that the initiative, which will supplement current federal regulations, calls for developing “innovative” methods, processes and technologies to address train accident and employee injury risk factors.  The spokesman added that the program encourages voluntary participation by railroads and their workers by targeting specific risk categories, such as confidential close-call reporting systems, peer-to-peer accident prevention strategies and fatigue risk management programs. (ffd: FRA)

(TUE) The Canadian government announced that a planned formal review of Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Railway could take up to 18 months to complete.  The review, a government spokesman said, will be a two-phase process.  The first phase will investigate problems and analyze data, and the second phase will see a three-person panel consult participants and make recommendations.  The review was announced last year and begun last April. (ffd: wire services)

(WED) Eight unions were joined by BNSF in filing a motion in a U.S. appeals court challenging a new U.S. Department of Transportation rule covering re-testing of transportation workers who had earlier failed a drug test.  The rule, which was originally scheduled to take effect August 25, requires individuals being re-tested to be partially undressed and directly observed while producing a urine sample for federal mandated drug tests.  In issuing notice of the rule, USDOT said that the new procedures were designed to overcome deceptive prosthetic devices that had been used by some individuals being re-tested. (ffd: USDOT, Progressive Railroading)

(WED) New Jersey Transit approved the purchase of 50 additional bi-level commuter rail cars.  The new purchase order will increase NJT’s planned bi-level fleet to 329 cars, 170 of which have already been delivered, and 143 of which are already in service.  The cars are being assembled by Bombardier Transportation.  The bi-levels, which are in service on NJT’s Northern New Jersey trains, have been praised by riders, especially for their 2-2 seating configuration that avoids the much-disliked 3-2 seating on many NJT single-level cars. (ffd: Times Herald Record)

(WED) Amtrak announced that it had begun using a new video system to help communicate key security information to passengers getting ready to board its trains.  The new system, known as PASS for Passenger Advisory at Security Screening, features a 1-minute, 40-second video that explains security measures, including random baggage screening and K-9 patrol units.  An Amtrak spokesman said that the system is now in use at Washington DC Union Station. (ffd: redorbit.com)

(THU) A city historian in New York State announced that he has unearthed what is believed to be the country’s first rudimentary railroad tunnel.  Don Rittner, city historian of Schenectady NY, said that the tunnel had been unearthed 15 feet beneath the city’s historic Stockade district and dated from 1832.  Mr. Rittner said he believed the tunnel not only the first ever constructed in the U.S. for use by a locomotive, but that its entrance was also the nation’s first junction of two railroad companies’ tracks. (ffd: Schenectady Daily Gazette)

(THU) Amtrak announced that its July, 2008 patronage of 2,750,278 was the most for any single month in its 37-year existence, and up 14 percent compared with its July, 2007 ridership.  Ticket revenue for July was up $168 million, up 18.6 percent from the year-ago month.  An Amtrak spokesman noted that all its services except one, the Chicago-Grand Rapids MI run, had experienced ridership increases.  Amtrak President Alex Kummant commented that the notable increases were due to factors including “increased fuel prices, highway congestion, airline issues and environmental awareness.” (ffd: Amtrak, Wall Street Journal)

(THU) Philadelphia PA rail and transit operator SEPTA announced what it said was its largest one-time service expansion in its history.  A SEPTA spokesman said that it will apply $10 million to increase regional rail and bus frequencies, including adding late-night rail service.  SEPTA GM Joe Casey said that the service expansion was in part made possible by Pennsylvania’s recent signing into law Pennsylvania Act 44, which provides a steadier stream of SEPTA funding.  Mr. Casey further noted that SEPTA expects to add 120 Silverliner V electric-multiple-unit cars in 2009, its first new commuter rail car purchase in 40 years, and that it has recently acquired eight used cars from New Jersey Transit. (ffd: SEPTA, Railway Age)

(THU) New Jersey Transit announced a new joint ticketing agreement with SEPTA.  Whereas riders starting their trips on NJT were previously only able to purchase SEPTA tickets to three Philadelphia stations, they can now purchase them through to up to 125 SEPTA destinations.  A NJT spokesman said that joint NJT-SEPTA ticketing will be available at NJT and SEPTA station ticket windows and from NJT rail ticket vending machines. (ffd: NJ Transit)

(FRI) In paperwork filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway Funds noted that they had continued to increase their railroad holdings.  This latest filing notes Berkshire Hathaway having recently doubled their holdings in Union Pacific, from 4.45 million to 8.9 million shares.  Berkshire Hathaway also owns a large percentage of BNSF equity, at last report totaling 18 percent of all BNSF common shares. (ffd: Railway Age)

(FRI) Amtrak’s planned 100th anniversary celebration for its Washington DC Union Station has been rescheduled to October 4 and 5.  Festivities were previously planned for September 27 and 28. (ffd: Amtrak)

(FRI) The State of South Carolina announced that it was in the process of developing a statewide rail plan.  The plan, which will be assembled by Wilbur Smith Associates, will be managed by the State’s Public Railway Division & Commerce Department.  A state spokesman said that the plan will review passenger rail and freight rail impact on economic development, and assess rail’s role in the stateâI^TMs multi-modal transportation infrastructure.  The plan is to be completed in January, 2009. (ffd: RT&S)

(FRI) The Association of American Railroads released its thirtieth edition of “Analysis of Class 1 Railroads.”  The AAR publication, much of which is sourced from the Class 1 railroads’ R1 filings, presents comprehensive 2007 data for each of these railroads.  Copies are available to the general public at $250 for printed and $225 for electronic, and to AAR members at $100 printed and electronic at no cost, and may be ordered off the AAR web site. (ffd: AAR)

(FRI) Iowa Interstate Railroad announced that it would again operate the two modern Chinese steam locomotives recently acquired and brought to the U.S. by its parent, RDC Corporation.  In a prepared statement, the IAIS said that special trains powered by the locomotive would be operated October 18 and 19 between Iowa City IA and Rock Island IL, and include “an attempt to set a record for steam-hauled revenue tonnage” this decade.  IAIS said that the proceeds from the train trips and other special rail-related events going on in Rock Island IL these days would benefit The Salvation Army, in appreciation of their relief efforts on behalf of communities impacted by Midwest flooding last June. (ffd: IAIS RR)

STATS - “BIG 7″ TRAFFIC

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Canadian traffic includes that on the U.S. operations of Canadian National and Canadian Pacific.)

(THU) For the week ending August 9, 2008, U.S. rail volume grand totaled 34.2 billion ton-miles, unchanged from the comparable week last year.  U.S. carload rail traffic totaled 328,281 units, down 0.1 percent, and was down 2.0 in the East, but up 1.2 percent in the West.  Notable traffic increases included metallic ores up 49.5 percent, metals up 5.3 percent, and coal up 5.1 percent; notable traffic decreases included motor vehicles and equipment down 29.6 percent, lumber and wood products down 16.9 percent, and non-grain farm products down 16.5 percent.  Also for the week, U.S. intermodal rail traffic totaled 233,948 units, down 1.4 percent, Canadian carload rail traffic was down 4.7 percent, Canadian intermodal rail traffic was up 0.7 percent, Mexico’s Kansas City Southern de Mexico’s carload rail traffic was down 6.6 percent, and KCSM’s intermodal rail traffic was up 11.0 percent.

For the period January 1 through August 9, 2008, U.S. rail volume grand totaled 1.08 trillion ton-miles, up 1.5 percent.  Also for this period, U.S. carload rail traffic totaled 10,386,894 units, up 0.3 percent, U.S. intermodal rail traffic totaled 7,120,894 units, up 0.3 percent, Canadian carload rail traffic was down 4.2 percent, Canadian intermodal rail traffic was up 4.2 percent, KCSM’s carload rail traffic was down 3.4 percent, and KCSM’s intermodal rail traffic was up 8.8 percent. (ffd: AAR)

MORE STATS - “BIG 7″ (EXCEPT CN) OPERATING PERFORMANCE:

Not reported this week.

STILL MORE STATS - CLASS 1 RETURN ON INVESTMENT:

(MON) The U.S. Surface Transportation Board reported that U.S. Class 1 railroads collectively earned a 10.53 percent return on investment (ROI) in the 12 months ending June 30 of this year, compared with 8.56 percent ROI in the 12 months ending June 30 last year.  ROI of these railroads in descending order was as follows: Norfolk Southern, 13.57 percent; BNSF, 9.82 percent; Union Pacific, 9.16 percent; Kansas City Southern, 8.32 percent; and CSX, 7.89 percent.  Combined net income for Class 1’s totaled $7.1 billion versus 6.0 billion earlier. (ffd: Railway Age)

EXPANSIONS, CONTRACTIONS AND ALIKE:

(MON) Boundary Trail Railway was reported by local media in Southern Manitoba to have reached tentative agreement with Canadian Pacific to acquire line segments in MB’s Pembina Valley and establish a farmer-owned short line railroad.  The report said that, if final agreement is reached as expected, the company will acquire from CPR the line from Biney Corner to Morden MB, and all of the right-of-way of its La Riviere and Napinka Subdivisions. (ffd: Railway Age) 

(MON) GATX was reported to have offered more than $3 billion to acquire GE’s railcar leasing business.  GE’s is one of two railcar leasing units reportedly on the market at this time, the other being that of CIT.  GE’s equipment fleet includes 165,000 rail cars and 120,000 intermodal trailers, containers and chassis. (ffd: wire services)

(MON) Progress Rail Services, a subsidiary of Caterpillar, announced that they had acquired Twin City Signal, based in Hudson WI.  The company designs railway traffic control systems, interlocking and grade crossing warning systems. (ffd: Railway Age)

(MON) New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway was reported to have filed to discontinue service over 41 miles of line between Shenango Forks and Sherburne NY.  The line was notably damaged in 2006 by severe local flooding. (ffd: Binghamton Sun-Bulletin)

(THU) CSX filed to abandon approximately 2 miles of its Southern Region/Atlanta Division/Atlanta Terminal Subdivision line, in and around College Park GA. (ffd: STB)

(FRI) Canadian National petitioned the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to issue a final decision before year’s end concerning its proposed acquisition of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway.  In its petition, the railroad requested that the STB decide by September 15 whether to modify its procedural schedule to allow for a final decision by October 15.  If the STB does not act by September 15, CN said that it would likely file with the U.S. Court of Appeals to “compel the STB to issue a final decision that would permit CN to close the transaction by December 31.”  In a prepared statement, CN said that there was “substantial risk” that EJ&E’s parent, U.S. Steel, could terminate the transaction if the deal was not closed by year’s end.  CN reached tentative agreement with USS in September, 2007 to acquire EJ&E for approximately $300 million, but the proposed acquisition has garnered notable opposition in the region EJ&E serves. (ffd: Progressive Railroading)

APPOINTMENTS, ACHIEVEMENTS AND MILESTONES:

(MON) Livonia, Avon & Lakeville Railroad announced the following appointments: Brackett Clark as Chairman; Gene Blabey as President & CEO; Larry DeYoung as EVP, COO & Treasurer; and Paul Whitbeck as Corporate Secretary.

(MON) Massachusetts Central Railroad announced the appointment of W. Robert Bentley as its VP & GM.  Also, the railroad announced that it had signed a joint marketing agreement with New Hampshire’s Claremont Central Railroad, whereby Claremont Concord VP-Marketing Stephen Fontaine will oversee marketing activities for both railroads. (ffd: Progressive Railroading)

(MON) Union Pacific announced the following appointments: Tom Jacobi as VP-Operating Systems & Practices; Ken Hunt as Regional VP-Operations-Western Region; Rick Turner as
Dennis Jacobson as VP-Premium Operations; and Ken Sito as Chief Engineer-Southern Region. (ffd: UP Corp.)

(MON) Western New York & Pennsylvania announced the appointment of Carl Belke as its president.  Mr. Belke was most recently WNY&PA’s chief engineer. (ffd: WYN&PA RR)

(WED) TTX appointed Don Shaffer its Controller.  Mr. Shaffer was most recently a partner at Tatum Partners. (ffd: TTX Corp.)

(WED) Shortline conglomerate Watco Companies appointed Pat Cedeno its VP-Growth Initiatives.  Mr. Cedeno was most recently Chief Operating Officer-Central Region.  Succeeding Mr. Cedeno will be Dave Eyermann.  Mr. Eyermann was most recently Watco’s Assistant Chief Operating Officer-Central Region. (ffd: Watco Corp.)

(FRI) Alaska Railroad appointed Ernie Piper its VP-Operations & Chief Operating Officer.  Mr. Piper, was most recently a consultant, having previously served ARR in a number of capacities, and succeeds Matt Glynn, who recently resigned. (ffd: ARR)

(FRI) Kansas City Southern Railway appointed Brett Jensen its AVP-Intermodal Sales & Marketing.  Mr. Jensen was most recently a KCS General Director. (ffd: KCS Corp.)

WRR - 04-18-2008

April 18, 2008 Weekly Rail Review No Comments

WEEKLY RAIL REVIEW
FOR THE 7 DAYS ENDING FRI, APRIL 18, 2008

THE WEEK’S TOP RAIL AND TRANSIT NEWS (in chronological order):

(MON) Delaware state officials noted their success in creating artificial reefs to shelter sea life using retired New York City subway cars. Officials said that, in the area off the Delaware Coast where the cars were dumped, now known as Red Bird Reef after the class of subway cars, marine food per square foot has increased 400-fold in the last seven years and there have been more than 10,000 fishing trips to the site since 1997, up from fewer than 300 trips that year. Officials added that the program may be a victim of its own success; New York State has announced that, pending federal update of the state’s reef permits, it will reserve all future retired NYC subway cars to create artificial reefs where New York State borders the ocean. (ffd: New York Times)

(MON) A coalition of Oregon rail shippers commended the U.S. Surface Transportation Board’s ruling of the previous week related to an out-of-service rail line of the Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad (CORP). The STB ordered CORP to show cause why the railroad’s failure to reopen the line, which is between Coquille, OR and Eugene, OR, should not be considered an unlawful abandonment. The rail line has been shut down for several months due to unsafe conditions in several tunnels on the line, repairs to which are estimated to cost $20.4 million. (ffd: Oregon News Review)

(MON) New York State’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced that they would launch a series of initiatives to further reduce [MTA’s] impact on the environment, including its carbon footprint.” An MTA spokesman said that it has already made several new environmentally-friendly commitments, including working to derive seven percent of its energy needs from solar, wind and other renewable resources by 2015. The spokesman also noted that, thanks to our [MTA’s] robust [public] transportation network, the energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions of New Yorkers are a quarter of the national average. (ffd: MTA, RT&S)

(MON) Metro North reminded of its new exhibit in Grand Central Terminal marking the commuter railroad’s 25th anniversary. The exhibit, entitled A Railroad Reborn: Metro-North at 25, includes many unique railroad artifacts of MNRR and predecessor railroads serving the terminal, including photographs, platform and train equipment, diagrams, and models, including a scale model of the Grand Central Terminal complex and trackage. The exhibit runs through July 6. (ffd: The Poughkeepsie Journal)

(TUE) The Surface Transportation Board released cost of capital data calculated using a recently approved change in methodology. The board now uses a capital asset pricing model instead of a single-stage discounted cash flow method in determining cost of capital, having applied the latter since 1982. This resulted in the cost of capital for 2006 being 9.94 percent, down from 2005’s 12.2 percent. The STB uses the cost of capital figure to evaluate the adequacy of individual railroads’ revenues and, also, in various regulatory proceedings. (ffd: Progressive Railroading, STB)

(TUE) Four trainloads of riders stuck on Chicago Transit Authority’s Blue [subway] Line ignored subway personnel and decided to vacate their trains and walk through subway tunnels to station exits. Fearing that passengers could be electrocuted by the third rail, officials temporarily cut off electrical power to the tunnels. Service on the line was disrupted for about four hours. Commenting on the event, a CTA spokesman said, If passengers had not self-evacuated, we could have gotten people out of trains and restored service sooner. (ffd: New York Times, wire services)

(TUE) A noted academic predicted an increased reliance on railroads in the U.S. in decades to come. Train travel will supplant highway and air travel in the next few decades, predicts Professor John Stilgoe of Harvard University. Furthermore, electric railroads will increasingly be used to distribute freight. Mr. Stilgoe qualifies this thesis in his recently published book, Train Time: Railroads and the Imminent Reshaping of the United States Landscape. Mr. Stilgoe goes on to suggest that population growth, rising gas prices and advanced technology will be factors driving further railroad development. (ffd: RT&S)

(TUE) Norfolk Southern debuted a new online carbon footprint analyzer” that it said “puts the environmental benefits of rail transportation into an easy-to-visualize perspective. An NS spokesman said that the web-based tool, dubbed the Green Machine, has capabilities including estimating the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions that occur when rail transportation becomes a large component in shipper supply chains. The Green Machine may be accessed at www.nscorp.com/future. (ffd: NS Corp.)

(WED) The U.S. Department of Transportation announced new federal rules related to the movement of toxic inhalation hazard (TIH) rail shipments. The rules require railroads transporting these shipments to analyze their routes based on 27 risk factors, including trip length, volume, type of hazardous material being moved, and population density before choosing a route with the fewest overall safety and security risks. Also under the rules, railroads must route trains carrying these shipments based on these determinations or face potential fines of up to $10,000 per day. (ffd: USDOT, Washington Post, wire services)

(THU) Officials of Illinois’s Regional Transportation Authority said that its agencies needed approximately $10 billion in capital investment to come to a state of good repair and begin needed expansion projects. The RTA’s capital list includes new Chicago Transit Authority subway-elevated tracks to eliminate slow orders costing $689.5 million, improving CTA stations at a cost of $901 million, and replacing outdated Pace System fixed-route buses at a cost of $99 million. RTA officials noted that the state has so far proposed only $1 billion in funding for transit-related projects. (ffd: RT&S)

(THU) The authority overseeing Southern California’s Alameda Corridor announced that the 100,000th train was run over the rail line since its opening in April, 2002. The Corridor totals approximately 20 miles of largely grade-separated, double-tracked line running between the Port of Los Angeles-Long Beach and rail yards just outside of downtown Los Angeles. Acclaimed as an outstanding example of public-private transportation partnership, the authority last year announced that fees collected from use of the line had grown to an amount such that it would likely retire its construction bonds several years early. (ffd: Progressive Railroading)

(FRI) A rare Midwestern earthquake awakened residents of several Midwestern states and caused several railroads to temporarily slow or halt operations until tracks could be inspected. Railroads including CSX, Norfolk Southern and Canadian National reported that they had temporarily slowed or halted operations, but none reported any damage to track or infrastructure. The earthquake, which measured 5.4 on the Richter scale, was reported centered in Southern Illinois near the town of West Salem. (ffd: Trains, wire services)

(FRI) Amtrak advertised for sale the Rohr Turboliners refurbished by New York State for Empire Corridor service. The ad, which was posted in publications including Progressive Railroading, advertised seven trainsets, three of which have been overhauled and stored in Delaware [and] four of which are in various stages of overhaul and stored in New York, all with direct drive gas turbines and associated spare parts inventory. Originally built and operated in the 1970s, the trainsets were refurbished at great cost by New York State earlier this decade, but operated only briefly before Amtrak took them out of service due to failures and high operating costs, which precipitated a $477 million lawsuit by the state against Amtrak that was eventually settled for a much lesser amount a few months back. (ffd: Progressive Railroading)

(FRI) Trains Magazine debuted its new YouTube-like Trains Tube feature. The magazine said that the web-based video series would feature interviews with magazine columnists, correspondents, and friends. Available at the Trains Magazine website, the debut video features Trains Associate Editor Andy Cummings interviewing Wisconsin & Southern Railroad locomotive engineer Matt Heeren. (ffd: Trains)

(FRI) The Guinness Book of World Records announced that it was prepared to authenticate a new record for running the world’s longest model train. A spokesman for model railroad supplier Empire Builder Railroad Designs said that the record would be broken on April 26 in Scottsdale, AZ when a G scale (1:24) model train would be operated, a train to include 47 locomotives and 540 cars on 1,252 linear feet of track representing 6.91 scale miles. The current record is held by an HO scale train earlier assembled in Hamburg, Germany in HO scale (1:87.1) that totaled 362 linear feet representing 5.969 scale miles. (ffd: wire services)

STATS BIG 7 TRAFFIC

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Canadian traffic includes that on the U.S. operations of Canadian National and Canadian Pacific.)

(THU) For the week ending April 12, 2008, U.S. rail volume grand totaled 34.2 billion ton-miles, down 1.4 percent from the comparable week last year. U.S. carload rail traffic was down 2.9 percent, down 6.1 percent in the East and down 0.4 percent in the West. Notable traffic increases included grain up 15.1 percent, metals up 4.2 percent, and food and food products up 2.8 percent; notable traffic decreases included lumber and wood products down 18.9 percent, metallic ores down 18.8 percent, and motor vehicles and equipment down 15.3 percent. Also for the week, U.S. intermodal rail traffic was up 1.9 percent, Canadian carload rail traffic was down 9.1 percent, Canadian intermodal rail traffic was up 5.8 percent, Mexico’s Kansas City Southern de Mexico’s carload rail traffic was down 5.0 percent, and KCSM’s intermodal rail traffic was up 37.5 percent.

For the period January 1 through April 12, 2008, U.S. rail volume grand totaled 500.0 billion ton-miles, up 2.2 percent from the comparable period last year. Also for this period, U.S. carload rail traffic was up 1.0 percent, U.S. intermodal rail traffic was down 3.5 percent, Canadian carload rail traffic was down 2.8 percent, Canadian intermodal rail traffic was up 4.7 percent, KCSM’s intermodal rail traffic was down 3.7 percent, and KCSM’s intermodal rail traffic was up 14.4 percent. (ffd: AAR)

MORE STATS BIG 7 (EXCEPT CN) OPERATING PERFORMANCE:

(NOTE: Earlier this month, Kansas City Southern combined operating performance data for its domestic (Kansas City Southern) and Mexican (Kansas City Southern de Mexico) operations. As a result, correct comparative data for KCS for last year is not available at this time.)

(WED) For the week ending April 11, 2008 versus the comparable week last year (except for KCS), average total cars on line was as follows: BNSF, 231,960 cars versus 226,270 cars; Canadian Pacific, 82,319 cars versus 82,337 cars; CSX, 224,280 cars versus 223,265 cars; Kansas City Southern, 49,211 cars; Norfolk Southern, 200,866 cars versus 206,404 cars; and Union Pacific, 303,318 cars versus 307,033 cars.

Also for the week ending April 11, 2008 versus the comparable week last year (except for KCS), average train speed was as follows: BNSF, 24.0 mph versus 23.4 mph; Canadian Pacific Railway, 23.1 mph versus 24.0 mph; CSX, 20.0 mph versus 20.7 mph; Kansas City Southern, 24.6 mph; Norfolk Southern, 21.5 mph versus 21.9 mph; and Union Pacific, 22.8 mph versus 22.9 mph.

Finally for the week ending April 11, 2008 versus the comparable week last year (except for KCS), average terminal dwell time was as follows: BNSF, 25.5 hrs versus 24.4 hrs; Canadian Pacific Railway, 22.7 hrs versus 22.6 hrs; CSX, 22.5 hrs versus 23.7 hrs; Kansas City Southern, 19.7 hrs; Norfolk Southern, 21.0 hrs versus 22.1 hrs; and Union Pacific, 24.3 hrs versus 24.4 hrs. (ffd: AAR)

STILL MORE STATS 1ST QTR, 2008 RESULTS:

(WED) CSX became the first Big 7 to debut its First Quarter, 2008 results. CSX reported net income of $351 million, compared with $240 million in the first quarter last year. Revenues were $2.713 billion, compared with $2.422 billion in the first quarter last year. CSX’s first quarter operating ratio was 76.9 percent, compared with 80.0 percent in the first quarter last year. (ffd: CSX Corp.)

EXPANSIONS, CONTRACTIONS AND ALIKE:

(MON) Nordco announced that it would acquire Central Power Products of Grandview, MO. Central Power Products is the manufacturer of the Shuttlewagon Railcar Mover. (ffd: RT&S)

(TUE) Shortline holding company Genesee & Wyoming announced that it would acquire Rotterdam Rail Feeding of The Netherlands. Rotterdam Rail Feeding provides short-haul rail and switching services at the Port of Rotterdam, Europe’s busiest intermodal and bulk commodity port. (ffd: Progressive Railroading)

(TUE) Union Tank Car announced that it would close its plant in East Chicago, IL. The facility has been in operation for more than 40 years and has produced over 75,000 tank cars. A company spokesman said that it would continue its rail car manufacturing operations at its Sheldon, TX and Alexandria, LA plants. (ffd: Railway Age)

(WED) Canadian National filed to discontinue approximately 1 mile of its former Illinois Central line in Dyersburg, TN. (ffd: STB)

(WED) Georgia Midland Railroad announced the sale of its line between Ardmore, GA and Sylvania, GA to the Ogeechee Railway. The line totals approximately 20 miles in length and includes an interchange with Norfolk Southern at Ardmore. (ffd: Progressive Railroading, wire services)

(THU) CSX granted R.J. Corman Railroad’s Central Kentucky Line overhead trackage rights between Winchester, KY and Berea, KY, totaling approximately 35 miles. CSX said that the agreed-upon purpose of the trackage rights was to permit [R.J. Corman] to haul carloads of sand from Lexington, KY to Berea, KY in single line service. (ffd: STB)

(FRI) Holland LP’s Holland Railway Measurement Systems and Services Division announced that it would acquire Industrial Metrics of North Vancouver, BC. Industrial Metrics is the provider of products including its Rangecam Track and Wheel Maintenance and Engineering software. (ffd: Railway Age)

APPOINTMENTS, ACHIEVEMENTS AND MILESTONES:

(TUE) The U.S. Surface Transportation Board appointed Matthew Wallen the director of its newly created Office of Public Assistance, Governmental Affairs, and Compliance. This new office is the result of the combination of the STB’s former Office of Compliance and Consumer Assistance and its former Office of Governmental and Public Affairs. The STB also appointed Mel Clemens to the new position of Senior Advisor to the Board. (ffd: STB)

(TUE) TTX, the former Trailer Train, appointed Thomas Wells its new president and director. Mr. Wells, who was most recently TTX’s EVP, will succeed Andrew Reardon, who has announced his retirement effective June 1. (ffd: Progressive Railroading)

(TUE) The Port of New York & New Jersey announced the resignation of its executive director and head, Anthony Shorris, effective April 24. No immediate successor was named. Mr. Shorris has been PANYNJ’s executive director since January, 2007. Mr. Shorris had earlier headed the PANYNJ, between 1991 and 1995. (ffd: Progressive Railroading, Railway Age)

(WED) Norfolk Southern appointed John Friedmann its VP-Strategic Planning. Mr. Friedmann, who will report to NS EVP-Planning & CIO Deborah Butler, succeeds Dan Mazur, who will retire May 1 after 38 years’ railroad service. (NOTE: We congratulate Mr. Friedmann, a longtime Weekly Rail Review reader.)

(THU) Noted railroad preservationist George Hart passed away in Leighton, PA at Age 89. Mr. Hart was the first director of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania and the operator of Rail Tours Inc. Mr. Hart was also responsible for the preservation of railroad locomotives and rolling stock, and also several large collections of rail artifacts, notably the Pennsylvania Railroad’s corporate library and historic collection of locomotives and cars. (ffd: Trains)

* * *

WRR - 04-11-2008

April 11, 2008 Weekly Rail Review No Comments

WEEKLY RAIL REVIEW
FOR THE 7 DAYS ENDING FRI, APRIL 11, 2008

THE WEEK’S TOP RAIL AND TRANSIT NEWS (in chronological order):

(SUN) New York media noted the 100th anniversary of the completion of tunnel boring for the two rail tunnels built by the Pennsylvania Railroad under the Hudson River between Manhattan and Northern New Jersey. The two tunnels, in operation since completion of the PRR’s multi-year New York Terminal Project in 1910, are now used each weekday by 104 Amtrak trains, 337 New Jersey Transit revenue trains, and 39 NJT non-revenue trains. Later in the week, various organizations, including the National Association of Railroad Passengers, called attention to a recent change in plans to build two additional rail tunnels between New York and New Jersey. NARP urged reconsideration of the change, which will have the tunnels terminating in Manhattan at a separate and smaller station at 34th Street, instead of also connecting with existing Pennsylvania Station terminal trackage. (ffd: NARP, New York Times)

(MON) The New York state legislature failed to approve a congestion pricing plan approved the previous week by the New York City Council. The plan would have allowed for the electronic collection of fees of between $8 and $21 for each vehicle entering Manhattan below 60th Street at peak hours on weekdays. The fees collected would have gone toward city and regional transportation improvement projects. Numerous public leaders expressed disappointment at the legislature having turned down the plan, including U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters, who went on to say that New York’s mounting traffic and congestion woes point to congestion pricing as an inevitable solution, even if not in the next few months or with the assistance of federal dollars. (ffd: New York Times, Railway Age)

(MON) Canadian Minister of Transport Lawrence Canon announced that his Transport Canada agency would launch a “rail freight review” to …identify service problems and their impacts and make recommendations to improve Canada’s rail freight logistics system. The minister went on to state that the review …will focus on services provided to Canadian shippers and customers by Canadian National and Canadian Pacific within Canada, including to and from ports and border crossings. He added that the review will address the impact on service of shipper size, car supply, demand forecasting, peak movements, operating practice, and the relationship between CN, CPR and their shortline railroad partners, the latter now originating 25 percent of all rail traffic in Canada. (ffd: Railway Age)

(WED) The Maryland Transit Administration announced that it would purchase 26 rebuilt Class GP-40 locomotives for its MARC commuter train services. An MTA spokesman said that the locomotives were being purchased from the Utah Transportation Authority and rebuilt by Motive Power of Boise, ID. (ffd: MARC)

(THU) Amtrak announced that it would resume ticketing passengers for its Coast Starlight train for all points between Seattle, WA and Los Angeles, CA. Amtrak had earlier been forced to suspend the train’s operation as a result of an extensive landslide on the train’s route on the Union Pacific north-south coastal main line near Oakridge, OR on January 19. Although the UP has recently reopened the line to a limited number of freight trains, it is not yet okayed by them for passenger service, and an Amtrak spokesman said that a bus bridge would be provided for ticketed passengers between Eugene, OR and Klamath Falls, OR, and in both directions. (ffd: wire services)

(FRI) Norfolk Southern announced the debut of a new e-commerce tool available through its website. Known as Thoroughbred Pacesetter, an NS spokesman said that it would offer functions designed to help customers directly manage freight car orders and releases, increase real-time car pipeline visibility, and access a detailed local car inventory. The spokesman added that it would feature what it said was an industry-first, service-based demurrage system that directly links NS service to demurrage credits. (ffd: NS Corp., Progressive Railroading)

STATS BIG 7 TRAFFIC

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Canadian traffic includes that on the U.S. operations of Canadian National and Canadian Pacific.)

(THU) For the week ending April 5, 2008, U.S. rail volume grand totaled 34.3 billion ton-miles, up 4.6 percent from the comparable period last year. U.S. carload rail traffic was up 3.6 percent, down 1.3 percent in the East, but up 7.5 percent in the West. Notable traffic increases included grain up 27.1 percent, food and food products up 19.8 percent, and metallic ores up 10.8 percent; notable traffic decreases included motor vehicles and equipment down 18.5 percent, primary forest products down 17.9 percent, and lumber and wood products down 15.8 percent. Also for the week, U.S. intermodal rail traffic was down 1.1 percent, Canadian carload rail traffic was down 0.4 percent, Canadian intermodal rail traffic was up 3.8 percent, Mexico’s Kansas City Southern de Mexico’s carload rail traffic was up 9.0 percent, and KCSM’s intermodal rail traffic was up 45.6 percent.

For the period January 1 through April 5, 2008, U.S. rail volume grand totaled 465.8 billion ton-miles, up 2.5 percent from the comparable period last year. Also for this period, U.S. carload rail traffic was up 1.3 percent, U.S. intermodal rail traffic was down 3.9 percent, Canadian carload rail traffic was down 2.3 percent, Canadian intermodal rail traffic was up 4.6 percent, KCSM’s carload rail traffic was down 3.6 percent, and KCSM’s intermodal rail traffic was up 12.8 percent. (ffd: AAR)

MORE STATS BIG 7 (EXCEPT CN) OPERATING PERFORMANCE:

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Earlier this month, Kansas City Southern combined operating performance data for its domestic (Kansas City Southern) and Mexican (Kansas City Southern de Mexico) operations. As a result, correct comparative data for KCS for last year is not available at this time.)

(WED) For the week ending April 4, 2008 versus the comparable week last year (except for KCS), average total cars on line was as follows: BNSF, 229,745 cars versus 226,958 cars; Canadian Pacific, 83,355 cars versus 82,738 cars; CSX, 221,620 cars versus 225,617 cars; Kansas City Southern, 49,900 cars; Norfolk Southern, 200,654 cars versus 207,503 cars; and Union Pacific, 310,229 cars versus 309,150 cars.

Also for the week ending April 4, 2008 versus the comparable week last year (except for KCS), average train speed was as follows: BNSF, 24.5 mph versus 23.7 mph; Canadian Pacific Railway, 22.8 mph versus 22.6 mph; CSX, 20.1 mph versus 20.0 mph; Kansas City Southern, 25.7 mph; Norfolk Southern, 21.7 mph versus 20.9 mph; and Union Pacific, 21.6 mph versus 22.2 mph.

Finally for the week ending April 4, 2008 versus the comparable week last year (except for KCS), average terminal dwell time was as follows: BNSF, 25.3 hrs versus 24.6 hrs; Canadian Pacific Railway, 23.1 hrs versus 24.5 hrs; CSX, 22.3 hrs versus 24.1 hrs; Kansas City Southern, 19.4 hrs; Norfolk Southern, 21.0 hrs versus 22.4 hrs; and Union Pacific, 24.7 hrs versus 25.1 hrs. (ffd: AAR)

EXPANSIONS, CONTRACTIONS AND ALIKE:

(TUE) Iowa Pacific Holdings’s Permian Basin Railways announced that it had purchased the Mount Hood Railroad from a group of local and regional investors. The 102 year-old MHRR provides freight rail service on a 22-mile line between Hood River and Parkdale, OR and offers several excursion and dinner trains from April through December. (ffd: Progressive Railroading, Trains)

(TUE) Union Pacific filed to abandon approximately one-half mile of its Santa Monica Industrial Lead in Los Angeles, CA. (ffd: STB)

(FRI) The New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway filed to discontinue the signal system over approximately four miles of its Syracuse Main and Utica Main out of Binghamton, NY. In its filing, the NYS&W noted that approximately 40 miles of its Utica Main has been out of service since June, 2006 due to track and infrastructure damage from extensive flooding, and that these four miles of line are now used as a storage spur. (ffd: FRA)

(FRI) The U.S. Department of Energy formally filed with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to build a new rail line, approximately 300 miles long, to access its Yucca Mountain, NV nuclear waste repository. The new line, which has been opposed by the State of Nevada, would run between the Union Pacific line at Caliente, CA and Yucca Mountain. (ffd: Railway Age, STB)

(FRI) Union Pacific filed to discontinue the block signal system on its Granville Industrial Lead between Wiscona, WI and Granville, WI, totaling approximately seven miles. In its filing, the UP stated that the signal system is no longer needed for safe train operation. (ffd: FRA)

APPOINTMENTS, ACHIEVEMENTS AND MILESTONES:

(WED) The National Industrial Transportation League, whose membership includes numerous rail shippers, appointed Bruce Carlton its new president. Mr. Carlton, was most recently assistant administrator of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration, succeeds John Ficker, who resigned as president last January, and Annette Sandburg, who had been serving as acting president since Mr. Ficker’s departure. (ffd: Progressive Railroading)

(THU) BNSF appointed Charles Shewmake its VP-Law & General Counsel and Vince Cruz its Associate General Counsel. BNSF noted that Roger Nober continues as its EVP-Law & Secretary. (ffd: BNSF Railway)

(FRI) Florida East Coast Railway appointed Wayne Blalock its GM-Intermodal Operations and Tommy Rountree its GM-Transportation. Mr. Blalock was most recently responsible for FEC’s operations in South Florida and Mr. Rountree was most recently responsible for FEC’s operations in North Florida. (ffd: FEC Corp., Railway Age)

* * *

WRR - 04-04-2008

April 4, 2008 Weekly Rail Review No Comments

WEEKLY RAIL REVIEW
FOR THE 7 DAYS ENDING FRI, APRIL 4, 2008

THE WEEK’S TOP RAIL AND TRANSIT NEWS (in chronological order):

(MON) The U.S. Federal Railroad Administration proposed what it called sweeping and revolutionary changes in standards for construction of railroad tank cars carrying poison inhalation hazard (PIH) commodities. The proposed rules require such cars to be equipped with puncture-resistant protection that is strong enough to prevent penetration at speeds up to 25mph for side impacts and 30mph for head-on impacts. They would also set a maximum speed limit of 50mph for any train with a PIH tank car and a temporary speed restriction of 30mph for all such cars traveling in dark territory that don’t meet the puncture-resistance standard. As customary, the FRA invited public comment on the proposed new rules. (ffd: Baltimore Sun, FRA, Progressive Railroading)

(MON) The New York City Council approved a plan to implement congestion pricing for vehicles entering Manhattan below 60th Street on weekdays. The plan would electronically bill drivers of cars and trucks entering there and then fees of up to $21, which would then go towards needed transportation improvements in the city and the region. The plan now goes to the New York state legislature for final consideration. A city spokesman said that, if the legislature approves congestion pricing by April 7, it would then allow the city to gain $354 million in federal funding for transportation needs, including funding to implement the plan. (ffd: Newsday, Railway Age)

(MON) The United Transportation Union announced that it would hold internal trials for seven of its officers related to the proposed merger of the UTU and the Sheet Metals Workers International Association. That merger, which was approved by the UTU’s membership last summer, is opposed by the UTU’s new international president, Mike Futhey, and has been blocked by a federal court’s restraining order, which was recently extended until early May. The seven have been internally charged with improper conduct related to dissemination of information about the proposed merger to the UTU membership. (ffd: Railway Age)

(MON) The Utah Transit Authority announced that its new FrontRunner commuter rail line serving Salt Lake City, UT would start service on April 26. The new line follows a Union Pacific line from Salt Lake Intermodal Hub Station to suburban Pleasant View Station. A UTA spokesman said that it had built 38 miles of new track, running just east of existing UP trackage, for the FrontRunner train and that they will use new Bombardier bi-level cab cars, each with capacity for over 200 passengers. (ffd: UTA)

(MON) A new entrance was opened to the Port Authority Trans Hudson (PATH) subway station at the World Trade Center in Manhattan. A PATH spokesman said that the new entrance will allow the former entrance to be closed in accommodation of ongoing reconstruction of the World Trade Center site. The spokesman noted that, at the site, work on the 1,776-foot-tall Freedom Tower has nearly reached street level, the foundations for the World Trade Center Memorial are nearly complete, and work on new Towers 3 and 4 is now underway. (ffd: PATH, RT&S)

(TUE) CSX announced that they were beginning work on a new $4.5 million dispatching center in Huntington, WV. CSX announced last year that they would decentralize train dispatching, much of which is presently centralized at a Jacksonville, FL facility. A CSX spokesman said that other new dispatching centers will be located in Baltimore, MD, Cincinnati, OH, Florence, SC, Nashville, TN, and Atlanta, GA, additional to dispatching centers already in service at Calumet City, IL, Indianapolis, IN, and Selkirk, NY. (ffd: CSX Corp.)

(TUE) The U.S. Federal Railroad Administration announced that it was now, and for the first time, making its investigation reports of major train accidents and other incidents available online. An FRA spokesman said that the reports, which generally focus on high-consequence train-to-train collisions, derailments, certain grade crossing collisions, and employee fatalities, are now online for 2005 and 2006, and also for the first quarter of 2007. The reports may be accessed at http://www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/1696. (ffd: FRA, Railway Age)

(TUE) Metro North Railroad announced that work was continuing to progress on its new $91 million station to serve New York City’s Yankee Stadium. A MNRR spokesman noted that construction of the new station has necessitated moving MNRR’s Hudson Line approximately 50 feet west to allow for completion of two center-island platforms. The existing Yankee Stadium, constructed in 1923 and renovated in the mid-1970s, is being replaced by a new and adjacent stadium, and the MNRR spokesman said that the new station is expected to be ready for the new stadium’s opening in Spring, 2009. (ffd: MNRR, Progressive Railroading)

(TUE) The International Union of Railways released a report on international passenger rail and freight rail traffic. The report stated that passenger rail and freight rail traffic continues to grow in many parts of the world. The report noted that, in 2007, freight rail traffic grew more than 7 percent in China, Russia, and India, and about 1 percent in Europe. The report further noted that U.S. freight rail traffic declined about 1 percent in 2007. (ffd: Progressive Railroading)

(WED) Immigrant advocates protested at Pennsylvania Station in New York City. The advocates said that they were protesting U.S. Customs & Border Protection agents boarding Amtrak trains near the Canadian and Mexican borders to perform checks for individuals attempting to enter the U.S. illegally. An Amtrak spokesman said that the practice of allowing officials onto trains for such purposes is legal and that they would continue. (ffd: NARP, New York Sun)

(WED) BNSF put the second main track in service on its new $41.2-million above-grade overpass in Olathe, KS. A BNSF spokesman said that the new overpass will allow the removal of the street level main tracks and crossings through the town. The spokesman noted that roughly 7,000 vehicles a day were being blocked by the approximately 44 daily BNSF trains running through Olathe. (ffd: RT&S)

(THU) Union Pacific said that they may reopen their north-south coastal main line near Oakridge, OR as early as next week. The line has been blocked by a massive landslide off Coyote Mountain that occurred on January 19. A UP spokesman said that, once reopened, some UP freight trains would be operated through the line while remaining work to stabilize the mountainside is completed, and that Amtrak’s Coast Starlight train would resume operating on the line at some date in the near future. (ffd: Register-Guard Newspaper, Railway Age)

(THU) A report prepared by the U.S. Department of Transportations’s Office of Inspector General said that delays to Amtrak trains on freight railroads cost the passenger railroad nearly $137 million in Fiscal Year 2006. The report said that the amount represented overtime costs, extra fuel costs, and lost passenger revenue. The report noted that more than 97 percent of Amtrak’s 21,000 route miles run on host railroad tracks and that, between Fiscal Years 2003 and 2007 and owing largely to the rise in freight train traffic, on-time performance for Amtrak long-distance trains declined from an average of 51 percent to 42 percent. (ffd: Progressive Railroading, USDOT)

(THU) The Museum of the American Railroad, presently located in Dallas, TX’s Fair Park, announced that it will move to a new 12.3-acre site in suburban Frisco, TX. The museum, which has been at Fair Park for about 50 years, draws about 30,000 annual visitors and includes in its collection a Union Pacific Big Boy steam locomotive and a Pennsylvania Railroad Class GG1 electric locomotive. (ffd: Dallas Morning News, Trains)

(FRI) Amtrak announced that it would suspend train service between New York, NY and Boston, MA on its Northeast Corridor Line from Saturday, June 14 to Tuesday, June 17. The suspension is to allow critical work to be completed on the new bridge on the line spanning the Thames River near Groton, CT. An Amtrak spokesman said that passengers will be able to ticket between New York and Boston on those days via Springfield, riding the Lake Shore Limited between Boston and Springfield, MA, and then changing trains to ride between Springfield, New Haven, CT, and New York. (ffd: NARP)

(FRI) More developments ensued in the escalating proxy fight between CSX and the TCI and 3G Capital Partners hedge funds. Following CSX filing suit against the two hedge funds on March 17, TCI and 3G this date filed a countersuit against CSX. In their suit, the hedge funds accuse CSX of various actions that amounted to spring-loading, representing the improper awarding of stock or options prior to disclosing material information that may boost share price. The TCI and 3G suit alleged that CSX directors have gone to extraordinary lengths to entrench themselves in their current positions. The hedge funds have said that they will propose a slate of five new directors for the CSX board at the company’s next annual meeting. (ffd: Railway Age)

(FRI) Metro North Railroad announced that it will put new train schedules into effect on its Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven Lines on April 6. The new schedules add 67 trains each week, representing 4,439 trains operated weekly by MNRR, which a spokesman said represented a 35 percent increase in scheduled trains on these lines since 1983, when MNRR took over train operations from the former Conrail. The spokesman noted that ridership is growing most rapidly at its northernmost stations, among them Poughkeepsie, NY, Wassaic, NY, and New Haven, CT. (ffd: New York Times)

(FRI) The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI announced that it had acquired Pennsylvania Railroad Class GG1 locomotive No. 4909. The museum is purchasing the GG1 from the Leatherstocking Railway Historical Society of Milford, NY, which has owned the locomotive for many years but has not been able to restored it. A museum spokesman said that the transformer and any asbestos will be removed from the locomotive prior to its being moved to Dearborn and that, once there, it will be restored by the museum in the PRR’s famed Tuscan-red-with-pinstripes paint scheme. (ffd: Oneonta Morning Star, Trains)

STATS BIG 7 TRAFFIC

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Canadian traffic includes that on the U.S. operations of Canadian National and Canadian Pacific.)

(THU) For the week ending March 29, 2008, U.S. rail volume grand totaled 34.4 billion ton-miles, up 7.5 percent from the comparable week last year. Also for the week, U.S. carload rail traffic was up 5.6 percent, down 7.1 percent in the East, but up 17.2 percent in the West. Also, U.S. intermodal rail traffic was down 2.7 percent, Canadian carload rail traffic was down 6.0 percent, and Canadian intermodal rail traffic was up 2.9 percent.

For the month of March, 2008, U.S. carload rail traffic was down 0.1 percent, compared with March of last year. Notable traffic increases included grain up 13.9 percent and coal up 5.9 percent; notable traffic decreases included motor vehicles and equipment down 19.4 percent and crushed stone, sand and gravel down 13.4 percent. Also for the month, U.S. intermodal rail traffic was down 5.7 percent, Canadian carload rail traffic was down 7.7 percent, Canadian intermodal rail traffic was down 2.7 percent, Mexico’s Kansas City Southern de Mexico’s carload rail traffic was down 1.3 percent, and KCSM’s intermodal rail traffic was up 2.6 percent.

For the First Quarter, 2008, U.S. rail volume grand totaled 431.5 billion ton-miles, up 2.3 percent from the first quarter last year. Also for the quarter, U.S. carload rail traffic was up 1.1 percent, U.S. intermodal rail traffic was down 4.1 percent, Canadian carload rail traffic was down 2.5 percent, Canadian intermodal rail traffic was up 4.7 percent, KCSM’s carload rail traffic was down 4.5 percent, and KCSM’s intermodal rail traffic was up 10.7 percent. (ffd: AAR)

MORE STATS BIG 7 (EXCEPT CN) OPERATING PERFORMANCE:

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This past week, Kansas City Southern combined operating performance data for its domestic (Kansas City Southern) and Mexican (Kansas City Southern de Mexico) operations. As a result, correct comparative data for KCS for last year is not available at this time.)

(WED) For the week ending March 28, 2008 versus the comparable week last year (except for KCS), average total cars on line was as follows: BNSF, 230,250 cars versus 224,655 cars; Canadian Pacific, 83,838 cars versus 82,712 cars; CSX, 220,914 cars versus 227,492 cars; Kansas City Southern, 50,000 cars; Norfolk Southern, 199,036 cars versus 207,187 cars; and Union Pacific, 304,899 cars versus 309,206 cars.

Also for the week ending March 28, 2008 versus the comparable week last year (except for KCS), average train speed was as follows: BNSF, 24.3 mph versus 23.5 mph; Canadian Pacific Railway, 23.8 mph versus 22.1 mph; CSX, 20.8 mph versus 19.8 mph; Kansas City Southern, 26.2 mph; Norfolk Southern, 21.9 mph versus 21.1 mph; and Union Pacific, 22.4 mph versus 22.0 mph.

Finally for the week ending March 28, 2008 versus the comparable week last year (except for KCS), average terminal dwell time was as follows: BNSF, 25.9 hrs versus 23.6 hrs; Canadian Pacific Railway, 22.4 hrs versus 23.5 hrs; CSX, 22.5 hrs versus 23.9 hrs; Kansas City Southern, 19.3 hrs; Norfolk Southern, 21.4 hrs versus 22.4 hrs; and Union Pacific, 25.1 hrs versus 25.5 hrs. (ffd: AAR)

STILL MORE STATS SAFETY:

(MON) The U.S. Federal Railroad Administration released preliminary safety statistics for January, 2008. Compared with the previous January, grade crossing fatalities were down 27.3 percent to 23 and trespassing fatalities were down 12.1 percent to 29. There was only one on-duty employee fatality this January, compared with three last January. (EDITOR’S NOTE: As reported in recent editions, additional on-duty employee fatalities have since occurred.) Also in January, total reportable accidents and incidents declined 11.0 percent to 961. (ffd: FRA, Railway Age)

EXPANSIONS, CONTRACTIONS AND ALIKE:

(TUE) Florida Midland Railroad filed to abandon approximately 4 miles of its Wildwoods Branch, between Wildwood, FL and Orange Home, FL. (ffd: STB)

(TUE) The U.S. Surface Transportation Board approved Union Pacific’s earlier request to abandon approximately 6 miles of its Chaska Industrial Lead between Merriam, MN and Chaska, MN. (ffd: STB)

(THU) The Surface Transportation Board published its Notice of Available of Final Scope of Study for the Environmental Impact Statement for the Alaska Railroad’s proposed new 80-mile line between Delta Jct., AK and North Pole, AK. (ffd: STB)

(THU) Burlington Junction Railway filed to acquire, from BNSF, and operate approximately 3 miles of line in Montgomery, IL. (ffd: STB)

(THU) Caterpillar Corporation announced that it had acquired Lovat Corporation, a manufacturer of tunnel-boring machines used in construction of road and railway tunneling. This acquisition is Caterpillar’s entry into the rapidly expanding tunnel-boring machine business, said a company spokesman. (ffd: RT&S)

(THU) CSX filed to abandon approximately 17 miles of its Southern Region’s Huntington-East Division’s Sewell Subdivision, between Rainelle, WV and Nallen, WV. (ffd: STB)

(THU) The Surface Transportation Board approved Mid-Michigan Railroad’s earlier request to abandon approximately 16 miles of line between Lowell, MI and Prairie Center, MI. (ffd: STB)

(THU) Norfolk Southern filed to grant temporary overhead trackage rights to Nittany & Bald Eagle Railroad over approximately 55 miles of NS line between Lock Haven, PA and Driftwood, PA. The purpose of the temporary trackage rights is to allow N&BE to adequately bridge train service for temporary, seasonal traffic originating on the N&BE for delivery to an offline destination. (ffd: STB)

(THU) VAE Nortrak North American announced that it had acquired majority ownership of DAMY Cambios de Via S.A. de C.V. VAE Located in Guadalajara, MX, DAMY produces specialty trackwork. (ffd: Progressive Railroading)

APPOINTMENTS, ACHIEVEMENTS AND MILESTONES:

(MON) Union Pacific appointed Kurt Zalar the Superintendent-Transportation Services of its Wichita Service Unit. Mr. Zalar, who was most recently Director-Intermodal Terminal Operations in Oakland, CA, succeeds Steve Truitt, who recently resigned from UP to become Florida East Coast Railway’s VP for transportation, mechanical engineering, and intermodal operations. (ffd: UP Corp.)

(TUE) Genesee & Wyoming appointed Paula Henry the SVP of its Rocky Mountain Region and, concurrently, president of its Utah Railway. Ms. Henry, who was most recently the chief operating officer of Tacoma Rail, succeeds James Davis, who recently retired. (ffd: Progressive Railroading)

WRR - 03-28-2008

March 28, 2008 Weekly Rail Review No Comments

WEEKLY RAIL REVIEW
FOR THE 7 DAYS ENDING FRI, MARCH 28, 2008

THE WEEK’S TOP RAIL AND TRANSIT NEWS (in chronological order):

(MON) The U.S. Federal Railroad Administration released a demographic report on rail trespasser fatalities. The report also examined suicides, which are not normally included in FRA trespasser fatality counts, but which the report said accounted for 18 percent of total trespasser fatalities. The report summarized the average trespasser fatality to be a 38-year-old Caucasian male under the influence of alcohol or drugs, with a median household income of $36,000, adding that more than 25 percent of them had not graduated from high school. The report included information gathered from coroners and medical examiners across the country. (ffd: FRA)

(MON) Two market inroads were noted by intercity passenger rail services in the Northeastern U.S. Amtrak announced that its share of the overall rail/air market for travel between Boston, MA and New York, NY had increased from 36 percent in Fiscal Year 2006 to 41 percent in Fiscal Year 2007. In a related story, Colgan Airlines announced that they would end service between Harrisburg, PA and New York’s LaGuardia Airport. News reports of the air service cancellation noted that Amtrak’s Keystone Service between the two cities, via Philadelphia, PA, was both time and price competitive, and further noted that Amtrak’s ridership in this corridor is up 20 percent this fiscal year compared to last. (ffd: Railway Age, Trains)

(MON) The Port of New York and New Jersey reported that it had handled 32.8 million metric tons of cargo in 2007, compared with 31.2 million metric tons in 2006. PANYNJ also reported that the value of that cargo last year totaled $166 billion, up 11 percent from 2006. In announcing the results, a port spokesman reminded of several forthcoming projects designed to improve service and capacity at the port, including adding 119 acres on the eastern end of the Port Jersey peninsula for new cargo container space; completion of its ExpressRail on-dock rail system by 2011; and deepening of the Port Jersey Channel by 2012. (ffd: Progressive Railroading, RT&S)

(MON) The former president of the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, WV filed suit against CSX, which owns the resort, for $50 million. In his lawsuit, Paul Ratchford claims that he was wrongfully forced out of his position after less than a year’s service after he tried to halt the railroad’s senior executives from enjoying special privileges at the resort. These privileges are alleged to have included free rooms and meals, discounted merchandise, and free medical exams. The suit further alleges that these may have been improperly shielded from being taxed as fringe benefits. (ffd: wire services)

(TUE) Massachusetts state officials working with CSX to take over ownership of the line between Boston, MA and Worcester, MA announced that those negotiations were at an impasse due to CSX’s want to be released from all related liability. Massachusetts wants to take over ownership and operation of the line in order for the state’s Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad (MBCR) to dispatch and increase the number of commuter trains between the two cities, which would also continue to be used by CSX freight trains. In reply, a CSX spokesman said that the company was not willing to take on additional risk. This has been our position since the beginning of negotiations. In a related story in Florida, where state officials there have been questioning a similar agreement for the state to take over 61 miles of CSX line in Central Florida for future commuter rail operations, a committee of the Florida legislature endorsed the hold-harmless provision as fair to the citizens of Florida and fair to CSX. (ffd: Boston Globe, Tampa Tribune, Trains)

(TUE) Approximately 1,000 Canadian National supervisors filed suit in Canadian court for overtime pay. The suit alleges that they had earlier been promoted from union employees to management employees, but that their job responsibilities did not materially change. The suit includes an estimated 400 current and 600 former CN supervisors. (ffd: Toronto Globe & Mail)

(WED) A freight car rolled out of a Canton, MA lumber yard, continued rolling for about three miles and then collided with an MBCR commuter train. The train’s crew and approximately one-half of its 300-plus passengers were injured in the collision, mostly with minor injuries. Officials commended the train’s engineer for halting his train and attempting to reverse its direction prior to impact. Officials said that they were investigating why the car ran free. (ffd: Boston Herald, NARP)

(WED) Several Amtrak train services on the East Coast were temporarily affected by service disruptions. On Wednesday, an electrical power fluctuation at midday on the Northeast Corridor Line resulted in normal voltage levels being dropped by one-quarter, which resulted in some Amtrak, NJ Transit and SEPTA trains operating on the line being temporarily delayed. On Thursday, a freight train derailment on CSX’s main line north of Richmond resulted in the curtailment that day of some Amtrak train services operating between New York and Florida. (ffd: Baltimore Sun, NARP, Trains)

(WED) Archer-Daniels-Midland, one of the largest domestic food production, processing and distribution companies, filed suit in federal court alleging price fixing by the five U.S.-based Class 1 railroads. According to ADM’s lawsuit, the railroads colluded through their membership in the Association of American Railroads and agreed to fix fuel surcharges designed to help railroads recover fuel cost increases. Decatur, IL-based ADM said that it had paid the railroads more than $250 million in fuel surcharges since 2003, and is seeking triple damages from them in the antitrust lawsuit. (ffd: Railway Age)

(WED) Lawmakers of the California state legislature announced that they had agreed to the state’s proposed new high-speed rail network being a public-private partnership. The lawmakers said that this represented a compromise with the position of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on this issue, which they added might eventually allow the proposal to be put on the state’s November proposition ballot. The proposed network would be constructed over a multi-decade period at a cost upwards of $42 billion. (ffd: Sacramento Bee, Trains)

(THU) BNSF suffered an on-duty employee fatality. Salvador Vega, Age 62, was struck and killed by a BNSF freight train approximately two miles west of Emporia, KS. First reports indicated that Mr. Vega had been working on the tracks at or near where he was struck. (ffd: Emporia Gazette)

(THU) The owners of New York City’s Madison Square Garden announced that they would renovate the current arena, which sits atop Pennsylvania Station, rather than relocate it as part of the planned conversion of the Farley Post Office Building across the street. News reports indicated that the decision of the Garden’s owners could threaten long-standing plans to redevelop Farley into the planned Moynihan Station serving Amtrak, Long Island Rail Road, and NJ Transit trains. However, the head of the redevelopment project called the news not irrevocable and all parties urged a resumption of negotiations to relocate the Garden to Farley, which they said would help facilitate expansion of station capacity and also provide revenues to help defray project costs. (ffd: Bloomberg News, NARP)

(THU) The U.S. Surface Transportation Board announced that it would hear a case related to so-called paper barriers, in which a short line railroad is contractually bound to interchange traffic with a particular Class 1 railroad. An STB spokesman said that it would hear a complaint by Entergy Arkansas and Entergy Services alleging that a lease between Union Pacific and the Missouri & Northern Arkansas Railroad unlawfully prevents the short line from interchanging Entergy’s traffic with connecting carriers other than UP. The spokesman added that the hearing will begin on April 28. (ffd: Railway Age, STB)

(THU) Washington, DC’s Washington Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced that it required $489 million in additional capital funding to bring its rail, bus, and paratransit services to a state of good repair. A WMATA spokesman said that the funding, which is not included in the agency’s current capital improvement program, is needed mainly for Metrorail subway projects. The spokesman said that these projects include repairing water damage at subway stations, station platform and bridge repairs, station parking lot repaving, and upgrading electrical power systems to improve reliability and allow Metro to run more eight-car subway trains. (ffd: Progressive Railroading, Railway Age)

(THU) The Illinois Commerce Commission approved plans to spend more than $139 million over the next five years to improve safety at more than 3,800 highway-rail crossings in the state. A Commission spokesman said that crossing safety improvements to be made range from installing reflective warning signage to complete grade separations. (ffd: RT&S)

(FRI) Updating a news report of two weeks ago, officials at the Port of Galveston, TX now say that they will unearth the railroad tank car recently discovered buried at the port and filled with a now-degraded form of the banned pesticide DDT. Although port officials had earlier said that they would not exhume the car, they now say that it would be nearly impossible for them to test soil underneath the car for possible contamination without first removing the car. Officials have not yet determined how the car came to be buried, but believe that it may have been done as far back as the 1970s or even earlier. (ffd: Trains, wire services)

STATS BIG 7 TRAFFIC

(NOTE: Canadian traffic includes that on the U.S. operations of Canadian National and Canadian Pacific.)

(THU) For the week ending March 22, 2008, U.S. rail volume grand totaled 33.5 billion ton-miles, down 2.3 percent from the comparable week last year. U.S. carload rail traffic was down 3.3 percent, down 5.4 percent in the East and down 1.6 percent in the West. In reporting results, the Association of American Railroads noted the effect of severe weather and flooding in some parts of the country. Notable traffic increases included metallic ores up 70.2 percent, grain up 10.7 percent, and coal up 1.6 percent; notable traffic decreases included motor vehicles and equipment down 23.3 percent, lumber and wood products down 20.6 percent, and crushed stone, sand and gravel down 18.6 percent. Also for the week, U.S. intermodal rail traffic was down 5.2 percent, Canadian carload rail traffic was down 6.7 percent, Canadian intermodal rail traffic was down 7.1 percent, Mexico’s Kansas City Southern de Mexico’s carload rail traffic was down 19.9 percent, and KCSM’s intermodal rail traffic was down 6.8 percent.

For the period January 1 through March 22, 2008, U.S. rail volume grand totaled 397.1 billion ton-miles, up 1.9 percent from the comparable period last year. Also for this period, U.S. carload rail traffic was up 0.8 percent, U.S. intermodal rail traffic was down 4.2 percent, Canadian carload rail traffic was down 2.2 percent, Canadian intermodal rail traffic was up 4.9 percent, KCSM’s carload rail traffic was down 3.2 percent, and KCSM’s intermodal rail traffic was down 11.5 percent. (ffd: AAR)

MORE STATS BIG 7 (EXCEPT CN) OPERATING PERFORMANCE:

(NOTE: Effective October 1, 2005, railroads that had been furnishing operating performance statistics to the Association of American Railroads began applying a new standardized definitional framework, aimed at eliminating differences in calculation methodology. Concurrent with but unrelated to these changes, Canadian National elected to no longer furnish these statistics.)

(WED) For the week ending March 21, 2008 versus the comparable week last year, average total cars on line was as follows: BNSF, 228,406 cars versus 224,134 cars; Canadian Pacific, 83,437 cars versus 82,261 cars; CSX, 223,276 cars versus 229,333 cars; Kansas City Southern, 28,364 cars versus 27,878 cars; Norfolk Southern, 199,726 cars versus 208,739 cars; and Union Pacific, 306,300 cars versus 307,205 cars.

Also for the week ending March 21, 2008 versus the comparable week last year, average train speed was as follows: BNSF, 24.0 mph versus 23.5 mph; Canadian Pacific Railway, 23.8 mph versus 22.1 mph; CSX, 20.3 mph versus 19.1 mph; Kansas City Southern, 24.0 mph versus 24.5 mph; Norfolk Southern, 21.5 mph versus 20.7 mph; and Union Pacific, 22.1 mph versus 22.5 mph.

Finally for the week ending March 21, 2008 versus the comparable week last year, average terminal dwell time was as follows: BNSF, 25.6 hrs versus 23.7 hrs; Canadian Pacific Railway, 24.8 hrs versus 26.6 hrs; CSX, 23.0 hrs versus 25.5 hrs; Kansas City Southern, 24.7 hrs versus 23.2 hrs; Norfolk Southern, 21.8 hrs versus 23.3 hrs; and Union Pacific, 25.1 hrs versus 25.4 hrs. (ffd: AAR)

EXPANSIONS, CONTRACTIONS AND ALIKE:

(THU) The Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern filed with the Surface Transportation Board to acquire approximately 4 miles of line from BNSF in and near Yale, SD. The sale would allow DM&E to serve a grain elevator at Yale that BNSF can no longer serve due to a washout last fall. (ffd: Trains)

APPOINTMENTS, ACHIEVEMENTS AND MILESTONES:

(MON) Don Hahs was formally removed as president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen. An investigative panel of the BLET determined that Mr. Hahs had violated his fiduciary duties related to the use and control of Cleveland Cavaliers basketball tickets purchased with union funds, travel expenses for his wife, and other personal expenses. Following Mr. Hahs removal, Ed Rodzwicz, BLET’s first vice-president, assumed the duties of president. (ffd: Railway Age)

(WED) Shortline holding company Patriot Rail appointed Robert Schellig its VP-Law. Mr. Schellig was most recently an attorney with Canadian National. Patriot Rail also appointed Matt McGrath its Director-Operations Integration. Mr. McGrath was most recently with Patriot Rail’s Utah Central Railway subsidiary. (ffd: Progressive Railroading)

WRR - 03-21-2008

March 21, 2008 Weekly Rail Review No Comments

WEEKLY RAIL REVIEW
FOR THE 7 DAYS ENDING FRI, MARCH 21, 2008

THE WEEK’S TOP RAIL AND TRANSIT NEWS (in chronological order):

(SAT) A Montana Rail Link freight train derailed 25 cars in a canyon about five miles east of Bozeman, MT. There were no injuries in the accident, the cause of which is still being investigated. The derailment temporarily blocked MRL’s line, which was reopened the next day. (ffd: Jackson Hole Star-Tribune)

(MON) The New York/New Jersey Chapter of the Transportation Research Forum announced a special celebration to mark TRF’s 50th anniversary. Officials of the chapter, a leading professional organization for those working in the field of transportation, announced that a special luncheon event would be held at New York City’s famed Tavern On The Green restaurant, located in Manhattan’s Central Park at West 67th Street, on Thursday, May 15. Guest speakers at the event will include Jim McClellan, whose transportation career was the focal point of Rush Loving’s acclaimed new book, The Men Who Loved Trains, and Paul Banner, the former president of the Rock Island Railroad, both of whom have had notable TRF involvement. Information about the event, including registration, online ticketing, and sponsorship opportunities, may be found on the TRF website,http://www.trforum.org/chapters/newyork/anniversary/

(MON) CSX announced that it was taking further steps in its ongoing efforts challenging The Children’s Investment Fund (TCI) hedge fund. CSX filed suit against TCI and another hedge fund, 3G Capital Partners, alleging that they have, among other actions, employed swap agreements to evade the filing requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. CSX also announced that they were delaying until June 25 their annual shareholders meeting in New Orleans LA, at which TCI and their allies have said that they will attempt to vote in a slate of five new directors for the company’s board. A CSX spokesman said that the annual meeting was being rescheduled to ensure that all of our shareholders receive complete and accurate information about [TCI’s] holdings, agreements, plans and motivations. (ffd: Railway Age, wire services)

(MON) The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority released its latest “long range transportation plan.” Among the public transportation projects proposed by the plan are extension of the Exposition light rail line to Santa Monica, extension of the city subway line to Westside, extension of the Gold light rail line to Montclair, and a regional connector linking the Expo, Gold and Blue lines in downtown Los Angeles. A LAMTA spokesman said that it projects the need to raise more than $60 billion through 2030 to fund these and other public transportation projects and said that it would work to raise public awareness about these needed improvements. (ffd: Progressive Railroading)

(MON) Canadian National criticized public outcry for environmental remediation related to its proposed acquisition of the EJ&E Railway. There appears to be no basis for many of the demands being made, said a CN spokesman. The spokesman added that these demands now include lowering a portion of the EJ&E line into a trench in Barrington, an entirely new line further outside Chicago, IL, and paying for the full cost of separation at numerous other EJ&E highway-rail grade crossings. The U.S. Surface Transportation Board is presently considering matters, including environmental impact, related to CN’s proposed acquisition of the EJ&E. (ffd: Railway Age)

(MON) Rep. John Mica (R-FL) proposed a bill to further develop high-speed passenger rail service between Washington, DC and New York, NY. The bill proposed by Mr. Mica, who has been a critic of Amtrak, calls for a two-hour travel time for express high-speed rail trains running between the two cities. The bill also calls for the creation of a commission to evaluation service proposals and report on them to Congress. The bill does not include any provisions for funding for high-speed passenger rail service. (ffd: Trains)

(TUE) The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board released its report on the January 9, 2007 accident in which a Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad train ran into a maintenance-of-way gang in Woburn, MA. The report highlighted multiple safety failures, including a train dispatcher having failed to provide proper signaling and a work crew not using a device that would have provided additional signal protection to the track being repaired. The accident killed two track workers and seriously injured two others. The report also noted that one of the workers who was killed tested positive for marijuana use. (ffd: Boston Globe)

(WED) Flooding, caused by rainfall that in some areas totaled more than nine inches, hampered rail operations in parts of Illinois and Missouri. BNSF reported that flooding resulted in the temporary closing of its Thayer and River Subdivisions. Flooding also resulted in numerous washouts of Canadian National’s former Illinois Central main line and, also, Union Pacific’s North-South Corridor line. Responding to the temporary line closures, Amtrak made service adjustments to several train services, including its Texas Eagle train. (ffd: Amtrak, Trains)

(WED) Canadian National announced that it will spend over C$1 billion in capital improvements this year. Key capital projects include upgrades to MacMillan Yard north of Toronto, ON, a C$100 million expansion of Johnston Yard in Memphis, TN, and upgrades to its line serving Prince Rupert, BC. A CN spokesman said that, additional to infrastructure upgrades, its plans to spend C$140 million to buy new locomotives and improve its existing fleet. (ffd: CN Corp.)

(THU) Indicative of the economic slowdown, the California ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the U.S.’s busiest, reported a significant drop of inbound container traffic. The ports reported that inbound container volume dropped 8.8 percent in both January and February. A spokesman for the ports said that imports from Asia are expected to increase less than 2 percent in 2008, compared with growth of about 10 percent annually for many years prior to 2007. (ffd: Wall Street Journal)

STATS BIG 7 TRAFFIC

(NOTE: Canadian traffic includes that on the U.S. operations of Canadian National and Canadian Pacific.)

(THU) For the week ending March 15, 2008, U.S. rail volume grand totaled 34.0 billion ton-miles, up 0.9 percent from the comparable week last year. U.S. carload rail traffic was down 0.2 percent, down 5.8 percent in the East and up 4.2 percent in the West. Notable traffic increases included non-grain farm products up 17.7 percent and grain up 15.9 percent; notable traffic decreases included lumber and wood products down 21.7 percent, stone, clay and glass products down 16.6 percent, and nonmetallic minerals down 9.1 percent. Also for the week, U.S. intermodal rail traffic was up 1.4 percent, Canadian carload rail traffic was down 7.2 percent, Canadian intermodal rail traffic was up 0.3 percent, Mexico’s Kansas City Southern de Mexico’s carload rail traffic was down 7.4 percent, and KCSM’s intermodal rail traffic was up 4.8 percent.

For the period January 1 through March 15, 2008, U.S. rail volume grand totaled 363.6 billion ton-miles, up 2.3 percent from the comparable week last year. U.S. carload rail traffic was up 1.2 percent, U.S. intermodal rail traffic was down 4.1 percent, Canadian carload rail traffic was down 1.7 percent, Canadian intermodal rail traffic was up 6.1 percent, KCSM’s carload rail traffic was down 1.6 percent, and KCSM’s intermodal rail traffic was up 13.1 percent. (ffd: AAR)

MORE STATS BIG 7 (EXCEPT CN) OPERATING PERFORMANCE:

(NOTE: Effective October 1, 2005, railroads that had been furnishing operating performance statistics to the Association of American Railroads began applying a new standardized definitional framework, aimed at eliminating differences in calculation methodology. Concurrent with but unrelated to these changes, Canadian National elected to no longer furnish these statistics.)

(WED) For the week ending March 14, 2008 versus the comparable week last year, average total cars on line was as follows: BNSF, 225,598 cars versus 225,594 cars; Canadian Pacific, 82,734 cars versus 82,570 cars; CSX, 225,318 cars versus 227,355 cars; Kansas City Southern, 28,364 cars versus 27,845 cars; Norfolk Southern, 201,196 cars versus 207,568 cars; and Union Pacific, 306,364 cars versus 308,072 cars.

Also for the week ending March 14, 2008 versus the comparable week last year, average train speed was as follows: BNSF, 24.1 mph versus 23.2 mph; Canadian Pacific Railway, 22.4 mph versus 21.9 mph; CSX, 20.1 mph versus 19.5 mph; Kansas City Southern, 24.0 mph versus 23.8 mph; Norfolk Southern, 21.0 mph versus 20.4 mph; and Union Pacific, 21.5 mph versus 22.1 mph.

Finally for the week ending March 14, 2008 versus the comparable week last year, average terminal dwell time was as follows: BNSF, 25.8 hrs versus 24.1 hrs; Canadian Pacific Railway, 25.0 hrs versus 27.1 hrs; CSX, 24.5 hrs versus 24.4 hrs; Kansas City Southern, 24.7 hrs versus 24.2 hrs; Norfolk Southern, 22.9 hrs versus 23.6 hrs; and Union Pacific, 25.5 hrs versus 24.7 hrs. (ffd: AAR)

EXPANSIONS, CONTRACTIONS AND ALIKE:

(TUE) American Railcar, in partnership with Amsted Industries, announced construction of a new plant near Paragould, AR to produce railcar axles. The new $75 million facility is expected to begin production by the third quarter of this year. (ffd: wire services)

(TUE) Norfolk Southern filed to abandon approximately 1 mile of line in East Whiteland Township, PA, which includes the former station of Cedar Hollow. (ffd: STB)

(WED) The San Joaquin Valley Railroad filed to abandon approximately 10 miles of its South Exeter Branch between Exeter, CA and Strathmore, CA. (ffd: STB)

(THU) Patriot Rail’s Butte, Anaconda & Pacific Railroad announced an agreement with The Andersons, which manages a fleet of 23,000 railcars. Under the agreement, The Andersons will use BAP’s roundhouse and other facilities in Anaconda, MT to perform railcar maintenance and repair services. A spokesman for both companies said that they may seek to expand this to other locations in the future. (ffd: Railway Age)

APPOINTMENTS, ACHIEVEMENTS AND MILESTONES:

(SUN) John Reed, the esteemed former chairman of the Santa Fe Railway, passed away at his home in suburban Chicago, IL at Age 90. Obituaries mentioned that Mr. Reed had, since Age 4, expressed a desire to be a locomotive engineer, but that following his graduation from Yale University, he was rejected for that position by a railroad hiring manager who reportedly told him, I don’t believe a Yale man could shovel enough coal to get a train to its destination. Mr. Reed nevertheless went to work for the Testing Department of the Santa Fe after World War II, rising through the ranks to become Santa Fe president in 1967, a position he held until his 1983 retirement, and then again between 1987 and 1989. (ffd: Railway Age, Trains)

(MON) Canadian National announced the retirement of its SVP-People, Les Dakens, effective May 1. No successor was immediately named. Mr. Dakens joined CN in 2001 following several years’ service as head of the Human Resources Department of Heinz North America. (ffd: Progressive Railroading)

(WED) Fortress Investment’s Florida East Coast Railway announced the appointment of Steve Truitt as VP for transportation, mechanical engineering, and intermodal operations. Mr. Truitt was most recently Union Pacific’s Superintendent for its Wichita Service Unit. FECR also announced the appointment of Reginald Thompson as its VP-Industrial Development. Mr. Thompson was most recently FECR’s VP-Carload Marketing & Sales. (ffd: FEC Corp., wire services)

(WED) TTX, the former Trailer Train, appointed Patrick Loftus its SVP-Law & Administration. Mr. Loftus was most recently TTX’s VP-Law & Government Affairs. TTX also announced the appointment of Brian Powers as its VP-Human Resources & Labor Relations and the retirement of Michele Pomeroy, who was most recently its VP-Human Resources & Administrative Services. (ffd: TTX Corp.)

(THU) BNSF appointed Gary Grissum its AVP-Telecommunications. Mr. Grissum succeeds Jo-Ann Olsosky, who will become VP & CIO effective March 31, 2008, as previously announced. Mr. Grissum was most recently in charge of Sprint Nextel’s Network Management Center. (ffd: BNSF Corp.)

(FRI) Amtrak reported that one Chris Guenzler will shortly become the first individual to have documented one million miles of Amtrak train travel, which includes over all routes of the Amtrak system. Mr. Guenzler will reach the million-mile mark when he steps off Amtrak Train No. 4 in LaPlata, MO on Monday, April 7, 2008. A brief welcome is planned for Mr. Guenzler in LaPlata, to be followed by festivities at the newly opened Silver Rails Event Center there, which will include the opportunity to tour an Amtrak history exhibit, recently assembled in two former Amtrak mail and express cars by the Amtrak Historical Society. (ffd: Amtrak, wire services)

WRR - 03-14-2008

March 14, 2008 Weekly Rail Review No Comments

WEEKLY RAIL REVIEW
FOR THE 7 DAYS ENDING FRI, MARCH 14, 2008

THE WEEK’S TOP RAIL AND TRANSIT NEWS (in chronological order):

(SUN) The new Sprinter light rail service opened in Southern California. The line runs approximately 22 miles between Oceanside, CA and Escondido, CA, roughly paralleling the Interstate 78 corridor. Most of the line utilizes a rehabilitated freight rail line, but also includes approximately two miles of new line serving California State University at San Marcos, CA. The line is operated by California’s North County Transit District. (ffd: San Diego Union-Tribune, RT&S)

(SUN) Union Pacific trains began using the new Wichita Flyover, which allows for BNSF’s existing street-level line through Wichita, KS, on which UP has trackage rights, to be bypassed. BNSF began running some of its trains on the line last fall. A BNSF spokesman said that work will continue on the Flyover through February, 2009 and that the street level line will eventually be put out-of-service. (ffd: Trains)

(MON) Canadian Minister of Transport Lawrence Cannon released a report recommending over 50 changes to railroad oversight in Canada. Among the recommended changes are requiring railroads to obtain a rail operating certificate; subjecting railroads to baseline safety requirements prior to launching or continuing operations; including monetary penalties as an additional compliance tool; and mandating that railroads file annual environmental management plans with the Canadian Transportation Agency. Mr. Cannon said that he had already implemented one of the changes, which was to establish an Advisory Council on Railway Safety to address the direction of rail safety, rule making, regulation and policy. (ffd: Progressive Railroading)

(MON) The American Public Transit Association announced that Americans took 10.3 billion trips on public transportation last year, an increase of 2.1 percent from 2006 and the highest ridership in 50 years. Among transit modes, light rail had the highest ridership increase at 6.1 percent, followed by commuter rail at 5.5 percent, and subways at 3.1 percent. (ffd: APTA, Philadelphia Inquirer)

(TUE) The National Research Council released a report warning that climate change related to global warming could severely affect all modes of transportation, through such developments as rising sea levels, increased rainfall, and surges from more intense storms. The report cited five major threats: more heat waves, requiring load limits at hot-weather and high-altitude airports, and causing thermal expansion of bridge joints and rail track deformities; rising sea levels and storm surges flooding coastal highways, rail lines and tunnels, and eroding bridge bases; more rainstorms, delaying air and ground traffic; more frequent hurricanes, disrupting infrastructure and service; and rising arctic temperatures, thawing permafrost with resulting road, railway and airport runway subsidence and potential pipeline failures. Said one of the report’s authors, It’s time to move from the debate about climate science to What are we going to do about it how are we going to adapt to it?’ (ffd: wire services)

(WED) Fortress Investments, which had earlier acquired the RailAmerica shortline conglomerate and the Florida East Coast Railway, filed with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to merge FE into RailAmerica. In its filing, Fortress said that the transaction is within a corporate family and will not result in any adverse changes in service levels, significant operational changes, or a change in the competitive balance with carriers outside the corporate family. Later in the week, Fortress announced that, concurrent with the merger, it would relocate RailAmerica corporate offices from Boca Raton, FL to Jacksonville, FL, where FE maintains offices. (ffd: South Florida Business Journal, wire services)

(WED) The Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelisse (D-CA), held a forum on U.S. infrastructure. Ms. Pelosi there announced that she is interested in legislation that would create a national infrastructure bank that would provide funding for infrastructure rebuilding and expansion. After the hearing, House Financial Services Committee Chair Barney Frank (D-MA) said that he would draft a proposal to meet the Speaker’s request when Congress reconvenes after its next recess. (ffd: NARP)

(WED) The Surface Transportation Board made notice of proposed rulemaking related to transportation contracts. The proposed rule would require railroads to include a disclosure statement in any document they consider to be a rail transportation contract. The STB said that it would begin accepting public comment on the proposed rule, which it said was the result of its continuing concern with the lack of any clear demarcation between common carriage rates and contract pricing arrangements, and the resulting ambiguity regarding the board’s jurisdiction. (ffd: Railway Age, STB)

(WED) The Association of American Railroads announced that railroads were working with biofuel producers to keep up with the escalating demand for ethanol. In a statement issued jointly with the Renewable Fuels Association, the AAR noted that ethanol rail traffic had increased from about 32,000 carloads in 1995 to more than 145,000 carloads in 2006. Due to the degrading effect of pipeline moisture and other contaminants affecting ethanol, most domestic ethanol transport is by rail or truck. (ffd: AAR, Ethanol Markets)

(WED) New Jersey Transit announced a new trip planning partnership with Google, the Internet search engine. An NJT spokesman said that commuter rail and light rail travelers will now be able to use Google Transit to get trip times and transfers between NJT’s 164 rail stations and 60 light rail stations. The spokesman added that NJT bus information will be added later this year. More than 30 commuter rail or transit agencies around the country now offer Google trip planning. (ffd: NJ Transit, wire services)

(THU) A rail contractor was killed and two Amtrak employees were injured while inspecting track on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor Line near Providence, RI. The three were struck in the early afternoon by an Amtrak Acela Express train traveling north. The contractor was identified as Gary Graves, who retired from Amtrak last year. Officials of the Federal Railroad Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board announced that they had begun investigating of the accident. (ffd: Boston Globe, wire services)

(THU) The rail industry held its annual Railroad Day On Capitol Hill. The event, organized by the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, the Association of American Railroads and others, saw more than 300 rail and rail-related industry representatives come to Washington to meet with federal legislators to encourage actions in support of the rail industry, including renewal of the Short Line Tax Credit, which expired at the end of last year. The day’s activities concluded with a gala dinner later that evening. (ffd: AAR)

(FRI) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced new regulations that it said would cut emissions from diesel locomotives and also cut allowable sulfur levels in diesel fuel 99 percent. An EPA spokesman said that the regulations finalize caps on Tier 3 emission standards, which go into effect in 2009, and Tier 4 standards, which go into effect in 2015. The rules apply to newly built and remanufactured locomotives, and also to marine diesels. Details of the regulations may be found on the EPA website at www.epa.gov. (ffd: Trains)

(FRI) Railway Age Magazine named its annual Regional Railroad of the Year and Short Line Railroad of the Year. The recognized regional was the South Kansas & Oklahoma and the recognized short line was the Twin Cities & Western. The magazine said that it was recognizing the SK&O for its notable emergency reopening and repair plan, following much of its line having been damaged by floodwaters, and that it was recognizing the TC&W for initiatives including the creation of new intermodal services, including with Class 1 railroad partner Canadian Pacific. (ffd: Railway Age)

(FRI) USA Today’s headline story this date reported on the controversy related to routing rail shipments of toxic chemicals in or around major cities. The report quoted a spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration who endorsed leeway for railroads in routing shipments, commenting, We’re not interested in just shifting the risk from a big city to a medium-sized city, and also a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration, who noted that the nation’s rail lines “were built in the 19th Century, and many towns and cities were built up around them, [so] in many cases, it’s not feasible to reroute trains. The story included a photograph of an unrelated train derailment at the top of the page. (ffd: USA Today)

STATS BIG 7 TRAFFIC

(NOTE: Canadian traffic includes that on the U.S. operations of Canadian National and Canadian Pacific.)

(THU) For the week ending March 8, 2008, U.S. rail volume grand totaled 33.5 billion ton-miles, down 0.9 percent from the comparable week last year. U.S. carload rail traffic was down 2.3 percent, down 8.6 percent in the East, but up 2.7 percent in the West. Notable traffic increases included metallic ores up 134.0 percent, non-grain farm products up 36.7 percent, and grain up 7.5 percent; notable traffic decreases included lumber and wood products down 19.5 percent, primary forest products down 18.0 percent, and crushed stone, sand and gravel down 17.2 percent. Also for the week, U.S. intermodal rail traffic was down 15.1 percent, Canadian carload rail traffic was down 10.9 percent, Canadian intermodal rail traffic was down 6.6 percent, Mexico’s Kansas City Southern de Mexico’s carload rail traffic was up 0.7 percent, and KCSM’s intermodal rail traffic was up 10.2 percent.

For the period January 1 through March 8, 2008, U.S. rail volume grand totaled 329.6 billion ton-miles, up 2.5 percent from the comparable period last year. Also for this period, U.S. carload rail traffic was up 1.3 percent, U.S. intermodal rail traffic was down 4.6 percent, Canadian carload rail traffic was down 1.1 percent, Canadian intermodal rail traffic was up 6.7 percent, KCSM’s carload rail traffic was down 1.0 percent, and KCSM’s intermodal rail traffic was up 14.0 percent. (ffd: AAR)

MORE STATS BIG 7 (EXCEPT CN) OPERATING PERFORMANCE:

(NOTE: Effective October 1, 2005, railroads that had been furnishing operating performance statistics to the Association of American Railroads began applying a new standardized definitional framework, aimed at eliminating differences in calculation methodology. Concurrent with but unrelated to these changes, Canadian National elected to no longer furnish these statistics.)

(WED) For the week ending March 7, 2008 versus the comparable week last year, average total cars on line was as follows: BNSF, 226,878 cars versus 223,404 cars; Canadian Pacific, 82,838 cars versus 82,224 cars; CSX, 220,873 cars versus 226,932 cars; Kansas City Southern, 27,578 cars versus 28,329 cars; Norfolk Southern, 200,123 cars versus 209,739 cars; and Union Pacific, 308,522 cars versus 308,577 cars.

Also for the week ending March 7, 2008 versus the comparable week last year, average train speed was as follows: BNSF, 23.9 mph versus 23.8 mph; Canadian Pacific Railway, 21.8 mph versus 22.0 mph; CSX, 20.2 mph versus 19.8 mph; Kansas City Southern, 25.4 mph versus 23.7 mph; Norfolk Southern, 21.7 mph versus 20.1 mph; and Union Pacific, 22.1 mph versus 21.5 mph.

Finally for the week ending March 7, 2008 versus the comparable week last year, average terminal dwell time was as follows: BNSF, 25.2 hrs versus 24.3 hrs; Canadian Pacific Railway, 24.7 hrs versus 25.9 hrs; CSX, 22.2 hrs versus 25.0 hrs; Kansas City Southern, 21.9 hrs versus 24.2 hrs; Norfolk Southern, 22.0 hrs versus 24.1 hrs; and Union Pacific, 25.6 hrs versus 25.2 hrs. (ffd: AAR)

STILL MORE STATS U.S. CLASS 1 RAILROAD EMPLOYMENT:

(MON) The U.S. Surface Transportation Board reported U.S. Class 1 railroad employment at the end of 2007. Total employment was 162,252 persons, down 1.9 percent from the end of 2006. By job category, employment counts and percentage change from the previous year were as follows: transportation-train & engine at 66,056, down 5.23 percent; transportation-not train & engine at 6,835, down 5.35 percent; executives, officials & staff assistants at 10,123, down 0.25 percent; other professional and administrative at 13,784, down 0.44 percent; maintenance of way and structures at 34,730, up 2.15 percent; and maintenance of equipment and stores at 30,724, up 0.64 percent. (ffd: STB, Railway Age)

EXPANSIONS, CONTRACTIONS AND ALIKE:

(MON) The Mid-Michigan Railroad filed to abandon approximately 25 miles of line between Lowell, MI and Greenville, MI. (ffd: STB)

(MON) San Joaquin Valley Railroad filed to abandon approximately 31 miles of its South Exeter Branch between Strathmore, CA and Jovista, CA. (ffd: STB)

(FRI) Kansas City Southern announced that its new Center Point-KCS Intermodal Terminal would open to traffic on March 17. The new terminal locates at the former Richard Gebaur Air Base in Kansas City and replaces and an existing KCS intermodal facility in the northeast industrial area of Kansas City. (ffd: KCS Corp., Railway Age)

APPOINTMENTS, ACHIEVEMENTS AND MILESTONES:

(TUE) The Ohio Department of Transportation announced the appointment of Jolene Molitoris as its new assistant director. Ms. Molitoris was most recently the chair of the Ohio Rail Development Commission and was earlier an FRA Chief Administrator during the Clinton Administration. (ffd: STB)

(FRI) The Mexican railroad Ferromex announced the following appointments: Alfredo Casar as Executive President; Rogelio Velez as General Director; Terry McDermott as VP-Sales & Marketing; and Fernando Lopez Guerra as Director of Grain, Automotive & Intermodal Sales. (ffd: Progressive Railroading)

WRR - 03-07-2008

March 7, 2008 Weekly Rail Review No Comments

WEEKLY RAIL REVIEW
FOR THE 7 DAYS ENDING FRI, MARCH 7, 2008

THE WEEK’S TOP RAIL AND TRANSIT NEWS (in chronological order):

(SUN) Canadian National suffered an on-duty employee fatality. Michel Ouelett, Age 53 with 34 years’ railroad service, was killed while he was in the process of replacing a coupler knuckle. The accident happened near Charny, QB. (ffd: wire services)

(SUN) Canadian Minister of Transport Lawrence Cannon announced that a bill amending the Canada Transportation Act had become law. Among other changes, the legislation removes a requirement that the Canadian Transportation Agency be satisfied a shipper would suffer substantial commercial harm before granting a remedy; provides final offer arbitration to groups of shippers on rate issues or conditions for moving freight in certain circumstances; and requires railroads to publish a list of sidings available for grain car loadings and also provide 60 days notice before removing such sidings. The amendments balance the needs of both parties and sets a clear course for our rail transportation system to meet the economic challenges of the future, said Mr. Cannon. (ffd: Progressive Railroading)

(SUN) An earlier on-duty injury to a De Queen & Eastern Railroad locomotive engineer became a fatality. Larry Green, Age 59, succumbed to injuries he sustained on October 18 of last year when his locomotive collided with a truckload of logs at a crossing near Wright City, OK. Mr. Green had been in a semi-comatose state since the accident. (ffd: Texarkana Gazette)

(MON) The Executive Director of the New York State Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Elliot Sander, offered a 40-Year Transportation Vision for his agency. Among the transit and rail improvements predicted by Mr. Sander are: an extension of the full-length Second Avenue Subway to West Harlem, Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn; greater funding for transportation projects from congestion pricing; Metro North commuter rail service accessing Penn Station; a second AirTran service, between LaGuardia Airport and the Long Island Rail Road at Woodside; and new rail transit services for Staten Island. Mr. Sander made his predictions during his State of the MTA address. (ffd: Railway Age, RT&S)

(MON) TTX, the former Trailer Train, unveiled a new logo and position line that it said reflected the company’s position in the rail industry. The new logo features the TTX letters in a Tuscan Red color to honor the longtime paint scheme of the company’s founder, the Pennsylvania Railroad. The logo is paired with the words, Forwarding Thinking. (ffd: TTX Corp., Progressive Railroading)

(MON) Amtrak announced that it would celebrate the first-ever National Train Day with six weeks of events culminating on May 10. Observances leading up to May 10 will include special promotions, events, partnerships, and an advertising campaign, and culminate with celebrations at four Amtrak stations: Chicago IL, Los Angeles CA, New York NY, and Washington DC. May 10 was selected as that was the date, in 1869, that the transcontinental railroad was joined at Promontory Point, UT. (ffd: Trains)

(MON) Three of the nation’s Class 1 railroads were named to a list of the top 100 U.S. corporations in terms of corporate responsibility. BNSF, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific all were named to the list by the editors of Corporate Responsibility Officer Magazine. Companies were rated in eight categories, including climate change, employee relations, environment, financial, governance, human rights, lobbying and philanthropy. (ffd: AAR)

(MON) The Chicago Transit Authority started installation of new farecard machines that will accept credit and debit cards. A CTA spokesman said that the first five machines were being installed at the O’Hare International Airport Station on the CTA Blue Line and that the similar machines would be installed at more than 45 CTA subway stations over the next four months. (ffd: Chicago Tribune)

(TUE) Canadian National criticized the Canadian Transportation Agency’s recent ruling ordering rail grain rates cut by 8 percent under a revenue cap retroactive to August 1, 2007. The railroad referred to the Agency’s order as creeping re-regulation that would ultimately cause CN to review its investment decisions in grain transportation and to restructure it services for the sector. With the latest [Agency] decision, the government of Canada is effectively transferring from one sector of the economy - railways - to another - farmers, said a CN spokesman. (ffd: Railway Age)

(TUE) Texas state officials announced the discovery of a buried railroad tank car filled with thousands of gallons of liquid, including a deteriorated form of the banned pesticide DDT. The car was discovered during excavations for a parking lot at the Port of Galveston, TX. Port officials, who speculated the car may have been buried as long as 50 years ago, said that they would drain the car of its contents and safety dispose of them, but that they would likely leave the car where it now rests. (ffd: Galveston Daily News)

(TUE) Planners intent on building the National Railroad Hall of Fame in Galesburg, IL announced scaled-back plans. Earlier plans called for a $60 million campus near I-74, but a feasibility study concluded that a downtown location could draw almost as many visitors and for one-half the construction and development costs. A spokesman said that plans call for the scaled-down, $30 million, 40,000-square-foot complex to include interactive exhibits and a central hall that would look and feel like a railroad station concourse. (ffd: Galesburg Register-Mail, Trains)

(WED) The Wisconsin & Southern Railroad suffered an on-duty employee fatality. Frederick Phelps, Age 55, was killed when a boxcar he was switching derailed and crushed him. The accident happened in Random Lake, WI. (ffd: Fon du Lac Reporter)

(WED) At a special hearing of the U.S. House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, representatives of CSX and the Children’s Investment Fund hedge fund traded accusations as to the effectiveness of CSX management and the actual intent of the fund managers. Snehal Amin of TCI, which is chartered in the Cayman Islands, said that it did not want to control CSX but did want to help the company reach its full potential. CSX Chair Michael Ward countered that the fund mainly wants CSX to stop its growth and borrow a lot of money and run down its credit rating so the fund can cash out in a few years and leave a mess behind. TCI and allied interests own approximately 15 percent of the CSX stock and have announced their intention to propose five new directors for the company’s board at its annual meeting in May. (ffd: Trains)

(WED) The Mayo Clinic of Rochester, MN filed comments with the Surface Transportation Board related to Canadian Pacific’s proposed takeover of the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad. In its comments, the Clinic called for the STB to mandate track repairs to the DM&E line through Rochester to make the railroad safer. Long opposed to the DM&E’s plan to expand to Wyoming’s Powder River Basin coal fields, based on the premise that the expansion will bring an increase in trains through Rochester, the Clinic’s comments are considered by some industry analysts to be a resignation that CP’s takeover of the DM&E will likely be approved. (ffd: Trains)

(WED) In an unusual recognition, the Association of America Railroads and its member railroads were honored for their work in the field of suicide prevention. The single largest cause of fatalities on railroads is trespassing, said an AAR spokesman. We hope to be able to significantly reduce the number of fatalities on railroad tracks. The aware was given to the AAR by the Suicide Prevention Action Network. (ffd: AAR)

(WED) Seattle, WA officials announced that renovation work to the city’s King Street Station would shortly resume following resolution of a liability issue. The city agreed to assume liability following BNSF giving it the building for a $10 check, representing nominal consideration. It’s a donation, said a BNSF spokesman. Forthcoming renovations, which are projected to be complete by 2011, include removing communication dishes and towers, restoring the original roof, refurbishing the station’s grand staircase, and removing the false ceiling above the waiting room and restoring the original vintage floral-patterned plaster ceiling concealed for nearly four decades. (ffd: Seattle P-I News)

(THU) Officials of the State of Maine threatened a takeover of Pan Am Railways unless it improves freight service. State lawmakers claim that Pan Am is offering poor freight service, which it said is making Maine manufacturers less competitive. A spokesman for Pan Am Railways, the former Guilford Rail, said that they are puzzled by the state’s claim, adding that the railroad has received no service complaints from Maine shippers and that it is the only company that has been able to safely and profitably operate rail lines in the state for 30 years. (ffd: Blethen Maine Newspapers, Trains)

(THU) The U.S. Surface Transportation Board reported Class 1 railroad return on net investment for 2007. As a group, the seven Class 1’s, including the U.S. operations of Canadian National and Canadian Pacific, collectively earned a return of 10.86 percent in 2007, up slightly from the 10.15 percent they earned in 2006. Norfolk Southern led with 13.42 percent, followed by Union Pacific with 11.36 percent, BNSF with 10.67 percent, Kansas City Southern with 10.14 percent, and CSX with 7.75 percent. (ffd: STB, Railway Age)

STATS -BIG 7 TRAFFIC

(NOTE: Canadian traffic includes that on the U.S. operations of Canadian National and Canadian Pacific.)

(THU) For the week ending March 1, 2008, U.S. rail volume grand totaled 34.9 billion ton-miles, up 5.4 percent from the comparable week last year. U.S. carload rail traffic was up 3.9 percent, down 2.2 percent in the East, but up 8.8 percent in the West. Also for the week, U.S. intermodal rail traffic was down 5.8 percent, Canadian carload rail traffic was up 1.8 percent, and Canadian intermodal rail traffic was up 8.0 percent.

For the month of February, 2008 and compared with February, 2007, U.S. carload rail traffic was up 2.7 percent. Notable traffic increases included metallic ores up 40.1 percent, grain up 24.5 percent, coal up 5.7 percent; notable traffic decreases included coke down 34.6 percent, lumber and wood products down 19.3 percent, and crushed stone, sand and gravel down 6.9 percent. Also for the month, U.S. intermodal rail traffic was down 3.4 percent, Canadian carload rail traffic was up 4.2 percent, Canadian intermodal rail traffic was up 7.1 percent, Mexico’s Kansas City Southern de Mexico’s carload rail traffic was down 2.2 percent, and KCSM’s intermodal rail traffic was up 18.4 percent.

For the period January 1 through February 29, 2008, U.S. rail volume grand totaled 296.1 billion ton-miles, up 2.8 percent from the comparable period last year. Also for this period, U.S. carload rail traffic was up 1.7 percent, U.S. intermodal rail traffic was down 3.4 percent, Canadian carload rail traffic was up 0.1 percent, Canadian intermodal rail traffic was up 8.3 percent, KCSM’s carload rail traffic was down 1.2 percent, and KCSM’s intermodal rail traffic was up 14.5 percent. (ffd: AAR)

MORE STATS -BIG 7 (EXCEPT CN) OPERATING PERFORMANCE:

(NOTE: Effective October 1, 2005, railroads that had been furnishing operating performance statistics to the Association of American Railroads began applying a new standardized definitional framework, aimed at eliminating differences in calculation methodology. Concurrent with but unrelated to these changes, Canadian National elected to no longer furnish these statistics.)

(WED) For the week ending February 29, 2008 versus the comparable week last year, average total cars on line was as follows: BNSF, 227,028 cars versus 223,136 cars; Canadian Pacific, 83,049 cars versus 80,801 cars; CSX, 219,091 cars versus 227,961 cars; Kansas City Southern, 28,229 cars versus 28,805 cars; Norfolk Southern, 198,437 cars versus 211,509 cars; and Union Pacific, 307,314 cars versus 306,377 cars.

Also for the week ending February 29, 2008 versus the comparable week last year, average train speed was as follows: BNSF, 24.1 mph versus 23.4 mph; Canadian Pacific Railway, 22.8 mph versus 23.2 mph; CSX, 20.8 mph versus 19.5 mph; Kansas City Southern, 24.9 mph versus 23.2 mph; Norfolk Southern, 21.5 mph versus 19.2 mph; and Union Pacific, 22.5 mph versus 21.9 mph.

Finally for the week ending February 29, 2008 versus the comparable week last year, average terminal dwell time was as follows: BNSF, 26.2 hrs versus 23.1 hrs; Canadian Pacific Railway, 25.7 hrs versus 25.3 hrs; CSX, 21.8 hrs versus 25.1 hrs; Kansas City Southern, 21.5 hrs versus 24.2 hrs; Norfolk Southern, 20.8 hrs versus 23.5 hrs; and Union Pacific, 25.2 hrs versus 24.9 hrs. (ffd: AAR)

STILL MORE STATS -SAFETY:

The U.S. Federal Railroad Administration released preliminary rail safety statistics for the Full Year 2007. FRA reported that there were 2,547 reportable train accidents, a 14 percent decline from the 2,953 in 2006. FRA also reported a decline in two other categories: trespasser fatalities declined to 486, compared with 518 the previous year, and highway-rail crossing fatalities declined to 339, compared with 369 the previous year. However, FRA also reported that the number of accidents involving release of hazardous materials increased to 71, compared with 28 the previous year. (ffd: FRA)

EXPANSIONS, CONTRACTIONS AND ALIKE:

(MON) Unitrac Railroad Materials of Knoxville, TN, a subsidiary of Healy Railroad Corporation, announced that it had acquired Donovan EDH and Trackwork Solutions of Danvers, IL. Unitrac is a manufacturer of specialty trackwork items. (ffd: RT&S)

(THU) Hatch Mott MacDonald, an infrastructure, transportation and environmental engineering company, announced that it had acquired Railroad Technology Incorporated, a railroad and rail transit specialty firm based in Sacramento, CA. (ffd: Progressive Railroading, RT&S)

APPOINTMENTS, ACHIEVEMENTS AND MILESTONES:

(MON) Kansas City Southern appointed Brian Bowers its SVP-Intermodal and Automotive. Mr. Bowers was most recently with Schneider National. (ffd: KCS Corp.)

(MON) Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway appointed Joseph McGonigle its VP-Sales & Marketing. Mr. McGonigle, who started his railroad career with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, succeeds Richard Rushmore, who will retire effective March 31. (ffd: wire services)

(WED) The Association of American Railroads appointed John Gray its VP-Policy & Economics. Mr. Gray, who was most recently with the Union Pacific Railroad, succeeds Craig Rockey, who recently retired after 30 years’ service with the AAR. (ffd: AAR)

(THU) Kansas City Southern appointed Michael Upchurch its SVP-Financial Management & Purchasing. Mr. Upchurch was most recently with Sprint Nextel. (ffd: KCS Corp.)

(FRI) Kansas City Southern announced the following appointments: David Ebbrecht as VP-Transportation; Jeff Crandall as VP-Engineering; and Mitchell Whitmire as GM-Locomotive Operations. Kansas also realigned its three operating divisions and appointed new general managers, as follows: Kevin McIntosh as GM of the Midwest Division; Claud Friesland as GM of the Southeast Division; and Mark Redd as GM of the Texas Division. (ffd: KCS Corp.)

(FRI) Metro North Railroad announced that its president, Peter Cannito, would retire in July. Mr. Cannito has been president of MNRR since June, 1999. (ffd: Mid-Hudson News, MTA, Railway Age)

WRR - 02-29-2008

February 29, 2008 Weekly Rail Review No Comments

WEEKLY RAIL REVIEW
FOR THE 7 DAYS ENDING FRI, FEBRUARY 29, 2008

THE WEEK’S TOP RAIL AND TRANSIT NEWS (in chronological order):

(MON) The Port of New York and New Jersey’s Port Authority Trans Hudson subway line gave free rides to passengers this date to mark its 100th anniversary. Service on the line, which was built by the former Pennsylvania Railroad as part of their New York Terminal Project of the early 1900s, started February 25, 1908 when then-President Theodore Roosevelt pressed a button that turned on the electricity in the line’s tunnels. The line, which operates between Newark, NJ, Hoboken, NJ, Lower Manhattan and Midtown Manhattan, was taken over by the PANYNJ in 1962. (ffd: Newark Star-Ledger, New York Times)

(MON) The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association reminded shortline and regional railroaders to come to Washington, DC to participate in its annual Railroad Day On The Hill event on March 13. An ASLRRA spokesman noted the importance of the event, in which railroaders come to Washington to participate in the time-honored custom of meeting with their congressional representatives and their staffs to alert them of legislative needs, which this year includes the renewal of the shortline investment tax credit, which has helped spur rebuilding of shortline railroad infrastructure, but which expired at the end of last year. Further details about the event, as well as registration and related assistance, may be found on the ASLRRA website, www.aslrra.or