www.ProgressiveRailroading.com Martin Oberman, Metra chairman (left) and Donald Orseno, Metra Executive Director/CEO WEB EXCLUSIVE: An APTA Rail Conference recap www.progressiverailroading.com/cover STRAIGHT TALK Progressive The Information Leader for the Railroad Industry JULY 2014 FLEET STATS 2014 Maintaining Rail At Mines, Power Plants There's no sugarcoating it: It'll take time to put Metra back on track, the agency's new leaders say
Transcript
www.ProgressiveRailroading.com
Martin Oberman, Metra chairman (left) and Donald Orseno, Metra Executive Director/CEO
WEB EXCLUSIVE: An APTA Rail Conference recap www.progressiverailroading.com/cover
STRAIGHT TALK
ProgressiveThe Information Leader for the Railroad Industry J U LY 2 0 1 4
FLEET STATS 2014
Maintaining RailAt Mines, Power Plants
There's no sugarcoating it: It'll take time to put Metra back on track, the agency's new leaders say
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PROGRESSIVE RAILROADING (ISSN 0033-0817) (Publications Agreement No. 40031401) is published every month by Trade Press Media Group, Inc. Editorial and business offices are at 2100 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53209. (414) 228-7701. Subscriptions: PROGRESSIVE RAILROADING is sent without obli-gation to railroad presidents, vice-presidents, and qualified personnel in railroad management and super-
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“You can’t change a culture overnight by just pronouncing things are now perfect — you have to live it.”
— Martin Oberman, Metra Chairman -p.18
PROGRESSIVE RAILROADING (ISSN 0033-0817) (Publications Agreement No. 40031401) is published every month by Trade Press Media Group, Inc. Editorial and business offices are at 2100 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53209. (414) 228-7701. Subscriptions: PROGRESSIVE RAILROADING is sent without obli-gation to railroad presidents, vice-presidents, and qualified personnel in railroad management and super-
vision in the executive, administrative, operating, mechanical, engineering, purchases and materials, electrical, signal and communications departments of the railroads. Qualified subscriptions should be requested on railroad letterhead. Subscription price to others: $8.00 per single copy. $99.00 per year, $186.00 (U.S.) 2 years. For subscriptions
mailed outside the U.S., $145.00 (U.S. dollars) per year, $254 (U.S. dollars) for two years. Add $150.00 (U.S. dollars) per year for USPS Priority Mail delivery. Periodicals postage paid at Milwaukee, Wisconsin and additional mailing offices. The publishers do not assume responsibility for the validity of the claims made for products described.
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ADVERTISING SECTION13 TOP EXECUTIVES ON THE
MARKETPLACE
FEATURES34 Key links in the coal supply chainMines, utilities aim to bolster rail infrastructure at both ends of the coal transportation spectrum so power plants stay fueled
40 Seeking a stress-free environment
Railroads call on consultants, suppliers to help ensure continuous-welded rail doesn’t buckle, bend or break
44 Detecting a trendSuppliers and service providers offer an array of maintenance-of-way detection equipment
SPECIAL SECTION24 Fleet Stats 2014
Our annual compendium of North American rail-car and locomotive facts and fi gures
N
URREESS
There’s no sugarcoating it: It’ll take time to put Metra back on track, the agency’s new leaders say
STRAIGHT TALK
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The Regional Transportation District’s FasTracks program has the
potential to make Denver one of the most advanced transit cities in the West — provided more residents give up their cars. www.citylab.com
Investors need look no further for evidence of the frac sand market’s
growth potential than CN. In 2013, the Class I moved more than 50,000 carloads of frac sand, up 500 percent since 2008. fi nance.yahoo.com
“What could be worse than a highway through the middle of
town? How about when two highways intersect, with all their assorted high-speed ramps carving out huge chunks of land to move cars.” StreetsblogUSA
Angela Coteysenior associate editor
Jeff Staglmanaging editor
Julie Sneiderassociate editor
LOGGING IN
An APTA Rail recap “America’s future is riding on public transportation” was a refrain heard throughout the American Public Transportation Association’s Rail Conference, held June 15-18 in Montreal. progressiverailroading.com/pr
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Progressive Railroading’s Daily News The most-read Daily News stories last month:■ “KCS marks longest-ever ‘A-Max’ unit train” (5/30/14)■ “BNSF operates first unit train for new TransCold Express service” (6/10/14)■ “Amtrak starts field testing first of four new passenger-car types” (6/14/14)
progressiverailroading.com/news
2 | ONLINE | PROGRESSIVE RAILROADINGJuly 2014
CMO on board at All Aboard Florida All Aboard Florida Chief Marketing Officer Julie Edwards is working to educate the public about and determine marketing strategies for Florida’s
More M&A at OmniTRAX Short-line acquisitions and operating pacts long have been key parts of OmniTRAX Inc.’s growth strategy. With a new railroad in the fold as of late May and a major operating contract ironed out in mid-June, the short-line holding company has made progress on both counts. progressiverailroading.com/pr
OMNITRAX INC.
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Over the past several years, Class Is have increased efforts to hire military veterans. Their leadership attributes, work ethic and in-depth training in various disciplines make veterans ideal railroad workers, Class I recruiters believe.
So do hiring managers at many short lines. But a number of small railroads lack the resources and know-how to recruit veterans. Enter the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association’s (ASLRRA) Veterans Recruitment Committee. Formed in March 2012, the committee aims to provide member short lines the necessary tools and information to recruit veterans, as well as help vets learn about short-line career opportunities.
The nine-member committee is chaired by Pacific Harbor Line President Otis Cliatt. Other mem-bers include Vice Chair Shayne Magdoff, Genesee & Wyoming Inc.’s vice president of HR integration, and executives from ASLRRA, OmniTRAX Inc., Pinsly Railroad, KWTY Railroad, North Shore Railroad Co., Johnson County Community College and Daley Mohan Groble P.C.
The committee plans to survey short lines to find out how many hire vets now. ASLRRA has committed to hiring 2,500 veterans through President Obama’s Veterans Job
Plan Initiative, which drove the formation of the committee, says Cliatt.
The committee recently developed a brochure designed to inform exiting military per-sonnel about available entry- to senior-level positions at short lines, such as dispatchers, locomotive engineers, opera-tions managers and administra-tive executives. The brochure can be distributed at job fairs or downloaded from ASLRRA’s website (www.aslrra.org).
Casting a webThe committee also developed a section on the association’s website devoted to veteran hiring. The web page includes information about the short-line industry and employment resources for vets, including links to hiring sites. Short lines can access various sites to post jobs aimed at attracting veteran candidates.
“Our goal is to get short lines to use the website and other resources,” says Magdoff.
One of those resources is Hero2Hired (H2H), a U.S. Department of Defense-funded website designed to help exiting service members find jobs with military-friendly employers. H2H
also offers career exploration tools, military-to-civilian skill translations, and education and training resources.
The committee reached out to H2H organizers because the site gets a lot of traffic and helps place veterans from all military service levels, says Eric O’Neill, a committee member and ASLRRA’s chief financial officer.
“It’s the audience we’re try-ing to reach,” he says.
Each short line can register on H2H and post jobs, or a group of railroads can create a “community” on the site, says Sam Giovinazzi, H2H’s employment transition coor-dinator in California.
Log in, latch onVeterans can search the site by job type, such as welder, or by a particu-lar railroad, he says.
Currently, 4 million jobs are posted on H2H and 20,000 veterans have been placed through the site since it was launched in January 2013, says Giovinazzi.
The committee is striving to connect with veterans in every possible way because of the value military members can bring to the short-line work-force, says ASLRRA President Richard Timmons, a 32-year U.S. Army veteran who retired in 1998 as a three-star general.
“These men and women have been vetted repeatedly in military entrance requirements, demanding and specialized training, and in the harsh environments of military service around the globe,” he says. “They fully understand responsi-bility, accountability, teamwork, job mastery and safety.” ■
transition coor-ifornia.
onsearch thepe, such as a particu-e says.4 million ed on000e beengh
it
A military maneuver
Upfront
By Jeff Stagl, Managing Editor
[ SHORT LINES ]
4 | PROGRESSIVE RAILROADINGJuly 2014
SOURCE: ASLRRA
ASLRRA’s Veterans Recruitment Committee developed a brochure to inform vets about short-line career opportunities.
Kansas City Southern de México . . . . . . . . . . 219,040 8.3
20.4% CHANGE*451,334
Carloads Carried
Cumulative, 22 weeks 2014 • Source: AAR Policy and Economics Department
-1.2% CHANGE
1,583,896
*carloads originated
El Niño’s return could affect grain price, production report says Scientists are predicting a return of the weather system known as “El Niño.” Characterized by heavy rain in some parts of the world and drought in others, the extreme El Niño weather conditions typically have a strong
impact on grain market production and pricing, according to the U.S. Grains Council. In the past, El Niño has led to dry conditions in Australia, India, Malaysia and Indonesia; and wet conditions in South America, Central America and parts of the United States. However, El Niño typically has
a minimal impact on U.S. grain production, as the weather tends to affect the southern and western parts of the country more than the central grain production areas, the council recently reported on its website. ■
INDIANA GATEWAY PROJECT LAUNCHED The $71 million Indiana Gateway project is officially under way to upgrade rail lines and improve rail-traffic flow between Porter, Ind., and the Illinois state line. The project includes upgrading seven locations on Norfolk Southern Railway’s Chicago Line and one on Amtrak’s Michigan Line. Funded by federal stimulus dollars, the project is designed to complement rail improvements in neighboring states, including the Englewood Flyover project in Chicago. ■
Rail remains biggest transporter of coal shipments The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recently proposed carbon emissions limits on power plants could have a
significant impact on the railroad industry. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), rail continues to provide the majority of coal shipments to the power sector even though coal consumption fell 18 percent and the number of coal-fired generators dropped from 1,445 to 1,285 between
2008 and 2013. During that period, the share of shipments made exclusively by railroads — or with rail as the primary mode — has remained effectively unchanged, according to the EIA’s June 11 “Today in Energy” brief. ■
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WATCO EYES NS LINES Watco Cos. L.L.C. in late June filed for Surface Transportation board approval to purchase and operate three Norfolk Southern Railway branch lines in western North Carolina. Totaling 92 miles, the lines would be operated as the Blue Ridge Southern Railroad. The routes run from Murphy Junction to Dillsboro; Asheville to East Flat Rock; and Hendersonville to Pisgah Forest. ■
A WEIGHT ON ITS SHOULDERS MTA Long Island Rail Road earlier this year agreed to permit New York & Atlantic Railway (NY&A) to raise the maximum rail-car weight on a shared line from 263,000 pounds to 286,000 pounds. Increasing capacity by 10 to 12 tons per shipment helps further reduce shipping costs, NY&A officials said in parent Anacostia Rail Holdings’ spring newsletter. ■
PROGRESSIVE RAILROADINGJuly 2014 | 7
UpfrontSHORT LINE
BELT’S BEST IN 131 YEARS The Belt Railway Co. of Chicago (BRC) in 2013 achieved an injury frequency ratio of 0.7 injuries per 200,000 manhours, besting a record set in 1882, according to a BRC newsletter. The “impressive safety record” was achieved during one of Chicago’s most brutal winters, BRC officials said. Heavy snowfall pushed the season into the city’s top three snowiest winters. ■
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RailConnect Index®
of Short-Line Traffic
Source: GE Transportation’s Optimization Solutions (Data from 427 U.S. and Canadian railroads)
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8 | UPFRONT | PROGRESSIVE RAILROADINGJuly 2014
UpfrontINTERMODAL
DIVING INTO NEW WATER BILL Last month, President Barack Obama signed the Water Resources Reform and Development Act, which identifies more than $12 billion worth of new water infra-structure projects and authorizes their funding. Port-deepening projects in Jacksonville, Fla., Savannah, Ga., and Boston have been identified as eligible for funding. ■
SECURITY MEASURES In 2013, cargo theft rates dropped 9 percent compared with 2012, according to CargoNet’s Annual U.S. Cargo Theft Report, marking the first decline since CargoNet began tracking data in 2006, according to the company. ■
LOGISTICS TRENDS Total U.S. business logistics costs rose to $1.4 trillion in 2013, a 2.3 percent increase compared with 2012, according to the State of Logistics Report recently issued by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. However, logistics as a percentage of U.S. gross domestic product declined for the second year in a row, indicating the logistics sector is not keeping pace with growth in the overall economy. Railroad sector costs rose 3.6 percent, as intermodal gained market share in response to the truck capacity shortage. ■
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WALKING IS GOOD FOR THE WALLET Average income in metro areas that are ranked as “highly walkable” is 38 percent higher than in “low walkable” areas, according to a new study produced by the Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis at George Washington University. While the discrepancy can be attributed in part to residents in more walkable cities who tend to be better educated than those in less pedestrian-friendly areas, it’s clear that cities
with public transit, crosswalks and bike lanes offer economic benefits, researchers say. ■
M-1 A GO M-1 RAIL officials expect to begin construction on a 3.3-mile modern streetcar system in Detroit on July 28. The Detroit City Council last month approved construction and operating agreements for the system, which will serve the city’s largest employment centers. ■
SEPARATE CHECKS Amtrak and the California High-Speed Rail Authority will no longer pursue plans to jointly purchase high-speed trains for California and the Northeast Corridor, according to a June 21 article on Philly.com. Officials from both organizations recently met with train manu-facturers and determined the needs of the two systems — includ-ing top speeds and route configura-tions — were too different.
“It became clear to us that we would get sub-optimal solutions as compromises took place,” Amtrak Chief of Strategic Fleet Rail Initiatives Mark Yachmetz said in the article.
Amtrak is expected to seek bids next month from for up to 28 new Acela trainsets that would begin service be-tween Boston and Washington, D.C., by late 2018. The new trains would need to feature technology similar to the current Acela trains, which have the ability to “tilt” on the Northeast Corridor’s tight curves.
PROGRESSIVE RAILROADINGJuly 2014 | 9
UpfrontTRANSIT
▲ FREE INFO: Circle 009
First quarter transit ridership Between January and March, U.S. transit agencies recorded 2.6 billion trips, a slight decrease compared with the same 2013 period. However, ridership on all three rail modes increased.
COMMUTERRAIL
LIGHTRAIL
HEAVYRAIL
Data reflects unlinked passenger trips by mode.Source: American Public Transportation Association
201320202002 1313133
906,618
20132013
123,020
2013202020200131131311313
113,492
2014 22222220202022202 1414144 22
922,761 +1.8%
2014
126,932 +3.2%
2014 222220200001414141414114,764 +1.1%
VACCLAV / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
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FREIGHT Genesee & Wyoming Inc. appointed Louis Gravel president of Genesee & Wyoming Canada Inc. to succeed Mario Brault, who plans to retire in September. ... Watco Cos. L.L.C. named Eric Wolfe president of Watco Supply Chain Services, and Watco Terminal & Port Services appointed Jeff Lederer general manager of the Pecos Valley Southern Railway to succeed Mike Salts, who returns to Watco’s South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad. ... CSX Corp. appointed Brian Hammock resident vice president of state govern-ment affairs. ... Kansas City Southern Railway Co. named Gary Jarboe VP mechanical operations and Jack Elmore assistant VP of claims.
TRANSIT Sound Transit’s board named Mike Harbour acting CEO while CEO Joni Earl is on medical leave. ... Keolis Commuter Services appointed Pascal Baran chief engineer for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s commuter-rail service, which Keolis began operating July 1. ... Sam Marra is joining the The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon as executive director of maintenance operations. ... Florida East Coast Industries named Myles Tobin general counsel for All Aboard Florida.
SUPPLY SIDE VHB’s board elected Michael Carragher president and CEO to succeed Bob Brustlin. ... CIT Rail named Ken Pierson senior VP
PeopleSpotlight
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) announced that U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) will receive the 2014 John
H. Chafee Congressional Environmental Award and CSX Transportation Director of Terminal Development Christopher Durden will receive the 2014 John H. Chafee Environmental Excellence Award. AAR’s annual environ-mental stewardship awards are named
after the late Rhode Island senator who was a strong advocate for conservation and environmental causes, and appreciated rail’s environmental advantages. The awards rec-ognize both a member of Congress and a railroad employee who have demonstrated the highest level of environmental steward-ship, AAR officials said.
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and general manager of locomotives. ... TUV Rheinland named David Haataja senior VP of products in the United States, Canada and Mexico. ... Joseph Bongiovi joined Michael
Baker International as executive VP and chief human resources officer. ... Jacobs Associates named Karl Assi, David Corkum, Joel Kantola, Blake Rothfuss and Kent Winger principals.
10 | UPFRONT | PROGRESSIVE RAILROADINGJuly 2014
Mikulski
Durden
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MECHANICAL THE GREENBRIER COS. INC. and WATCO COS. L.L.C. formed GBW Railcar Services L.L.C., a 50-50 joint venture that will own and operate Greenbrier’s and Watco’s respective rail-car repair, re-furbishment and maintenance businesses. ... GREENBRIER also announced its first con-tracts from multiple custom-ers for construction of 3,500 units of its new “Tank Car of the Future.” The orders, along with other honors for 4,200 rail cars across a full range of car types, bring aggregate awards to 7,700 cars valued at more than $960 million since May 21, Greenbrier officials said. ... UNION TANK CAR CO.’s patent-pending “Tank Car of Tomorrow” is near-ing completion of its second successful year of accelerated field tests, “reliably equaling more than five years of normal service,” Union Tank Car of-ficials said. ... BOMBARDIER TRANSPORTATION and European rolling stock lessor RAILPOOL signed a framework
agreement for the delivery of 65 BOMBARDIER TRAXX locomotives, with a first “call-off” of 35 locomotives and an option for up to 30 additional units. ... MINER ENTERPRISES INC. announced a Class I selected its five-foot manual AggreGate® outlets for 54 new ballast cars being built by FREIGHTCAR AMERICA INC. ... ZTR CONTROL SYSTEMS has increased the number of employees in its Rail Division by 15 percent and plans to increase the total by another 15 percent over the next six months. ... MIDLAND MANUFACTURING, a division of OPW, will now offer repair services for rail-car valves in addition to its valve remanu-facturing and repair program. ... HOLLAND L.P. recently received TTX Co.’s Excellent Supplier designation based on its overall Supplier Evaluation Committee score. Holland has received the recognition 18 times. ... TTX CO. has been named a recipient of the 2014 CIO 100 award by CIO magazine.
MarketplaceSpotlight
Last month, ALSTOM’S board unanimously agreed to recommend GE’S offer to acquire Alstom’s power and grid businesses. GE’s offer: $16.9 billion ($13.5 billion enterprise value and $3.4 billion net cash). The transaction is expected to close in 2015, pending Alstom’s works councils’ consultation, and regulatory and shareholder approvals.GE and Alstom would form three joint ventures: the combined grid assets of GE and Alstom; Alstom’s off-shore wind and hydro businesses; and Alstom’s production and servicing of equipment for nuclear power plants, the develop-ment and sales of new nuclear equipment worldwide, and Alstom’s steam turbine equipment and service applications in France.
Meetings
SEPT. 14-16 — American Association of Railroad Superintendents Annual Meeting. Chicago. www.supt.org
SEPT. 21-23 — Intermodal Association of North America Intermodal Expo 2014. Long Beach, Calif. www.intermodalexpo.com
SEPT. 21-23 — Railway Supply Institute and Coordinated Mechanical Associations Annual Conference. Montreal. www.rsiweb.org
SEPT. 23-25 — North East Association of Rail Shippers 2014 Fall Conference. State College, Penn. www.nears.org
AUG. 21-22 — Frac Sand Supply & Logistics Conference. San Antonio.www.petroleumconnection.com
AUG. 26 — Michigan Rail Conference. Warren, Mich. www.rail.mtu.edu/mi-rail-conf
SEPT. 3-8 — GLXS 2014 grade cross-ing symposium. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. http://ict.uiuc.edu/railroad/GLXS/overview.php
SEPT. 14 — Progressive Railroading’s Rising Stars recognition dinner. Chicago. To be held in conjunction with the American Association of Railroad Superintendents Annual Meeting. www.progressiverailroading.com
For more meetings, see
Progressive
PROGRESSIVE RAILROADINGJuly 2014 | UPFRONT | 11
MOW A joint venture com-prising STV INC. and J.L. PATTERSON & ASSOCIATES INC. received a three-year contract worth up to $10 million from the Southern California Regional Rail Authority to provide on-call engineering design services for Metrolink. ... UNITRAC RAILROAD MATERIALS INC. received the 2013-2014 Supplier of the Year award from the North American
Maintenance Railway Club. UNITRAC also marked its 25th anniversary last month.
C&S PROTRAN SAFETY TECHNOLOGY secured a con-tract to provide its “Intrusion Warning” technology to two California transit agencies. Protran will provide 100 systems that can detect in-truders/emergency events and send a warning to the control center in real time.
JUNE 30 was my last day at Progressive Railroading — I have left the magazine for a new opportunity with Harsco Rail.
Over the past 16 years, I have been lucky enough to work for a fantastic company, Trade Press Media Group Inc., which owns the magazine. During that time, our team was able to accomplish many great things.
We’ve taken Progressive Railroading to new levels in terms of our print products and led the rail industry into the digital advertising world. We were first to the market with our popular Daily News, the first to create and host webcasts, and the first to hold virtual tradeshows and other digital products designed to get our customers’ message to the market. The growth of our RailTrends® conference in New York City — from the first one in 2005 at the Cornell Club to this year’s 10th annual event in November at The W New York Hotel — has been a real pleasure to be a part of. Progressive Railroading is truly the leading industry media outlet.
It has been a great ride with some incredible people. And it’s those people who will continue to make Trade Press/Progressive Railroading the outstanding organization it is. Those same people will continue to take the company and magazine to new levels.
These people will be what I miss the most. Over the past 16 years, they have become family and I owe them so much. I will
truly miss them. But I will be around. I’m a customer now, and I’ll see them at industry events. I will watch as the organization continues to grow and succeed.
I am looking forward to my new opportunity as senior director of North American sales with another great company, Harsco Rail. It, too, is made up of some great, hard-working people, some of whom I’ve known since I was 14. Harsco has a great reputation in the industry and manufactures a quality product. With a top-notch team in place, the company has a bright future.
I look forward to seeing you in my new role with Harsco at upcoming industry events, including the AARS Annual Meeting, Progressive Railroading’s Rising Stars Recognition Dinner, The RSI/CMA Annual Conference, AREMA Annual Meeting and Expo, and the RailTrends 2014 summit.
Thank you, Progressive Railroading, for the many wonderful years.
— Steve Bolte
Bastyr named publisher of Progressive Railroading
Kirk Bastyr is the new publisher of Progressive Railroading magazine. He succeeds Steve Bolte, who recently
was named senior director of North American sales for Harsco Rail (see above).
Bastyr has spent most of his
career in the ad agency business, where he’s held senior-level account management and business develop-ment positions.
“Kirk has 10 years of experience working with rail-industry clients,” said Bob Wisniewski, chief execu-tive officer and owner of Progressive Railroading. “He’s developed media and communication campaigns for Miner Enterprises, a leading manu-facturer of rail-car components, and ExpressYard, which is now owned by GE. ExpressYard was a developer of integrated software for Class I and short-line railroads.”
Bolte, who served as Progressive Railroading’s publisher for the past
16 years, praised the selection of Bastyr.
“Kirk Bastyr will make a fine publisher of Progressive Railroading,” Bolte said. “In addition to his great work with rail-industry clients, he will bring a deep understanding of integrated marketing and commu-nications to Progressive Railroading clients.”
Bastyr began his new position on June 30. A graduate of Indiana University, he lives with his wife and four children in Louisville, Ky.
New challenges and next levelsAfter 16 years with Progressive Railroading, Steve Bolte is joining Harsco Rail as senior director of North American sales
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14 | TOP EXECUTIVES | PROGRESSIVE RAILROADINGJuly 2014
Rob CrawfordHerzog Railroad
Services Inc.
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A COMMITMENT TO
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WORKING FOR HERZOG FOR OVER 40 YEARS has afforded me the opportunity to witness the growth of the railroad industry; though sometimes sluggish, it has always been unwav-ering in its pursuit to provide our country with an infrastructure that grew as it did. It’s hard to imagine a United States without its rail network. Our highway system is, in many places, over-burdened and under maintained. Add that rail traffi c to it, and I believe it would be almost impossible to get anywhere in a timely fashion.
Prior to the 1980s were times of turmoil and regulation. The Staggers Act of 1980 led to a period of explosive growth in the 90s, and the railroads set new profi t records almost yearly. The 2000s started solidly, but the burst of the housing bubble caught almost everyone by surprise. The industry did something that I had never seen before during a time of decreasing
profi ts: They kept spending on track maintenance. This period of lower traffi c volumes allowed for better
utilization of maintenance and production equipment. This was as good a time as any to build new track and increase capacity. The industry, as a whole, knew the economy would rebound and they wanted to be ready for it. The unknown was how and exactly when it would rebound. Some fi gured natural gas or ethanol would lead the way. I’m not sure anyone could have predicted the dramatic drop in coal due in part to stricter regulations out of Washington and lower natural gas prices. And, of course, here we are today; coal is no longer king, while intermodal trains and oil trains lead the charge to push the railroads full steam into the 21st century.
Herzog’s journey began 45 years ago. We have continued to develop equipment and services that have had a positive impact on
our customers. Our fi rst cartoppers began working in 1977 and are still working today. The R.U.M. (Rail Unloading Machine) is the only rail unloading equipment in the industry that can drive down the road, couple into the train and unload the rail, then cut away and drive down the highway to its next location. Utilization of the R.U.M. in conjunction with our new automated tie down car is the safer way to unload rail.
Of course, the G.P.S. SMART Train may be our biggest accomplishment to date. Its technology is unparalleled in the industry. Not only can we dump 30 cars per mile on concrete skeletonized track, we have now added our P.L.U.S/SMART Inertial System to our fl eet. This allows us to unload ballast in outage areas such as tunnels up to eight miles in length. Lastly, the M.P.M. (Multi-Purpose Machine), in our opinion, is the most complete maintenance-of-way machine on the market. There isn’t much it can’t do, including the pick-up and distribution of all types of O.T.M, ties and rail. It’s also used to ditch, brush cut and drill foundations for signal work, and our new rail shear attachment is being used to cut and pick up scrap rail.
Herzog’s commitment to excellence can be recognized in everything we do. The fi rst 45 years were just the beginning. We will continue to strive and develop equipment and services that will help better prepare the railroads for the future.
Rob CrawfordPresidentHerzog Railroad Services Inc.
14_PR_0714 TopExecs-Herog.indd 1414_PR_0714 TopExecs-Herog.indd 14 7/1/14 10:14 AM7/1/14 10:14 AM
PROGRESSIVE RAILROADINGJuly 2014 | TOP EXECUTIVES | 15
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16 | COVER STORY | PROGRESSIVE RAILROADINGJuly 2014
STRAIGHT TALK
There's no sugarcoating it: It'll take time to put Metra back on track, the agency's new leaders say
DON ORSENO JOINED METRA as a train-master in 1984, the year Chicago’s Regional Transportation Authority created the agency to provide commuter-rail service in a six-county region in northeastern Illinois. Over the past three decades, Orseno has remained with the agency in good times and in bad.
He’s seen tracks rebuilt, new locomotives and rail cars purchased, service added, stations con-structed and track speeds increased. Orseno also has witnessed Metra’s rise from a series of bank-rupt railroads strung together to one of the coun-try’s largest commuter railroads, with steady ridership and respectable on-time performance.
Metra has had some rough times, too, like in spring 2010, when former Executive Director Philip Pagano was accused of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in unauthorized vaca-tion payouts, and later committed suicide by stepping in front of a Metra train. Or last sum-mer, when Pagano’s successor, Alex Clifford, re-signed amid pressure from the board and con-tended he had been asked to grant patronage requests from Illinois legislators and the board’s then-chairman.
Today, Orseno is sitting in the boss’ chair; he was named executive director in January. It will be his most challenging position yet. There are the day-to-day tasks associated with operating a 500-mile commuter-rail system in one of the country’s largest metropolitan areas: running trains reliably and on time, securing more dol-lars for countless capital needs, and maintain-ing assets. There also are the less tangible but arguably more important issues of improving employee morale, boosting public image, in-stilling more transparency and accountability in the organization, and rebuilding relationships with riders and legislators.
The culture-change charge isn’t new at Metra. Clifford pushed an aggressive plan to restore public trust in the agency during his brief tenure; Progressive Railroading reported on it in a March 2012 cover story. But this time
PROGRESSIVE RAILROADINGJuly 2014 | 17
By Angela Cotey, Senior Associate Editor
Metra board members elected Martin Oberman (left) chairman
in February. The board named Don Orseno (right) executive
around, Orseno may have a few things working in his favor. His tenure and rise through Metra’s ranks has helped him de-velop a rapport with employees and railroad partners that an outsider couldn’t replicate, at least not right out of the chute. And, Orseno has more board support than Clifford did; the board now includes a handful of new members after several resigned amid the patronage scandal fallout. Metra Chairman Martin Oberman is among the newbies. He’s a lawyer by trade, but previously spent many years as a Chicago city councilman who pushed to clean up local government.
Between Orseno’s vast knowledge of the railroad’s op-erations and employees, and Oberman’s political experience, some Metra insiders believe the right leaders are in place to make the changes that are necessary and ensure they stick. Half a year into their new positions, Orseno and Oberman have started implementing new policies and procedures aimed at creating a more ethical, accountable and employee-friendly railroad; open communications, and more formal documenta-tion and evaluations chief among them.
They don’t expect everyone to believe their calls for a better Metra will be different this time around. But culture change is less about what you say and more about what you do. Orseno and Oberman would prefer Metra employees, riders and crit-ics judge them on the latter.
“You can’t change a culture overnight by just pronouncing things are now perfect — you have to live it, and we can’t do
that in fi ve minutes,” says Oberman. “Ultimately, it will take our own performance, as an entity, to regain trust.”
Performance standards need to be set in the executive of-fi ce, and Orseno believes he is well-positioned for the task. He began his railroad career 40 years ago, working in the train ser-vice department for the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacifi c Rail-road, where he collected tickets for the commuter service and worked as a conductor and brakeman on the freight side. He later became a locomotive engineer. When the Chicago Rock Island ceased operations in 1980, Orseno served as a locomo-tive engineer for the Chicago and North Western Railroad.
During his years at Metra, Orseno has worked in all of the commuter railroad’s operating districts, and has held positions such as senior trainmaster, director of mechanical, superinten-dent, director of safety and rules, chief customer service offi cer, chief transportation offi cer, and deputy executive director and chief operations offi cer.
Orseno took over the executive director duties when Clifford left the agency, and was offi cially named interim chief in August 2013. Metra’s board launched a nationwide search for a permanent director, but ultimately determined Orseno was the best fi t for the job. He was named to the permanent post in late January.
An ‘operational competency’Orseno’s knowledge of all things Metra factored highly into the board’s decision, says Oberman. Metra’s operations in the highly congested and complex Chicago rail hub would take an outsider years to fully understand.
“Don has a tremendous operational competency,” says Oberman. “He knows the system and he knows it well.”
Orseno also has built relationships over the years with all of Metra’s Class I partners. In addition, he brings “stability and high ethical standards,” says Joseph Schwieterman, a professor at DePaul University’s School of Public Service, who closely follows public policy and transportation issues, particularly in the Chicago region.
“Obviously that’s something Metra needs right now,” he says. In Orseno, Metra employees have a leader they can trust
— a straight shooter who rose through Metra’s ranks but nev-er penetrated the so-called “inner circle” created during the Pagano administration, says Oberman, adding that Orseno’s appointment to the top post boosted morale within the agency.
“Everything that’s happened to him at Metra has been based purely on merit,” he says. “And when you talk to him, you don’t worry about him having a secret agenda. Don has an authenticity about him.”
He’s able to relate to employees, too, and while he has high expectations and promotes a “do what it takes to get the job done” attitude, Orseno also believes it’s important to empower workers to foster professional development. But he will need to grow a bit more into his new role as the public face of one of the United States’ largest commuter-rail systems.
“Don really needs to now become ‘the CEO’ — the more dynamic, public persona,” says Oberman. “That’s not entirely who he is.”
Oberman might be able to assist in that area. He is a long-time Chicago resident who was an active player in the city’s political reform movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s — a backlash against the “totalitarian mentality of government,”
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he says. Oberman continued his quest for political reform against what he calls the “Daley Machine” during a 12-year stint as a city councilman. He ran for Illinois attorney general three times and lost, and left public service in 1987. Oberman has been working as a civil litigation trial lawyer since.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel con-tacted Oberman just after Labor Day
last year to ask him to fi ll the city’s seat on Metra’s board. He previously had served as a member of Emanuel’s Mid-way Airport Advisory Council.
“I can’t repeat what the mayor actu-ally said — you’d have to paraphrase that for publication — but he did make it clear that he thought Metra needed to be straightened out, cleaned up and given new blood,” says Oberman. “He did spe-
cifi cally say that Metra needs transparen-cy and accountability, and that he wanted me to help bring that to the agency.”
In the chairman’s chairOberman admittedly knew little about transportation and railroading when he joined the Metra board, and has spent his fi rst months learning about the in-ner workings of the agency. But he is well-versed in the Chicago-area political scene, is a strong believer in public ac-countability and has a knack for build-ing consensus among differing interests — traits he believed would make him a good candidate for the chairman, de-spite being one of the freshman mem-bers. Other board members agreed; in February, they unanimously elected Oberman as chairman.
“He can credibly argue that he’s a neutral player,” says Schwieterman.
“He’s not connected to any of the subur-ban mayors, he doesn’t represent a cer-tain community that wants to fi ght for resources, and I don’t think he’s super close with Mayor Rahm. But, whether
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Metra has been taking steps to spruce up stations across its system, such as by repainting interiors and exteriors, restoring platforms and
PROGRESSIVE RAILROADINGJuly 2014 | COVER STORY | 21
he’s willing to ruffl e feathers to kick Metra into higher gear remains to be seen.”
So far, feather-ruffl ing hasn’t been a priority. Oberman has been working to instill trust and foster productive working relationships among the board members.
“One of the problems with the past is that the Metra board didn’t really func-tion as a board. The culture was that the board chairman and executive director basically ran the place like a fi efdom,” says Oberman. “Now that this board, old and new, has come together, there has been a very clear commitment by all of us that this will be an egalitarian operation.”
Oberman strives to demonstrate that the chairperson is one of 11 board members — one without any special power. If an issue arises between Metra’s monthly board meetings that needs to be addressed quickly, he’ll call each board member to talk the issue through rather than make a decision on his own. It’s one way to show he’s determined to manage the board openly and honestly, he says.
The same aim applies for Metra prop-
er. Top executives and board members have set out to implement reform mea-sures aimed at creating more transpar-ency within the organization. For start-ers, the board adopted a policy requiring members to document any communica-tions they have with people regarding Metra employment.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a state rep or your mother,” says Oberman. “And that’s not the most earth-shaking re-form, but it helps send a message that we mean it when we say we’re getting rid of favoritism.”
Under review The board also has redefi ned the chief audit offi cer duties. Metra offi cials cre-ated the position after the Pagano scan-dal, but Brad O’Halloran, the chairman at the time, wanted the offi cer to report only to him, Oberman says.
“It turned out the chairman was using that person for a lot of secret police work and snooping,” he adds. “It wasn’t really a professional audit.”
So, in January, the board passed an
ordinance to set up an internal audit of-fi ce, with the auditor reporting to the ex-ecutive director and board, and charged with developing an annual audit plan.
In addition, the board is working to develop a performance evaluation system for the executive director — something Metra has never had, Oberman says.
“It holds him and us accountable,” he says. “It’s another example of us trying to be more objective rather than conduct-ing things behind the scenes.”
While Oberman and the board work to implement accountability measures, Orseno and other Metra executives are working to address the organization’s capital, operating and workforce issues.
Improving employee morale has been a top priority. The sources of the controversies the past several years were at the executive director and board levels, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t impacted the 4,500 people it takes to operate the commuter-rail system, says Orseno.
“When an employee gets on a train and hears our customers talking about what they’ve read about Metra in the
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papers, you have to imagine what goes through their mind,” he says.
The agency recently formed a morale committee to determine ways they can address workers’ regard for Metra. In the meantime, improving an employee’s attitude sometimes can be as simple as lending an ear, Orseno believes.
“Sometimes, employees just want to
be heard,” he says. “You need to make sure people know there’s a place to go, that the door is open and that we’re go-ing to listen.”
Metra offi cials are working to show they’re listening. At the request of em-ployees, Metra this summer will host three family days, opening up its major maintenance facilities so workers can
show them to spouses, children and parents. The agency used to host similar events, but hasn’t done so in many years.
The family events are one way that Orseno will try to foster a better sense of employee ownership at Metra.
“There’s a difference between doing your job and taking ownership of your job,” he says. “If you feel like you are part of a process — that you’re part of something and you’re valued — you have more personal ownership.”
Opportunities aboundHaving worked at Metra for more than three decades, Orseno is a prime exam-ple of how that ownership can pay off. He tries to encourage workers to take ad-vantage of the opportunities that Metra can provide. For example, when a new class of trainmen begin their training, Orseno visits with them to share stories about his years in that position and reit-erate the importance of their job.
“I tell them that I started exactly where they are starting today,” he says.
road, and all you have to do is show you really want to work for it.”
Metra offi cials are working to make it more worth their while. During the Clifford regime, the agency conducted a class and compensation study to iden-tify specifi c jobs and responsibilities, and how workers in those posts should be paid. The study revealed some big gaps between what Metra was paying workers and the salaries of people with comparable skills at other organizations. Many employees began leaving the agency because of the disparity.
“We were losing a lot of good employ-ees who were taking with them all of their institutional knowledge,” he says.
Orseno worked with the board to determine how workers could be bet-ter compensated. In spring, about 450 non-union employees received a wage increase averaging 8 percent. Now, the agency has instituted a program to reg-ularly evaluate its employees to ensure their salaries refl ect their duties.
Capital projects have to be addressed, too. Metra has identifi ed about $10 bil-
lion in capital needs during the next de-cade, but offi cials expect to only receive about 20 percent of that between its tradi-tional state and federal funding sources. Orseno acknowledges that talking about the budget shortfall in fi nancial terms is enough to make funding partners’ eyes glaze over. That’s why Metra planners have been tasked with identifying the agency’s most critical needs and break-ing them down into smaller programs that are easier to digest, funding-wise.
Regaining swaggerOnce a capital plan is complete, it will need to be conveyed to the public, DePaul’s Schwieterman says.
“Metra hasn’t aggressively promoted a long-range vision that gets the public ex-cited, or wooed them with high hopes for the future, and I think the public is ready for that,” he says. “That’s where Don is coming in now. He needs to show that Metra will regain its swagger as a railroad that maintains the highest standards and pushes the modernization envelope.”
State and federal legislators, too,
need to be kept in the loop. That’s why Metra has started issuing a monthly newsletter that includes information on agency programs and initiatives, and updates on capital projects.
“That communication link is huge for us,” says Orseno. “It’s imperative for them to feel like we’re all part of the same thing. Everything is on the table with us.”
As Metra’s new leaders forge a new path for the agency, they’ll do so with transparency and accountability top of mind. It will be a long, slow process, they know, but hope that over time, the scandals that have rocked Metra in recent years — and reputation it’s earned be-cause of them — will give way to a more highly regarded agency.
“It’s my obligation to make sure people understand this isn’t the Metra of yesterday … and that we’re working to make it the most professionally run organization as possible so we can gain their trust back,” says Orseno. ■
Total New Avg. Age Avg. Avg. Freight Revenue Avg. Ton Miles Freight Avg. LengthYear In Service Cars* Years Capacity Carloadings Car Load Tonnage Ton Miles per Carload Car Miles of Haul (Millions) (Thousands) (all RR) (Tons) (Millions) (Tons) (Billions) (Billions) (Thousands) (Billions) (Miles)
*Deliveries pPreliminary rRevisedSource: Association of American Railroads (AAR) Note: Beginning in 2001, Canadian-owned freight cars were excluded from the “Total In Service” category.
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BNSF Railway Co. ...................................79,864Norfolk Southern Railway Co. .................72,077Union Pacific Railroad ............................ 68,944CSX Transportation .................................62,485Canadian National ...................................33,876Arkansas-Oklahoma Railroad Inc. ..........29,072Northwestern Oklahoma Railroad Co. ....22,851Canadian Pacific ....................................22,835Soo Line Railroad Co. ............................. 11,485Kansas City Southern Railway Co. .........10,952Ferrocarril Mexicano S.A. de C.V. ........... 10,411Providence and Worcester Railroad Co. ............................................7,126East Erie Commercial Railroad ................. 6,418Atlantic and Western Railway L.P. .............6,205Wisconsin Central Ltd. .............................. 6,137Kansas City Southern de Mexico S.A. de C.V. ............................................6,064Utah Central Railway .................................5,993Illinois Central Railroad Co. ....................... 5,165St. Mary’s Railway West L.L.C. .................4,627Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corp. ........................................4,569Florida East Coast Railway Co. .................4,524Tomahawk Railway L.P. ............................. 3,974Chattahoochee Bay Railroad Inc. .............3,767Crab Orchard & Egyptian Railway ............. 3,416Grand Trunk Western Railroad Inc. ........... 3,154Ferrosur S.A. de C.V. .................................3,093Nebraska, Kansas & Colorado Railway Inc. ............................................2,594Gary Railway Co. .......................................2,555National Railroad Passenger Corp. ..........2,443Louisville and Wadley Railway Co. ............2,393Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway L.L.C. ....... 2,194Columbia Basin Railroad Co. Inc. .............2,041Genesee & Wyoming Railroad Co ............ 1,613Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad Inc. .............1,596Brandon Railroad L.L.C. ............................1,587Laurinburg and Southern Railroad Co. .....1,503Sabine River & Northern Railroad Co. ......1,425Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad Co. ......1,340Arkansas Louisiana & Mississippi Railroad Co. ...........................................1,306Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad Co. ..............1,279The International Bridge and Terminal Co. ....................................1,242Iowa Northern Railway .............................1,208Montana Rail Link Inc. ............................... 1,185Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway Co. .........1,147Ohio Central Railroad System ................... 1,101Colorado & Wyoming Railway Co. ...............997Joppa & Eastern Railroad Co. ......................934Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad Inc. ...............864Green Mountain Railroad Corp. ...................849Chattahoochee Industrial Railroad ...............838Southern Railway of British Columbia Ltd. ..818Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway Ltd. ...762Minnesota, Dakota & Western Railway Co. .746Georgia Northeastern Railroad Co. Inc. .......730Iowa Interstate Railroad Ltd. ........................675Chicago, Central & Pacific Railroad Co. ...... 674Maine Central Railroad Co. .......................... 674Winchester and Western Railroad Co. .........637Texas, Oklahoma & Eastern Railroad Co. ....612Wisconsin & Southern Railroad Co. .............596Riverport Railroad L.L.C. ..............................560Knoxville & Holston River Railroad Co. Inc. ......................................554
Twin Cities & Western Railroad ....................549Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad .....................................................545Union Railroad Co. ......................................502Saulte Ste. Marie Bridge Co. ........................486Golden Triangle Railroad ..............................453Kasgro Rail Lines .........................................433Paducah & Louisville Railway Inc. ................428Somerset Railroad Corp. .............................426KWT Railway Inc. .........................................422Ontario Northland Railway ........................... 417The Lake Terminal Railroad Co. ...................394Linea Coahuila Durango S.A. de C.V. ..........388The San Luis Central Railroad Co. ...............372New Brunswick Southern Railway Co. Ltd. ........................................368Columbia & Cowlitz Railway Co. ..................367The Bay Line Railroad L.L.C. ........................353St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad Co. ...........347York Railway Co. ..........................................347Kankakee, Beaverville and Southern Railroad Co. ..............................................346Arkansas & Missouri Railroad Co. ...............334Old Augusta Railroad L.L.C. .........................331Alabama Railroad Co. ..................................315The Texas Mexican Railway Co. ..................314Grainbelt Corp. .............................................312Brandywine Valley Railroad Co. ...................308Willamette & Pacific Railroad Inc. .................303Red River Valley and Western Railroad ........298First Coast Railroad Inc. ...............................296Western Rail Road Co. .................................292Hampton Railway Inc. ..................................288The Dansville and Mount Morris Railroad Co. .............................................281Birmingham Terminal Railway L.L.C. ............280Iowa Traction Railroad Co. ...........................279Marquette Rail L.L.C.....................................271Dakota Southern Railway Co. ......................245Escanaba & Lake Superior Railroad Co. .....243Sandersville Railroad Co. .............................237Maryland Midland Railway Inc. ....................231The Indiana Rail Road Co. ...........................229Finger Lakes Railway Corp. ........................228Huron and Eastern Railway Co. Inc. ............227R. J. Corman Railroad/ Central Kentucky Lines .............................223Georgia & Florida Railnet Inc. .......................222South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad Inc. .....219Great Lakes Central Railroad .......................217Algoma Central Railway Inc. ........................205Lake State Railway Co. ................................202Tazewell & Peoria Railroad ...........................200Kanawha Rail Corp. .................................199Willamette Valley Railway Co........................198Copper Basin Railway Inc. ...........................193Michigan Shore Railroad Inc. .......................186Seminole Gulf Railway L.P. ...........................184Pee Dee River Railroad Corp. ......................163Palouse River & Coulee City Railroad Inc. ...159Alabama Southern Railroad .........................158Fordyce & Princeton Railroad Co. ................155Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway Co. ..............................146Terminal Railway Alabama State Docks ......145Angelina & Neches River Railroad Co. .........132Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad Inc. .........130Alaska Railroad Corp. ..................................127McCloud Railway Co. ................................... 116
Dakota, Missouri Valley & Western Railroad Inc. .............................................. 115Yadkin Valley Railroad .................................. 111R. J. Corman Railroad/Memphis Line ..........107Texas South-Eastern Railroad Co. ...............105Arkansas Midland Railroad Co. Inc. .............104Waterloo Railway Co. .....................................98Cloquet Terminal Railroad Inc. .......................97Little Rock and Western Railway L.P. ............85Tennken Railroad Co. Inc. ..............................83R. J. Corman Railroad/Pennsylvania Lines ....80Fort Smith Railroad Co. .................................. 74Minnesota Commercial Railway Co. .............. 74Quebec & Gatineau Railway ..........................67Upper Merion and Plymouth Railroad Co. .....66North Shore Railroad Co. ..............................65Bay Colony Railroad Corp. .............................62Missouri & Northern Arkansas Railroad Co. ................................................56Lycoming Valley Railroad Co. .........................54Dallas, Garland & Northeastern Railroad ......................................................53Indiana & Ohio Railway...................................52Hainesport Industrial Railroad L.L.C. .............50Wisconsin Chicago Link Ltd...........................49Mid-Michigan Railroad Inc. ............................47Stillwater Central Railroad Co. Inc..................45Sisseton Milbank Railroad Inc. .......................42Texas & New Mexico Division ........................35Texas Northeastern Division, Mid-Michigan Railroad Inc. ........................35Buckingham Branch Railroad Co. .................33Pennsylvania Southwestern Railroad Inc. ......31Dardanelle & Russellville Railroad Co. ...........30Meridian Southern Railway L.L.C. ..................30Huron Central Railway ....................................29Vermont Railway Inc. ......................................27Nash County Railroad Co. Inc. ......................24Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad Co. ............23Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway Corp. ...22Fort Worth & Western Railroad Co. ...............21Blue Mountain Railroad Inc. ...........................20The Clarendon and Pittsford Railroad Co. .....17Housatonic Rail Road Co. Inc. .......................16R. J. Corman Railroad/Western Ohio Lines...15The Belt Railway of Chicago ..........................14Delaware and Hudson Railway Co. Inc..........12Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad Inc. ....10ISG Cleveland Works Railway Co. .................10Lamoille Valley Railroad Co. ...........................10Delray Connecting Railroad .............................9Eastern Idaho Railroad Inc. ..............................8Lancaster & Chester Railroad L.L.C. ................6Twin State Railroad Co. ....................................6Canton Railroad Co. .........................................5R. J. Corman Railroad/Bardstown Line ...........5Georgia Southwestern Railroad Inc. ................4Wallowa Union Railroad Authority ....................3Ashtabula Carson Jefferson Railroad Co. Inc. ...........................................2Georgia Central Railway L.P. . ..........................2Ottawa Central Railway ....................................2South Branch Valley Railroad ..........................2California Northern Railroad Co. ......................1Juniata Valley Railroad Co. ...............................1Pend Oreille Valley Railroad..............................1Stockton Terminal and Eastern Railroad ............................................1Wiregrass Central Railroad Co. Inc. .................1
*Rail-car equipment is listed by AAR reporting mark. Totals do not necessarily reflect North American railroads’ total rail-car ownership.
SOURCE: THE OFFICIAL RAILWAY EQUIPMENT REGISTER, APRIL 2014
Cargill Inc. ..................................................7,064The David J. Joseph Co. ...........................5,834Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. L.P. ...........5,345Union Carbide Corp. ................................. 5,311American Railcar Industries ......................5,242Tate & Lyle Ingredients Americas Inc. .......4,848Georgia Power Co. ....................................4,687American Electric Power Service Corp. ....4,628Formosa Transrail Corp. ............................4,594Mitsui Rail Capital L.L.C. ........................... 4,471Helm Financial Corp. .................................4,438Occidental Chemical Corp. .......................4,346Valero Marketing and Supply Co. .............4,344Alabama Power Co. ..................................4,329Ineos Olefins & Polymers USA, a division of Ineos USA L.L.C. ............... 4,195Progress Metals Reclamation Co. ............3,603Herzog Railroad Services Inc. ...................3,531Nova Chemicals Inc. .................................3,493The Detroit Edison Co. ..............................3,427Scherer Electric Generating Facility ..........3,274Bunge North America Inc. ........................3,263Midwest Generation L.L.C. ....................... 3,103Oxy Vinyls L.P. ...........................................2,927NRG Energy Inc.........................................2,872Phillips 66 Co. ...........................................2,870Adler Funding L.L.C. ..................................2,769Arrendadora Nacional de Carros de Ferrocarril S.A. de C.V. .....................2,682Alliant Energy ............................................. 2,614Koch Rail L.L.C. .........................................2,561Helm - Pacific Leasing ..............................2,495BASF Corp. ...............................................2,470Progress Rail Services Corp. ....................2,447Westlake Polymers L.P. .............................2,446Arkansas Power & Light Co. .....................2,385Chevron U.S.A. Inc. ...................................2,372Cargill Inc. - CGD Division .........................2,370Unimin Corp. .............................................2,303Solvay Chemicals Inc. ..............................2,264The Mosaic Co. ......................................... 2,193GLNX Corp. ............................................... 2,154Xcel Energy ................................................2,081Holcim (U.S.) Inc. .......................................2,057Wisconsin Electric Power Co. ...................2,052
Department of Defense .............................2,048FMC Corp. .................................................2,019Eastman Chemical Co. Inc........................ 2,017Searles Valley Mineral Operations Inc. ...... 1,975Rio Grande Chemical Ltd. ......................... 1,971MidAmerican Energy Co. . ........................1,954RESIDCO .................................................. 1,912Martin Marietta Materials Inc. ....................1,900Western Resources Inc. ............................1,888E.I. Dupont de Nemours & Co. Inc. ..........1,840Consumers Energy Co. ............................. 1,756Olin Chlor Alkalai Logistics ........................ 1,724Crystal Car Line Inc. ..................................1,679Halliburton Energy Services Inc. ............... 1,674BP Amoco Chemical Co. .......................... 1,619Vulcan Materials Co., Construction Materials Group ................1,608Dowell Schlumberger Inc. .........................1,580PCS Phosphate Co. Inc. ...........................1,482Western Fuels Association Inc. .................1,452Reagent Chemical & Research Inc. .......... 1,451Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. ...............1,390Duke Power Co. L.L.C. ..............................1,367Shell Oil Co. ...............................................1,341Cargill Inc. - Salt Division ...........................1,297JAIX Leasing Co. .......................................1,285CAI Rail Inc. ...............................................1,269C.K. Industries Inc. ...................................1,2671
Dak Americas L.L.C. .................................1,261Sultran Ltd. ................................................1,255Sulcom Inc. ...............................................1,245Carolina Power and Light Co. (dba Progress Energy Carolinas) Inc. ....1,225Dow Chemical Canada Inc. ...................... 1,190LaFarge North America Inc. ...................... 1,189Cryo-Trans Inc. .......................................... 1,182Total Petrochemicals USA Inc. .................. 1,180Rail Connection Inc. .................................. 1,167Carmath Inc. ..............................................1,057Pennsylvania Power & Light Co. ...............1,042Statoil Marketing & Trading (US) Inc. .........1,040Omaha Public Power District ....................1,036Americas Styrenics L.L.C. .........................1,027Omnisource Corp. ....................................1,025Georgia Gulf Corp., Plaquemine Division .............................. 1,017Ag Processing Inc. .................................... 1,012PBF Holding Co. ......................................1,005Helm Chesapeake L.P. .................................979Sid Richardson Carbon Co. .........................923The Alberta Government ..............................901Invista S.A.R.L. .............................................886Appalachian Rail Car Services Inc. ..............805Sunoco Inc. (R&M) .......................................794Progress Energy Florida Inc. ........................789Kennecott Utah Copper Corp. .....................775Celtran Inc., a subsidiary of Celanese International Corp. ....................................763Walter Haffner Co. ........................................761Nova Chemicals Ltd. .................................... 742Ineos Styrenics, a Division of Ineos Americas L.L.C. ...............................723Duke Energy Indiana Inc. ............................. 717Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. ...........690J.R. Simplot Co. ...........................................690Fuel Supply Trust ..........................................655
L.G. Everist ...................................................631The Canadian Wheat Board ........................614Compass Capital Corp. ..............................608International Paper Co. ................................607MHC Inc., wholly owned subsidiary of Conagra Food .......................................601Westlake CA & O ..........................................599East Carbon Development Co. ....................585Browner Turnout Co. ....................................577Orion Engineered Carbons ..........................562Arizona Chemical Co....................................561AMG Resources Corp. .................................545Lehigh Cement Co. ......................................540Styron L.L.C. ................................................538PPG Industries Inc........................................531CNLX Canada Inc. ....................................... 516Entergy Gulf States Louisiana L.L.C............. 511EnviroSolutions Inc. ......................................495Webb Asset Management ...........................493Tyson Foods Inc. ..........................................490Cleco Corp. ..................................................479Ferrous Processing and Trading Co. ...........478Orlando Utilities Commission ....................... 474Chevron Oronite Co. ....................................460Ineos Oligomers ...........................................453CHS Inc. .......................................................443Blue Circle Inc. .............................................435Tropicana Transportation Corp. ...................425Western Farmers Electric Coop. ..................423South Dakota Soybean Processors ............. 417National Steel Corp. .....................................405Western Railroad Equipment Co. .................403Kapstone Charleston Kraft L.L.C. ................397Coffeyville Resources Nitrogen Fertilizers L.L.C. .........................................392AEP Generation Resources .........................391Virginia Power ...............................................384CCC Transport Co. ......................................375Univar Canada Ltd. ......................................367Otter Tail Power Co. .....................................362Atel Financial Services .................................360Mississippi Power Co. ..................................357Excel Railcar Corp. .......................................348Structural Metals Inc. ...................................345Keywell Metals L.L.C. ...................................333The PolyOne Co. ..........................................318Portland General Electric Co........................ 311Indiantown Cogeneration .............................308Innophos Inc. ................................................302Southwestern Electric Power Co. ................300Ineos ABS (USA) Corp. ................................288Texas Industries Inc. .....................................286Georgia Pacific Chemicals L.L.C..................273Mittal Steel USA-Incoal ................................273Georgetown Rail Equipment Co. .................267Arkema Inc. ..................................................264Bakery Trading Co. .....................................257MHF Logistical Solutions Inc. .......................257Dairyland Power Cooperative ......................256The Detroit Salt Co. ......................................256Minnesota Soybean Processors ..................254Kemira Logistics Inc. ....................................253Kamin L.L.C. .................................................252Consolidated Grain and Barge Co. ..............251Midwest Ethanol Transport ..........................250
*Rail-car equipment is listed by AAR reporting mark, except where indicated. Totals do not necessarily reflect North American private owners’ total rail-car ownership.1 As of June 2014
2 Approximate number of wholly owned and leased-in cars as of March 31, 2014
3 As of March 31, 2014
SOURCE: THE OFFICIAL RAILWAY EQUIPMENT REGISTER, APRIL 2013 (EXCEPT WHERE INDICATED)
* Includes installations by non-Class Is, shippers, leasing companies and TTX Co.
p Preliminary
Note: Beginning in 1995, “Total” and “Other” categories include Canadian owners. In 2001, CN & Canadian Pacific started counting as their own cars they’d acquired from U.S. railroads in the late 1990s.
Source: AAR
In the fi rst quarter, rail-car orders totaled 24,050 units com-pared with 14,865 units in fourth-quarter 2013 and 23,901 units in fi rst-quarter 2013, according to the American Railway Car Institute Committee of the Railway Supply Institute. Orders totaled 12,753 units in third-quarter 2013 and 14,850 units in second-quarter 2013.
Although tank-car order activity continues to dominate the freight-car environment, officials at Economic Planning Associates Inc. (EPA) say they are “enthused” by the strong recent growth in demand for mid-sized and small-cube cov-ered hoppers, as well as the high level of backlogs for hi-cube equipment.
Demand for tank cars, covered hoppers still strong, EPA says
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Note: Changing traffic mixes, better utilization and higher capacities all contribute to fleet changes. For example, the average capacity for U.S. covered hoppers was 104.2 tons in 2003; by 2012’s end, it had increased to 107.1 tons.
Also: Canadian-owned freight cars are excluded, although many are used in both the United States and Canada. Additional U.S. railroads have been acquired by Canadian companies during the past 10 years and their freight cars are excluded after each acquisition.
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pPreliminary. Note: Non-Class freight railroads had about 4,000 locomotives in service. Class I new installations can be limited by manufacturing capacity and purchases by non-Class Is.
Source: AAR
More power numbersThe 665 new locomotives Class Is placed in service last
year were the most since 2008, and the major railroads
continue to set aside millions of dollars for locomo-
tives and locomotive-related equipment. Union Pacifi c
Railroad increased its total spending plan to $4.1 bil-
lion this year, and the additional capital will be used to
acquire equipment — including 29 more locomotives.
BNSF Railway Inc. set aside $1.6 billion to acquire
locomotives and other equipment (as well as freight
cars). CN’s 2014 equipment expenditure budget is
$300 million and includes the acquisition of 45 more
new high-horsepower locomotives. By year’s end,
the Class I will have acquired 763 high-horsepower
locomotives over a 10-year period, representing more
RAILROADS HAVE TRANSPORTED the lion’s share of coal around the nation for more than 100 years, and fi gure to continue doing so for decades to come. Today, rail still ranks as the dominant mode to move coal from mines to power-generation plants.
In 2013, power plants consumed 858 million tons of coal — accounting for 93 percent of all coal consumed in the United States — and two-thirds of it was trans-ported either completely or in part by rail, according to a U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) news brief issued on June 11.
Electric utilities determine their primary transportation mode based on a power plant’s location and access to a rail system, EIA offi cials said. Rail’s market-share dominance hasn’t changed in recent years, only fl uctuating slightly at times due to changes in utilities’ coal demand, for two main reasons. First, the United States is covered by an extensive rail network; and second, coal is produced in just a few parts of the country — predominantly in the Powder River and Illinois basins, and in Central and Northern Appalachia — but consumed by power plants in 46 of the 48 contiguous states, EIA offi cials said.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recently unveiled “Clean Power Plan” to reduce power plants’ carbon emissions notwithstanding, more coal might move
By Jeff Stagl, Managing Editor
Mines, utilities aim to bolster rail infrastructure at both ends of the coal transportation spectrum so power plants stay fueled
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34 | COAL | PROGRESSIVE RAILROADINGJuly 2014
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by rail in the not-too-distant future. An aging lock system could impact one of the nation’s major river systems, prompting utilities to divert barge shipments.
But mining companies and utilities won’t be eager to use railroads more extensively if it takes a long time to load coal at mines, transport it hundreds or
thousands of miles by rail, and then unload it at power plants. Although each mine differs by terrain and each power plant differs by design or consumption needs, a seamless transportation system is needed to ensure coal gets from an ori-gin to destination as quickly as possible, miners and utilities say.
“The goal is to gain as much speed and effi ciency as possible in the supply chain,” says Betsy Monseu, chief executive offi -cer of the American Coal Council, a coal industry advocacy group that counts mining companies and utilities among its 165 members.
Railroads’ speed and effi ciency have been tested of late because the extremely cold winter and utilities’ historically low stockpile levels caused an unexpected uptick in coal demand earlier this year that pressured the entire supply chain, she says. Railroads didn’t have enough assets in place and remain in a catch-up period, Monseu adds.
“We think this uptick will extend to the end of the year and into 2015,” she says.
Despite any fl uctuations in demand, mining companies and utilities need to ensure they have the optimal rail infra-structure to accommodate coal consump-tion needs, from lead tracks to storage tracks to load-out or unloading facilities to sidings. Some miners now are trying to fulfi ll their future rail infrastructure needs when constructing track, such as by building track that can accommo-date 150-car unit trains even though unit trains now typically range from 120 to 130 cars. And some utilities are aiming to better maintain or upgrade rail infra-structure at their aging power plants.
A Texas two-stepFor Luminant Corp., keeping rail infra-structure in tip-top condition at both ends of the coal transportation supply chain is key. The company operates nine coal mines and four coal-fi red power plants in east and central Texas that receive lignite coal via rail. In total, the utility manages 146 miles of track.
The four power plants typically are located fi ve to 10 miles from a lignite mine. The Big Brown plant uses lignite coal from the company’s Big Brown and Turlington mines, and supplements its fuel needs with Powder River Basin (PRB) coal; the Martin Lake plant uses lignite coal from the Beckville, Oak Hill and Tatum mines, and supplements with PRB coal; the Monticello Plant uses lignite coal from the Thermo and Winfi eld mines, and supplements with PRB coal; and the Oak Grove Plant uses lignite coal from the Kosse mine.
Luminant — which began mining lig-nite coal more than 40 years ago to fuel its fi rst power plant near Fairfi eld, Texas
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Six railroads deliver coal to about 15 plants operated by American Electric Power, which serves customers in 11 states.
— also uses it own railroad to fulfi ll its transportation needs. The Luminant Railroad employs 115 people, and uses 20 locomotives and more than 4,200 rail cars to deliver lignite and western-mined coal every day to the Big Brown, Martin Lake, Monticello and Oak Grove plants.
In 2013, Luminant Railroad hauled 149.8 million ton-miles of lignite and western coal. If the railroad was a short
line, it would be one of Texas’ largest, according to Luminant.
The company is focused on main-tenance to ensure optimal track condi-tions, says Del McCabe, Luminant’s northern region mine director.
Luminant employees inspect all track at least once per week and con-tractors typically perform the mainte-nance work 24/7, he says. In addition,
Luminant contracts fi rms to inspect its rail bridges once per year.
“In spring and fall, we do the heavy track maintenance,” says McCabe. “If there’s cold weather, we might have a track section bust out, and then we need to get contractor out immediately to fi x it quickly.”
Luminant’s rail system is heavily used — it’s not unusual at the Martin Lake plant for the company’s 19-car unit train to operate 24 times in a 24-hour period, he says. At the Oak Grove plant, Luminant Railroad operates two sets of 45-car unit trains 12 to 15 times per day.
“We control our own destiny and don’t rely on someone else — we con-trol coal movements from one end to the other,” says McCabe.
At the three plants that supplement
consumption with PRB coal, one to two unit trains operated by other railroads arrive at the plants daily.
Interchanges with another rail-road were a primary consideration in 2008, when Luminant last constructed new rail infrastructure. The company built a 1.5-mile western coal siding at the Martin Lake plant to improve an interchange with BNSF Railway Co. and boost PRB deliveries.
Maintenance is top of mindAmerican Electric Power (AEP) also counts Class Is among the six railroads that deliver coal to about 15 of its plants. The utility manages more than 100 miles of track at its facilities, including eight miles of track built at its John W. Turk Jr. plant in Fulton, Ark., that opened in December 2012.
Since AEP doesn’t build rail infra-
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structure very often, track maintenance — which varies from plant to plant — is top of mind, says John Hume, AEP’s principal tech specialist-engineering. The company typically hires outside fi rms to perform rail inspections while plants handle any maintenance work.
AEP performs studies to determine if there are better ways to build and main-tain certain rail infrastructure, such as a spur, says Hume.
For the past 10 years, the utility also has used railroads and its rail infrastruc-ture to take delivery of lime and lime-stone at plants for scrubbing and emis-sion controls work. Although the lime and limestone arrives daily, or weekly in some cases, the volumes don’t come any-where close to coal volumes, says Hume.
AEP has developed quite a bit of rail expertise over the years because the plants in service today have been served by railroads since the 1940s, he says. The utility’s overall rail profi ciency dates back even further, Hume adds.
Class I connectionsWe Energies, which provides elec-tric service to customers in portions of Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, also has developed rail expertise over a prolonged period. The utility has worked with railroads for decades at two of its power plants, says John Oswald, We Energies’ coordinator of unit train operations.
Norfolk Southern Railway transports coal from eastern mines to Chicago, where Union Pacifi c Railroad then com-pletes the move to the company’s Oak Creek, Wis., generating complex. Each week, seven to nine 130- or 142-car unit trains serve the plant, which also takes delivery of some western coal via UP. At a Pleasant Prairie, Wis., plant, CN and UP deliver coal from PRB mines via fi ve to seven 137-car unit trains per week.
We Energies concentrates on ongoing track maintenance at the two plants, such as keeping switches in good shape, says Oswald. The company also contracts track inspectors on an annual basis to help ensure rail remains in top condition.
Some of that rail was constructed at the Oak Creek plant in 2008, when We Energies added two power-generating units to increase capacity. The utility needed to increase coal deliveries at the plant to fuel the new units, says Oswald.
The company constructed 17 miles
of track, including two loop tracks de-signed to accommodate 150-car unit trains. We Energies focused on the rail infrastructure within the Oak Creek com-plex while UP worked on the rail leading into the plant, says Oswald, adding that the railroad also improved other track and built a siding.
“All the work improved through-put at the plant, and cycle times
improved,” says Oswald.Now, We Energies offi cials are decid-
ing whether to make rail improvements at the Pleasant Prairie plant. Construc-tion on a track that would be used to maintain rail cars might begin in a year or so, says Oswald. ■
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IF CONTINUOUS-WELDED RAIL (CWR) BUCKLES, bends or breaks during extreme weather condi-tions, a derailment could occur. So, preventing abnormalities in the rail is vital.
Prevention typically involves a couple of steps: First, CWR must be properly “de-stressed” to avoid malformations; and second, workers respon-sible for installing and maintaining CWR need to be properly trained on the rail’s characteristics.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) re-quires all railroads that employ CWR to craft an FRA-approved plan cover-ing procedures for install-ing, adjusting, inspecting and maintaining the rail, which generally is welded together to form uninter-rupted lengths stretching several miles long.
A number of consultants and suppliers offer products and services to help railroads manage CWR. For example, Track Guy Consultants increasingly is contacted by railroads to train their workers to properly install and main-
tain CWR, including rail de-stressing techniques, says John Zuspan, the company’s president. Track Guy Consultants provides track inspection, project management and various other consulting services.
Prior to de-stressing CWR, a railroad needs to determine the correct rail-neutral temperature (RNT) based on a track’s geographic location. The neutral temperature is a point at which the rail is neither expanding nor contracting, or the tempera-ture at which the rail experiences zero longitudinal force.
“The rail neutral temperature is what a lot of people like to call ‘happy rail,’” says Zuspan.
The RNT should not be set too low or high based on a region’s air temperature. The American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) offers a formula to determine a desired RNT. The temperature needs to be monitored to accurately determine if CWR is at risk of buckling or bending.
Stress relieversThere are several ways to de-stress CWR, such as through the use of rail heaters and pullers. Rail-roads determine their preferred method and out-line the process in their FRA-required de-stressing
By Julie Sneider, Associate Editor
Railroads call on consultants, suppliers to help ensure continuous-welded rail doesn’t buckle, bend or break
stress-freeSeeking a
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42 | MOW | PROGRESSIVE RAILROADINGJuly 2014
plan, says Bob Rolf, vice president and general manager of RailWorks Track System Inc.’s South Division based in Hous-ton.
CWR can exceed 400 feet in length, and anything that long requires de-stressing, says Rolf, who currently serves on an AREMA committee that’s trying to update a portion of the as-sociation’s manual pertaining to de-stressing.
Once the desired RNT is determined, the rail is unclipped, heated to the proper temperature and vibrated to get it to reach the desired length.
“You want the rail to uniformly grow and de-stress along the entire particular piece of rail,” says Rolf, adding that crews need to reapply clips to keep the rail from moving and weld the rail at the end of the installation process.
Before de-stressing any existing CWR, track workers need to be well informed of the hazards of working with the rail in order to prevent injuries, Rolf advises.
“It needs to be understood that the existing track could have stored energy,” he says. “It could be in a situation in which [the track] wants to buckle if it’s a hot day. So, you have to train your employees not to simply go down the track and [remove spikes] on a bunch of rail because it could spike out and seri-ously injure someone.”
Balfour Beatty Rail Inc. also helps train railroad workers who install and maintain CWR. The company offers a number of qualifi ed employees who are trained and certifi ed in CWR management and de-stressing operations according to FRA track safety standards, said Balfour Beatty Rail Vice President Mark Snailham in an email.
The company’s CWR management services include VORTOK International’s VERSE® (Vertical Rail Stiffness Equip-ment) testing machine that’s designed to mechanically mea-sure rail temperature to help ensure a railroad achieves the correct RNT. VERSE was fi rst used in the United Kingdom in
1998, then introduced in the United States in 1999. CN began using it in 2002.
Using VERSE machines, Balfour Beatty Rail has performed numerous tests on track operated by Class Is and short lines to help them manage CWR programs and prevent kinks and buckles, said Snailham. The company works with the rail-roads “to make sure the track has the correct profi le, especially in curved track, to prevent creep at the bottom of the slope or gradient,” he added.
Ballast in the balanceMaintaining appropriate ballast levels in the cribs between, on the shoulders of and underneath ties also is a vital part of proper CWR maintenance.
“The No. 1 restraint is the ballast,” says Track Guy Consul-tants’ Zuspan. “When a buckle happens, a lot of times the bal-last is missing on the shoulder.”
According to a research report on track buckling issued by the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center in Novem-ber 2013, maintaining ballast levels in CWR helps ensure a
“stress-free” state. A full ballast section is important, especially on curves, the report stated. Adequate ballast in the high side in curves should reach 12 to 18 inches to provide adequate lateral strength.
“Ballast on the low side is important because inward (pull-ing-in) movement in cold weather could lead to line defects and lowering of neutral temperature, which could lead to a buckle when higher temperature rises occur in early spring,” the report stated.
Monitoring rail temperature and stress conditions can go a long way toward preventing track buckles, according to L.B. Foster Co.’s Salient Systems Inc. To that end, the company of-fers the RailStress Monitor™, a strain-gage system that is micro-welded directly to the rail in order to measure longitudinal
stress and rail temperature.The strain gage contains a sensor that gathers real-time in-
formation and reports it to L.B. Foster’s IntelliTrack® Navigator wayside reader. Under normal conditions, the data is collected at various points throughout the day. But if the data indicates the rail is at a “state of alarm” — or at risk of buckling or break-ing — the system transmits that information immediately so that corrective action can be taken, says Walt Spicker, Salient Systems’ principal engineer.
Introduced in 2006, the RailStress Monitor has been in-stalled by railroads across the globe, according to the com-pany. In some cases, railroads install the monitor in potential problem areas or to determine if conditions are right for a rail buckle in a particular location, says Phil Huebner, Salient Systems’ technical sales director.
Eye on Mother NatureHuebner expects demand for the RailStress Monitor to grow as railroads assess and address the impact of unusual or extreme weather conditions on their rail networks. For example, record-high heat in parts of North America two summers ago prompted a rash of emails to Salient Systems from railroads seeking better ways to detect rail-buckle con-ditions, Huebner says.
Monitorization and detection are the primary goals of a system developed by ProTran Technology and QinetiQ North America in 2012. The companies teamed up to craft
the Intelligent Rail Integrity System™ (IRIS), a real-time net-work of remote sensors that can test and evaluate CWR.
The system is designed to continuously monitor changes in rail temperature, stress and rail neutral temperature. If buckles or breaks in the CWR are detected, IRIS alerts the operator to the event’s location through an emergency notifi cation system.
Each of IRIS’ six- to eight-inch wireless sensors fi t in the web of a rail. The sensors can detect if the rail has experienced any major change that would indicate the situation is right for a rail kink, buckle or break, says ProTran President Peter Bartek, adding that the system can be installed on existing or new rail.
So far, the system has been deployed by eight major rail-roads and transit agencies, he says. Transit agencies that have deployed IRIS are relying on the system to monitor CWR con-dition in potentially troublesome areas, Bartek adds.
In April, ProTran announced it received a grant from the Transportation Research Board to further develop IRIS so the system can provide advance warning of buckles and breaks along curves and at abutments, he says. The grant proceeds also will be used to extend the wireless sensor’s battery life longer than one year.
As ProTran continues to develop IRIS, the system likely will become more widely adopted, Bartek believes.
“In the next fi ve years, I suspect every railroad — Class Is and transits — will be using this technology,” he says. ■
Herzog Services Inc.Speed and accuracy drive rail inspection, and the need to provide customers with quality service and minimal disruption to traffi c is “the driving force behind every technological improvement with Herzog Services Inc.’s rail-fl aw detection equipment,” com-pany offi cials say.
At Herzog Services, a team of software and hardware engi-neers seek ways to improve the accuracy of acquisition hard-ware and software. All new digitizing circuits are designed to take advantage of new chipsets available for increased de-tection capabilities, versatility and durability; improvements to detection algorithms are ongoing and tested to increase accuracy, reduce false calls and alleviate time spent on irrel-evant indications, the company says. These measures help increase the average test speed by reducing times the vehicle is stopped while providing accurate testing equipment. Test speeds also can be improved by employing post-verifi cation in a chase consist.
Established in 1992, Herzog Services continues to explore new developments to improve wireless communications be-tween the lead car and chase vehicle for robust two-car sys-tems, as well as real-time data transmissions of test data to the home offi ce for quality review and analysis.
dFuzion Inc.dFuzion’s rMetrix® is a ride performance assessment system that measures, stores, analyzes and displays ride quality, ride com-fort and vehicle/track interaction data. Incorporating advanced Global Positioning System (GPS) and accelerometer sensors with an easy-to-use control software interface, rMetrix is “effective in assessing maintenance activities and safety in real-time, in ac-cordance with worldwide track safety standards,” the company says. Designed for the individual inspector as well as organiza-tions, rMetrix runs on a standard laptop, meaning inspections can be performed at any time and on any vehicle — eliminating the logistics and costs associated with dedicated test vehicles or permanently affi xed sensors, the company says.
rMetrix-A is an autonomous, compact and portable ver-sion of rMetrix, and is designed for organizations that need to continually monitor ride quality, and track and vehicle safety conditions with limited inspectors or resources. Using rMetrix-A for continuous track inspection activities affords “rapid identifi cation and prioritization of locations for cor-rective and preventive maintenance, as well as the detection
Detecting a trendSuppliers offer an array of maintenance-of-way detection equipment — from rail-fl aw detection to ride performance assessment to rail cant and clearance measurement to high-speed tribometers and automated inspection systems
dFuzion Inc. The company’s rMetrix® is a ride performance assessment system that runs on a standard laptop.
Herzog Services Inc. The company offers rail-fl aw detection equipment.
of vehicle and track abnormalities that may impact passenger comfort, cargo integrity, equipment reliability and operational safety,” the company says.
Holland L.P.Recent federal regulations require the inclusion of rail cant ex-ceptions reporting as a means to identify rail seat abrasions on concrete ties. Rail cant exceptions indicate improprieties at the rail/tie interface on wood ties, too. The angular measurement from a reference plane required to evaluate rail cant is diffi cult to perform in the fi eld, as Holland L.P. offi cials note. “Even veri-
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HOCHLEISTUNG I PRÄZISION I ZUVERLÄSSIGKEIT
www.plasseramerican.com
The quality of track geometry achieved by maintenance machines, such as
tamping machines, is directly related to the quality of the track geometry
data collected and the correction values provided to the machine. Plasser’s
high speed, high tech Track Geometry Recording Cars have provided rail-
roads world-wide with accurate geometry data for many decades. The
interchangeability of recorded data from the Track Geometry Cars with the
guidance system of Plasser machines increases track quality and producti-
fying rail cant exceptions reported from automated track geometry measurement systems can be challenging,” they say.
Enter the company’s patent-pending Rail Cant Measurement Tool, which is designed to provide a convenient, high-ly simplifi ed solution for fi eld measure-ment and verifi cation of rail cant.
Lightweight and compact, the por-table, 15-pound tool positively clamps to the rail head for accurate measure-
ment. An easy-to-interpret gauge pro-vides instant measurement of the rail cant. It fi ts 115- to 141-pound standard rail; the measurements gauge can be ordered with either positive or negative standard orientation, the company says. The scale either can reference absolute or relative measurement standard (mea-sured in degrees), and the standard tool is specifi ed for measurement on 1:40 design cant. Customized solutions for
non-standard design cant are available. The tool includes calibration verifi cation block and an optional carrying case.
L.B. Foster Co.L.B. Foster Co.’s High Speed Rail Tribom-eter (HSRT) is used to collect fi eld mea-sured data about the Coeffi cient of Fric-tion (COF) at both the top-of-rail surface and the gauge face surface. The data can be used to improve the effi ciency of the operator’s lubrication system based on specifi c track and traffi c conditions. The HSRT is pushed by a hi-rail truck, housing some of the data collection equipment and equipped with a power generator and air compressor supporting the HSRT.
The HSRT generates COF measure-ments for the surfaces of both rails measured at two-second intervals and is collected while traveling at speeds of 15 mph to 25 mph. Data is then linked to the customer’s displayed milepost system. “Accurate interpretation of this
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This changeseverything.
Aurora translates tie inspectioninto savings and safety.
To learn more visitwww.auroratrackinspection.com
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GEORGETOWN RAILEQUIPMENT COMPANYU.S. Patent No 7,616,329;
8,081,320 & 8,209,145
Aurora inspects your ties with innovative equipment.Installed on a hi-rail pickup, Aurora conducts a 3D scan of the entire track at speeds of up to 42 miles per hour. Day or night, Aurora generates data that is 97% repeatable,
with fewer variations and inconsistencies than manual visual scans.
Aurora uploads your scanneddata to high-speed servers.Don’t hassle with translation by hand. Tie
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Wood Tie Grading
Throughout
Rail Base Corrosion/Chipping
Concrete
Holland L.P. The company offers the patent-pending Rail Cant Measurement Tool.
L.B. Foster Co. Shown: The company’s High Speed Rail Tribometer, pushed by a hi-rail truck.
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Harsco RailA world class solution for track maintenance and construction.
Harsco Rail is a global leader for railway track maintenance and construction. Harsco Rail engineers high quality equipment, cutting-edge technology, and global support, taking care of customers’ needs for virtually all major aspects of track maintenance and construction for over 100 years. At AREMA 2014, Harsco Rail will be showcasing our Production/Switch Tampers, Drone Tamper, Aftermarket Rebuilds, and Rail Safety Solutions.
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PROGRESSIVE RAILROADINGJuly 2014 | 49
data can optimize rail and wheel fl ange lubrication programs, generating substantial savings through extended rail and/or wheel life, reduced fuel consumption and noise abatement,” the company says.
L.B. Foster also can provide an analysis of the data, includ-ing recommendations on the appropriate type of lubrication method to use (hi-rail, on board or wayside), proper lubrica-tion substances to use, correct use of existing equipment and installation of new equipment.
Plasser American Corp.Railroads pass platforms and run through tunnels, under bridg-es or by other wayside facilities, which makes accurate clearance knowledge crucial. To determine a safe route, railroads must per-form clearance measures. And there are several ways to measure clearance, including non-contacting laser measurement, Plasser American Corp. offi cials say.
“The latest developments in technology in regard to speed, accuracy and resolution now allow recording and analyzing cross-sectional clearance profi les at track speed in real-time by using a non-contacting laser scanner as offered as part of Plasser’s product line,” the company says.
Plasser’s High Speed Clearance Measurement System re-cords and analyzes the clearance in real time, factoring in an array of track geometry parameters simultaneously. System users can measure ballast formation and detection of areas with “ballast excess or defi cit,” left and right adjacent track center position, left and right adjacent platform position, plat-form roof edge position, select power rail components and catenary wire position, Plasser says.
Data is analyzed in real time, but also can be viewed and analyzed in an off-board environment. When recorded in combination with driver’s view and track component video systems, video images and crosscuts can be viewed off-board side by side, enhancing the data evaluation and verifi cation process without the need to walk the track, the company says.
Georgetown Rail Equipment Co.Georgetown Rail Equipment Co.’s (GREX) Aurora® Automated Tie Inspection system is a tool that provides tie condition assess-ment and replacement planning. Featuring high-speed cameras and lasers, Aurora provides an accurate representation of tie con-
Plasser American Corp. Shown: a Plasser Measuring Car with a Clearance Scanner mounted to the front.
▲ FREE INFO: Circle 023
Georgetown Rail Equipment Co. The Aurora® Automated Tie Inspection system provides tie condition assessment and replacement planning.
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dition while assigning each tie its own precise and unique GPS location information.
GREX also develops “exclusive wood tie grading models for each customer,” allowing for automated Federal Railroad Administration 39-foot tie condition assessments, the iden-tifi cation of failed tie clusters and evaluations of tie support conditions at joint bars, the company says. Recently added functionality allows for rail end height mismatch measure-ment at rail joints.
Aurora technology also enables users to detect and provide location data for rail seat deterioration found in concrete ties on heavy-axle load corridors. “Today, concrete tie inspections in-corporate fastener assessments, which include measurements to determine if a fastener is properly ‘seated,’” GREX says.
Within the tie inspection data, Aurora also provides loca-tions of switches, crossings and open deck bridges, while cal-culating track curvature. Rail anchor inventory and spiking pattern compliance also are reported. GREX recently delivered a new data viewer to customers, enabling on-screen two- and three-dimensional viewing of tie inspection data fully corre-lated to geographic location.
Vossloh Signaling Inc.A broken rail can happen anywhere, at any time and for a variety of reasons, and is “considered to be a leading cause of all railroad accidents,” say offi cials at Vossloh Signaling Inc., which offers the
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Vossloh Signaling Inc. Shown: The company’s Broken Rail Detection system on a Class I railroad.
Broken Rail Detection (BRD) system. A compact, low-powered solution, the BRD system pro-
vides indications to the train crew via wayside high-visibil-ity light-emitting diode (LED) indicators, letting them know whether the block ahead is free of broken rails. Vossloh
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HARD AT WORK MEETING THE CHANGINGNEEDS OF TODAY'S RAIL INDUSTRY
Wherever freight and passenger railroads are working hard, L.B. Foster is hard at work. Our global team provides product innovation, single source convenience and turnkey project management for today's changing rail markets.
Rail Products
800.255.4500www.lbfoster.com
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52| PROGRESSIVE RAILROADINGJuly 2014
Signaling recently implemented a suc-cessful proof-of-concept project, testing BRD on 11 miles of track in Australia.
ENSCO Rail Inc.ENSCO Rail Inc. supplies automated track inspection equipment and services, and advanced track data management and maintenance planning tools. The offerings provide detection of safety-critical issues, as well as long-range maintenance plan-ning and prediction capabilities.
The company’s equipment product line features a range of measurement and vision technologies for track inspec-tion cars, including track geometry, rail profi le, third rail, gauge restraint, rail corrugation and ride quality measure-ment systems. ENSCO also offers video imaging and machine vision detection capabilities for ties, fasteners, joints and rail surface inspection. Recent product line updates include autonomous in-spections of vehicle/track interaction (V/TI Monitors) and track geometry (ATGMS) whereby measurements are recorded from revenue-service vehicles and results are automatically processed and sent to track maintainers for repair.
Additionally, ENSCO has added a new lightweight track geometry system — RailScan Lite-TGMS — to its product portfolio for installation on standard hi-rail platforms for use by track inspectors. The product offers a “simple hardware package with single-screen laptop in-terface to provide high-quality track ge-ometry measurements and evaluations,” the company says. ■
PROGRESSIVE RAILROADINGJuly 2014 | ADVERTISER INDEX | 53
COMPANY PAGE CIRCLE # COMPANY PAGE CIRCLE #
Reader Information CenterIt’s easy to get the product information you want.Use the product information card in this issue and circle the numbers that correspond with the products you want information on. Then either mail the card or fax it to 888-847-6035.
Advertising SalesPUBLISHER/WESTERN UNITED STATES SALESKirk Bastyr9219 US Highway 42, #D-259, Prospect, KY 40059502/500-3524; [email protected]
EASTERN UNITED STATES Bridget Quaglia, Eastern Regional Sales Manager1602 Cleveland Ave., Wyomissing, PA 19610610/207-0252; [email protected]
CENTRAL UNITED STATESMike Singler, Central Regional Sales Manager16019 Hometown Drive, Plainfield, lL 60586815/302-7055; [email protected]
MEXICO, LATIN AMERICA AND SOUTH AMERICACesar Mijares, Regional Sales ManagerP.O. Box 158, Pelion, SC 29123803/894-4196; [email protected]
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INDEPENDENT MANUFACTURERS’ REPRESENTATIVEWe are a prominent Maintenance-of-Way Products Manufacturer seeking an Independent Manufacturers’ Representative selling to Class 1 railroads in the western United States. Specifically, BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad. Our improved and expanded product line offers Class I customers excellent quality, delivery and value. Manufacturers’ representative will work closely with our inside sales associates and our engineering associates for sales sup-port and technical assistance. We have been in business for over 100 years. This is an excellent opportunity to work with a recognized, well-established company selling high quality, widely accepted products in the rail industry. Send inquiries to: Progressive Railroading, 2100 W. Florist Ave., Drawer 452, Milwaukee, WI 53209
Transportation Safety Specialist (Rail)The National Transportation Safety Board is hiring for a Transportation Safety Specialist that serves as a recognized expert in rail transportation safety, with general knowledge of intermodal safety issues. If you are interested in this position please go to https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/369916000
MAINTENANCE SPECIALIST ($25.37-$31.62)Under moderate supervision, performs complex and special-ized troubleshooting and preventive and corrective mainte-nance of rail transit vehicles. For more information visit our website. Employment Contact: www.metro.net
Professional Services Directory RatesPer column inch (3.375” x 1” deep), per insertion
National Sales ManagerKnox Kershaw Inc., manufacturer of Railway Maintenance Equipment, is soliciting resumes for the position of National Sales Manager. We are seeking a seasoned equipment sales professional with at least 5 years knowledge and experi-ence with Maintenance of Way equipment. This position will be responsible for managing equipment sales to Class 1`s and Transits as well as developing new sales within the U.S. Extensive travel will be required. Competitive benefit and salary package. Background and drug test required. Apply for this position by submitting resume and salary require-ments to [email protected] with the subject line of National Sales Manager. Knox Kershaw Inc.----Improving the Productivity of Railway Track Maintenance Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/V/D
Rail Market ManagerContech Engineered Solutions is seeking a Market Manager to join our National Sales Team. The ideal candidate will have an engineering degree, 5+ years of Rail industry experi-ence, and a passion for business development and building customer relationships. This is a newly created position with great opportunities for career growth. Based anywhere in the continental United States, the Rail Market Manager will travel 50-60% of the time, working with our Technical Sales Engineers, creating relationships with Railroad architects/engineers, and conducting product presentations, performing needs analysis and specification development. Apply Online: https://career4.successfactors.com/sfcareer/jobreqcaree
Heavy Construction SuperintendentsA well-established, 100% employee owned, heavy-highway contractor is seeking superintendents with a minimum 5 yrs. of verifiable experience. We are looking for safety conscious individuals to work with our project managers to manage the day to day responsibilities of running self-perform projects such as highway and railroad bridges, power plant work, and waste and water treatment plants. These individuals will be enthusiastic, cost conscious, and organized. Computer literate preferred, but if not we will train. Some travel will be required, with expenses reimbursed. Excellent salary w/attractive benefit package. If you are presently working as a foreman and feel ready to advance in your career please con-tact us. Apply by resume to: PO Box 37270, Louisville, KY 40233, Fax: 502/992-3734 or email [email protected]. DRUG FREE WORKPLACE,EOE,M/F/Disabled/Veteran
Railroad Accident InvestigatorPosition is responsible for organizing, managing and coor-dinating the investigation of major railroad transportation accidents and developing and presenting reports with safety recommendations for adoption by the Board. May also serve as a Group Chairperson. Contact: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/371696100
Experienced Trackwork Engineer - Top PayUNITRAC is seeking an experienced Trackwork Engineer with advanced proficiency in Auto CAD Inventor or equivalent 2D drafting software. Will offer industry-best pay to a candi-date that can offer exemplary trackwork engineering skills. Must have at least 10 + years’ experience if no degree OR Engineering Degree and 5+ Years’ Experience in special track-work design. Please visit www.unitracrail.com.
Boom/Apprentice/Grapple Truck OperatorUNITRAC Railroad Materials, Inc. is seeking a Boom/Apprentice/Grapple Truck Operator to operate and maintain several types of heavy equipment. Extensive travel is required. Must have a current Commercial Driver’s License. Please visit www.unitracrail.com.
Southwestern Railroad ManagementSouthwestern Railroad is looking for a Team Leader in both the Operations and Safety aspect of Railroading in Carlsbad, NM. Contact: [email protected]
EXPERIENCED RAIL PROFESSIONALSTHE RAILROAD GROUP, LLC: The Premier Railroad Contractor in the Northeast is currently looking for Experienced Candidates who are Qualified, Enthusiastic, and Hard Working Individuals for the following positions: *Track Construction Superintendent *Project Manager *Project Estimator *Project Engineer *Exp. Track Equipment Operator EEO/AA employers Forward inquiries /resumes to: [email protected]
An article about two genuine articles I met Steve Bolte when he joined Progressive Rail-roading in the summer of 1998. The Sosa-McGwire Summer. Class Is were struggling mightily with mega mergers. Clean-slate railroaders were rethinking Mexico’s rail map. Google’s founders were preparing to fi le incorporation papers. Progressive Railroading was focusing solely on magazine publishing.
Sixteen summers later, the Sosa-McGwire thing is ephemeral, back-of-the-baseball-card stuff. The merger messes have long since been mopped up. Mexico’s privatized railroads continue to push the growth envelope. Google is a noun and a verb, and approaching “ineffable” status. And more and more of our readers/audience members are tracking the North American rail evolution via online information delivery vehicles and “live” events, as our friend and now former colleague Steve notes in his farewell message (see page 12). On June 30, he left his post as Progressive Railroading’s pub-lisher to join Harsco Rail as senior director of North American sales.
As publisher, Steve carried the “Progressive Railroading” fl ag with a down-to-earth graciousness. He wore his commitment — to his customers
and colleagues — on his sleeve, just as he will at Harsco Rail. Steve’s the real deal. You always know where he’s coming from. And where his heart is.
It’s been a privilege to work with him as we’ve navigated the rail and information-delivery landscape shifts. He knocked himself out to do his part to help us get better, and for that, I’ll always be grateful.
I’ll miss his collaborative spirit, as well as the color he added (Carolina Blue, usually) to the conversation, if not our print magazine color palette. But I’ll see him out there in rail country, so the conversation will continue. Thanks for making a difference here, Steve. I know you’ll do the same at this next destination. You’re getting one of the good ones, Harsco Railers. And so are we in the professional who has replaced Steve as publisher: Kirk Bastyr.
Kirk, who has spent most of his career in senior-level advertising agency positions, brings his own brand of leadership to the table. He has extensive experience developing traditional, digital and integrated market-ing campaigns for an array of clients — including 10 years working with rail-industry clients. So Kirk knows a thing or two about navigating those aforementioned landscape shifts. He’s also a good listener. And like Steve, Kirk is a team player — the genuine article. We’re behind both of them as they embark on their respective next-level journeys.
Steve Bolte knocked himself out to help us get better, and for that, I’ll always be grateful.
56 | FROM THE EDITOR | PROGRESSIVE RAILROADINGJuly 2014
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