Prototype News

The Finger Lakes Rail Experience, which started earlier this year on the Finger Lakes Railway, is extending its season into fall with a series of trips from Waterloo, N.Y. The 90-minute rides are scheduled to run every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday starting September 19 and ending October 19 (excluding the first weekend of October). 

“This special excursion celebrates everything there is to love about fall in the Finger Lakes,” said Chris Homco, General Manager of the Finger Lakes Rail Experience. “It’s a relaxing, nostalgic journey perfect for couples, families, and groups looking to make new memories.”

The excursion features five vintage passenger cars provided by URHS, some of which became available when Amtrak cancelled charters out of New York Penn Station earlier this year due to an extensive tunnel repair project affecting the schedule. The cars include observation-lounge Hickory Creek (Pullman, 1948, the tail car from New York Central’s famed 20th Century Limited), tavern-lounge NYC 43 (Budd, 1947), and NYC sleeper-buffet-lounge Swift Stream (Budd, 1949). To support this expanded service schedule, URHS also refurbished tavern-lounge NYC 37 (Budd, 1947) and Pennsylvania Railroad coach 1547 (Budd, 1949, ex-PRR sleeper Cambridge Inn). The trains are led by Finger Lakes locomotives (usually one of the road’s B23-7s). 

Tickets are on sale now. For detailed schedules and reservation information, please visit the FLX Rail Experience website.

—Railfan & Railroad Staff

The post Finger Lakes Rail Experience to Offer Fall Excursions appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine.

The DART Board on Sept. 9 approved service cuts that will start January 2026, according to WFAA-TV, an ABC affiliate in Dallas. In addition to seven bus routes that will be discontinued, other bus and light rail routes, it said, will have reduced weekday peak service frequencies.

“A Title VI equity assessment found the $24 million service change proposal would ‘disparately affect minority communities,’ but DART staff also proposed a mitigation plan that includes making replacement services available for discontinued ones and restoring peak frequency to previous levels for certain routes as part of future service changes,” the media outlet reported.

According to DART Chief Communications officer Jeamy Molina, the approved service changes “reflect the least possible impact to our riders, ensuring that essential connections remain intact while allowing us to address the operational realities of a growing transit system,” WFAA-TC reported.

The service changes, the media outlet said, are due “in part from a new General Mobility Program approved earlier this year to return 5% of the sales tax revenue to the cities that contributed more to the [DART] agency than they received in transit services. Plano was among cities eligible for the program.”

DART Board Member Anthony Ricciardelli, who represents Plano, cited a 2023 Ernst & Young report at the Board meeting “that he said found a $65 million disparity between what Plano contributes to DART and expenditures DART makes in Plano.” 

“I find that $65 million disparity between what Plano contributes to DART and what DART reinvests in Plano through services to be unsustainable,” WFAA-TV reported Ricciardelli as saying.

According to WFAA-TV, “Plano, Highland Park, Irving, Carrollton and Farmers Branch were among DART member cities last year that officially said they wanted to reduce their sales tax allocations to DART, and Plano officials had pushed for legislation to reduce DART funding.”

LACMTA on Sept. 11 released the FEIR for the C Line Extension to Torrance, which would expand light rail service deeper into the South Bay, from the Metro K Line’s Redondo Beach (Marine) station to the planned Torrance Transit Center station (see map above). The project is slated to provide faster and more reliable connections while giving riders a 19-minute trip from Torrance to LAX. The project is funded in part by the voter-approved Measures R and M.

Construction could start as early as 2027, and the extension is estimated to open in 2036, LACMTA reported. 

The FEIR reflects input from more than 2,000 public comments and includes design refinements, clarifications, and corrections. LACMTA also released updated cost estimates and a report about the real estate acquisitions that would be required to complete the project.

All these materials are available on a website designed to make the FEIR easier to navigate, according to LACMTA. It includes frequently asked questions and a short video to help the public review the report and understand the next steps.

In May 2024, the LACMTA Board approved the proposed route, the Hybrid Alternative, also known as the Locally Preferred Alternative, to follow its existing Harbor Subdivision right-of-way. It combines elevated, at-grade (street level) and trench (below street level) sections. At key crossings, such as 170th Street and 182nd Street, the tracks will be placed below roadways in trenches to improve safety, reduce noise and avoid traffic delays for pedestrians and motorists.

LACMTA also has proposed improvements to an existing freight line, which it said would “create a safer, quieter rail corridor.” By making use of LACMTA-owned right-of-way, the route is said to minimize the impact to local property while balancing cost efficiency and community concerns.

The extension will allow riders to travel to Inglewood entertainment venues, including SoFi Stadium, the YouTube Theater, the Kia Forum, Intuit Dome, LAX and downtown Los Angeles with convenient transfers to Metro’s growing rail system serving Santa Monica, East Los Angeles and beyond. The alignment would extend the line approximately 4.5 miles from Redondo Beach (Marine) Station to the Torrance Transit Center and includes two new stations serving Redondo Beach and Torrance. Once in operation, the extension would support more than 11,500 daily trips, attract up to 1.49 million new riders annually and reduce vehicle miles traveled on local roads by nearly 19.5 million miles each year.

By 2045, jobs in the South Bay are projected to grow nearly twice as fast as the population, while congestion could increase by almost 30%, according to LACMTA. The C Line Extension to Torrance, it said, “offers a cost-effective way to add capacity, ease traffic, and strengthen the region’s economy.”

The Metro Board of Directors is expected to consider certification of the FEIR and project approval this fall. If approved, LACMTA said it will move forward with design and engineering, First/Last Mile planning with cities and preparations for construction.

The post Transit Briefs: DART, LACMTA appeared first on Railway Age.

The government of Canada on Sept. 11 reported that the Contrecoeur Container Terminal project in Montréal, Quebec, is part of the first series of projects being referred to the new Major Projects Office (MPO) for consideration, and that several strategies, including for the Port of Churchill and Alto High-Speed Rail projects, “could be truly transformative for this country.”

According to the government, the Contrecoeur Container Terminal project at the Port of Montreal in Central and Eastern Canada would expand the current port infrastructure, adding port terminals and additional wharves, as well as other infrastructure that would increase the port’s handling capacity by about 60% along the St. Lawrence River, one of Canada’s trade arteries. The project would include the construction of a 675-meter wharf with two berths to accommodate vessels from 39,000 to 75,400 deadweight tons, as well as the development of a seven-track rail yard, a container storage and handling area, an intermodal rail yard, support buildings, rail and road access, and a truck control area.

Minister @DLeBlancNB announced that the #PortMTL Contrecœur expansion project is included on the preliminary list of major national projects under Bill C-5 https://t.co/eePB3D3qqO#MajorProject #ContrecoeurTerminal pic.twitter.com/lHqffZsi0j

“Investing in critical port infrastructure now will prevent significant congestion and capacity issues, which could lead to higher transportation costs for businesses and consumers,” the government of Canada said. “Greater port capacity builds resilience in Canada’s supply chain and empowers Canadian exporters to sell their products on international markets.”

The Contrecoeur Container Terminal project is part of the first series of projects being advanced to the MPO for consideration. The other projects are: LNG Canada Phase 2, Kitimat, British Columbia; Darlington New Nuclear Project, Bowmanville, Ontario; McIlvenna Bay Foran Copper Mine Project, East-Central Saskatchewan; and Red Chris Mine expansion, Northwest British Columbia. Together, these projects are said to represent investments of more than C$60 billion.

“The first projects have achieved many regulatory milestones and have undertaken extensive engagement with Indigenous Peoples, provincial governments, local authorities, proponents, and other stakeholders,” the government of Canada reported. “For these first projects, the work of the MPO will be to close final regulatory and permitting gaps, coordinate with provinces and territories, and ensure financing plans can be achieved. As well, it will recommend to the federal government to ensure proponents can make final investment decisions in the right timeframe.”

In addition to these projects, the government of Canada said it “believes that there are several strategies for projects that could be truly transformative for this country, which are at an earlier stage and require further development.” Those related to rail include:

• “Port of Churchill Plus: Rooted in partnership with Indigenous Peoples, including in co-operation with Manitoba’s Crown-Indigenous Corporation, this project will upgrade the Port of Churchill and expand trade corridors with an all-weather road, an upgraded rail line, a new energy corridor, and marine ice-breaking capacity. The approach will prioritize Indigenous equity ownership in developing the projects needed to turn the Port of Churchill into a major four‑season and dual-use gateway for the region. Expanded export capacity in the North through Hudson Bay will contribute to increased and diversified trade with Europe and other partners, while more strongly linking Churchill to the rest of Canada.”
• “Alto High-Speed Rail: Canada’s first high-speed railway, spanning approximately 1,000 km from Toronto to Québec City and reaching speeds of up to 300 km/hour to cut travel times in half and connect close to half of Canada’s population. This is a project that could create 51,000 jobs during construction and inject up to $35 billion into our GDP—with a target of 25 million tonnes in emissions savings. The MPO will work to accelerate engineering, regulatory, and permitting work to enable construction of the project to start in four years, cutting the original eight-year timeline in half.”

The government of Canada said the MPO will create business development teams that will work with private-sector proponents, provinces, territories, and Indigenous Peoples to advance these two concepts plus four others—Critical Minerals Strategy, Wind West Atlantic Energy, Pathways Plus, and Arctic Economic and Security Corridor—so that projects “have certainty in regulatory process and timing to accelerate Canada’s ability to attract broad sources of capital to grow, diversify, and strengthen our economy.”

• Canada Dumps VIA Rail Brand for Private ‘Alto’ HSR
• For Canada’s HBRY, Port of Churchill, another C$175MM

The post Canada’s MPO Set to Review New Projects appeared first on Railway Age.

Genesee & Wyoming Canada Inc. (G&W Canada) on Sept. 11 reported that subsidiary Alberta Heartland Railway (AHR) has entered into various agreements with Gasia Energy Corp., including a long-term lease of more than 50 acres at Gasia’s planned energy complex in Strathcona County, Alberta, where the railroad intends to construct and operate a multi-service rail terminal.

Located east of the North Saskatchewan River on Highway 830 between Highway 15 and Township Road 560, the proposed terminal is near several large industrial facilities within the Alberta Industrial Heartland and contiguous to Canadian Pacific Kansas City and CN rail lines, according to G&W Canada. Once fully built, the terminal will offer multiple loop tracks, storage for up to 1,200 railcars, and railcar-to-truck transloading.

“After launching Red Deer Railway, our first short line in western Canada, late last year and securing a rail switching contract at the Heartland Petrochemical Complex earlier this year, shippers in the Alberta Industrial Heartland are recognizing G&W Canada’s broad logistics expertise and our commitment to safe, reliable, and efficient rail service,” said Michael Miller, CEO of Genesee & Wyoming Inc., parent company of G&W Canada. “As the global energy market remains critical for economic growth, Gasia and other shippers can reach customers overseas and throughout Canada and the rest of North America with AHR’s connection to the full North American freight-rail network.”

“Gasia is pleased to be partnering with AHR and to be its anchor tenant for loading bitumen and other products from the Gasia Homestead Diluent Recovery Unit (DRU) Project,” Gasia CEO Samer Salameh said. “The Homestead DRU will allow Canadian producers to deliver heavy crude throughout North America safely and efficiently using rail, and the AHR loading facility will provide an exceptional opportunity to transload and transport undiluted bitumen (Neatbit) with access to both CPKC and CN Class I rail systems.”

According to G&W Canada, construction of both AHR’s terminal and Gasia’s DRU is expected to be carried out in multiple phases, contingent upon the receipt of various approvals.

G&W Canada reported that the proposed terminal and related freight operation would expand its footprint to include 11 short lines spanning more than 1,000 miles across five provinces, independent railcar and locomotive repair operations, and a contract rail services business.

Separately, Cando Rail & Terminals will use a recently closed C$100 million loan from Canada Infrastructure Bank to double the capacity of its CN-served Sturgeon Terminal in Alberta.

The post AHR to Launch Alberta Rail Terminal appeared first on Railway Age.

This just in, from Union Pacific: “CEO Jim Vena was honored to meet [POTUS 47] in the Oval Office, a special place for America with a longstanding history. They discussed how creating an American transcontinental railroad is a win for U.S. competition, consumers, and the unionized workers whose jobs will be protected when the merger is approved, allowing railroads to grow and take more trucks off taxpayer funded highways. They also addressed the safety and security of all Americans, and that we regularly collaborate with communities to keep our employees and customers’ cargo safe.”

Note UP’s statement says “when,” not “if,” the merger is approved.

Vena’s hat-in-hand pilgrimage to POTUS 47, where he no doubt spent the first 10 minutes fawning over and congratulating the President—as is expected of even world leaders darkening this President’s White House doorstep—is no surprise. Vena has put UP shareholders on the hook for a $2.5 billion breakup fee should the merger with NS be disallowed by regulators. Vena’s career and reputation are on the line. Ukraine’s Volodymir Zelenskyy learned at great pain current White House protocols. 

That said, the STB is an independent (of the Executive Branch) regulatory agency, but pardon impartial observers for their skepticism, especially following POTUS 47’s firing of STB Democratic member Robert E. Primus, whose past votes suggested he would be a “no” vote on UP+NS. 

Add to this the Republican-controlled Senate’s scuttling Sept. 11 of that chamber’s precedents by lowering the 60-vote threshold for approving Presidential nominees to just a simple majority. The result effectively blocks in-the-minority Democrats from effectively challenging or delaying White House nominees. While the rules change was not directed at STB nominees to fill vacancies, surely UP’s lobbyists reported this as a means, through the White House, of packing the STB with POTUS 47 partisans. And there you have purpose in the Vena trek to Washington. 

Now, should UP and NS file a formal merger application by Oct. 29, as expected, STB members voting on the merger carry an unprecedented burden to provide detailed, fully understandable-to-the-public reasoning as to their votes. There must not be the slightest suggestion a vote was politically motivated. Their careers and reputations equally are on the line. To quote comic David Letterman, “I wouldn’t wish this on a monkey on a rock.”

From what we know of the two sitting Republican members—and we think we know them well—is that they would be livid, and justifiably so, at any suggestion a fix could be in. Vena has dumped them in a most undeserved briar patch.

The post Mr. Vena Goes to Washington appeared first on Railway Age.

We don’t know much about art, but apparently famous painters go through different periods. Picasso had three: Blue Period from 1901-1904, Rose Period from 1904-1906, and Cubism from 1907-1917.

Transposing that to the rails, and we have the Meltdown Period from 2014-2022, Recovery Period from 2023-Spring 2025, and in recent months the railroads are flirting with their BAOE Period: Beautiful Absence Of Emergencies. Even hurricane season has been canceled. It’s like watching disaster movies non-stop for 11 years and then all of a sudden there’s nothing on TV apart from nature shows with blue skies and cheeky monkeys. This routine normalcy is going to take some getting used to.

With that as a backdrop, last week’s operating data, through Sept. 5, includes Labor Day on Sept. 1; the third of the four big public holidays during the year that impact rail operations. With lower customer activity suppressing volumes by 8% compared to the week prior, the railroads did what they always do: accelerate.

In the past we’ve fixated on these big public holidays because many of them have been instrumental in turning struggling Class I networks around; Thanksgiving 2022 was the accelerant that finally pushed Union Pacific out of its meltdown state, for example. However, Labor Day is different this year because, as we say at the top: There’s nothing to fix. None of these networks need to be pulled out of the ditch, and the ability to clear yard backlogs in a soft volume week isn’t that relevant when backlogs are modest.

As a result, we’ll just see the vanilla effects this year, which is a bump in speed for a week or two, followed by a normalization that approximates pre-holiday healthy levels.

Out of interest, in the table below we’ve compared Labor Day week 2025 with the same week last year, and you can see some nice gains for three of the four U.S. networks in terms of velocity, dwell and cars online.

It was only Norfolk Southern that wasn’t able to post YoY gains. NS had the best operational improvement momentum in the industry between July 2023 and the end of 2024, but it feels like that’s come off the boil a little in recent months (metrics remain good in absolute terms). We also worry about the degree of strategic stasis and motivation of the staff at Atlanta HQ (including the Network Operations Center) over the next 18 months as they await a merger decision.

The post Labor Day Turns Good to Great, Albeit Temporarily appeared first on Railway Age.

Shannon Drown has been promoted to Chief Commercial Officer – Railroad. In her new role, Drown has responsibility for steering the commercial teams for Railroads, Switching, Distribution Centers, and Industrial Development.

Chase Armstrong has been promoted to Chief Commercial Officer – Contracted Services. Continuing his leadership of the commercial team for emergency response, railroad construction, signaling solutions and track material, Armstrong’s focus, R.J. Corman says, “remains on delivering consistent quality and customer satisfaction.”

Nick Edelen has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer – Contracted Services. He will continue to oversee all aspects of R. J. Corman Railroad Services Emergency and Non-Emergency operations, as well as Signaling and Material Sales. In this role, Edelen “will drive initiatives focused on safety, efficiency, and innovation, empowering teams to deliver outstanding results across the organization’s diverse rail services.”

“Shannon, Chase, and Nick have each demonstrated exceptional leadership and a deep commitment to R. J. Corman’s mission,” said R.J. Corman Railroad Group President and CEO Justin Broyles. “Their dedication to excellence and drive to find efficient and innovative solutions for our customers have been instrumental in building long-term partnerships. I look forward to seeing the impact they make in their new roles at R. J. Corman.”

These leadership appointments, the company says, “are part of R. J. Corman Railroad Group’s broader efforts to enhance its executive team and position the company for future achievements, and they reflect the ongoing commitment to providing innovative rail solutions.”

The post Key Leadership Appointments for R.J. Corman appeared first on Railway Age.

“Import volumes dipped slightly in August, indicating the traditional surge of drayage activity spanning late Q3 to early Q4 will not materialize for the 2025 peak season,” according to ITS Logistics’ recently released September forecast for its US Port/Rail Ramp Freight Index. “However, front-loaded freight is now moving inland, causing congestion in key rail lanes from the coasts and bolstering domestic truckload activity in select regions. With inventory now moving across the U.S., shippers must focus on protecting it from rising rates of cargo theft as the industry enters the hectic holiday season.”

ITS Logistics, a Nevada-based third-party logistics (3PL) firm, releases each month an index forecasting port container and dray operations for the Pacific, Atlantic and Gulf regions; ocean and domestic container rail ramp operations are also highlighted for both the West and East inland regions.

“For the most part, shippers have already moved inventory into North America during various frontloading surges throughout the year,” said Paul Brashier, Vice President of Global Supply Chain for ITS Logistics. “This freight is now being transported inland from coastal areas, which is reflected in high inbound ocean and domestic container volumes and higher outbound truckload rates from areas with expansive DC and warehouse footprints—including Southern California, Dallas, Chicago, and Atlanta.”

U.S. container imports for August totaled 2,519,722 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), up 1.6% year-over-year, but down 3.9% from July’s near-record highs, according to The National Retail Federation projects that tariff policies will result in a 5.6% decrease in total inbound volume for 2025—which, given year-to-date volumes, could mean a drop as stark as 17.5% is coming in the final few months of 2025. ITS Logistics confirms that dips in demand in August will likely continue through October.

According to ITS Logistics, “declining import volumes and peak season activity are occurring within another exceptionally tumultuous regulatory period for supply chain professionals.” August 29 marked the last day of the de minimis exemption, subjecting 92% of all U.S. cargo shipments to new duties and causing nearly a dozen countries and global shipping companies to temporarily pause shipments to the U.S. That same day, a U.S. appeals court ruled most tariffs issued by POTUS 47 to be illegal. While the majority of shippers are waiting for the Supreme Court’s final decision—now expected in November—before making any changes, “the ruling compounds the uncertainty companies face as they prepare for 2026 RFP season.” A stay on the tariff ruling is in place until Oct. 14, which is also when the next phase of USTR port fees on Chinese vessel owners and operators is slated to take effect.

Freight that has already entered the domestic market faces its own challenges, according to ITS Logistics. With large volumes of front-loaded inventory now moving inland, increases in ocean containers and intermodal equipment “will likely cause congestion to key rail lanes for the next several months.” For time-sensitive shipments, ITS Logistics advises onboarding additional drayage and cross-dock capacity to add flexibility and avoid delays.

At the same time, organized cargo theft and freight fraud have reached record-high levels across both rail and trucking. According to the Association of American Railroads (AAR), theft on railways surged 40% in 2024, costing Class I rail operators more than $100 million. Verisk CargoNet reported a 13% increase in truck-based fraud incidents in the second quarter of 2025, citing “increases in organized crime and targeting of consumer goods.” These trends, ITS Logistics says, “underscore the need for shippers to partner with providers who leverage strong relationships and innovative strategies to keep freight secure across all modes.”

“In peak season especially, stolen inventory and fraud incidents create delays that cost shippers far more than the lost load itself,” Brashier said. “That’s why it’s essential to partner with carriers who not only provide real-time visibility but also maintain rigorous onboarding and fraud-prevention standards to protect freight from port to final destination.”

The post ITS Logistics Issues September US Port/Rail Ramp Freight Index appeared first on Railway Age.

The North American rail industry has never faced more simultaneous pressures. Federal tariffs and mandates, regulators requiring training updates and technology upgrades, supply chain disruptions, labor negotiations that could shut down networks, activist investors challenging financial returns, and new environmental regulations that reshape operations overnight.

For rail executives, the question isn’t whether you’ll face your next crisis. It’s whether you’ll be ready to lead through it when it arrives.

After studying more than 100 organizational transformations, including dozens within rail operations and heavy industry, I’ve identified a pattern among leaders who don’t just survive uncertainty—they transform it into competitive advantage. They follow a four-stage cycle that turns crisis into opportunity.

When new federal safety regulations hit Louisa Martinez’s freight network (all names changed to maintain corporate privacy requirements) —requiring complete signaling system overhauls across 15,000 miles of track—her first instinct wasn’t to call an emergency planning session. Instead, she spent three days in the field, asking track supervisors, signal maintainers and yard workers one question: “What are you seeing about this challenge that I’m not?”

What she discovered changed everything. While corporate was panicking about compliance costs, frontline crews were identifying track segments where new technology could improve efficiency beyond regulatory requirements. They saw opportunities to consolidate maintenance windows and reduce delays that had plagued certain corridors for years.

The lesson: Your track-level employees see realities that boardroom discussions miss. Before you plan your response to any crisis, collect intelligence from those closest to the operations. They often hold the keys to solutions that pure compliance thinking overlooks.

Rail operations demand precision, but uncertainty demands flexibility. The challenge is creating clarity that enables both.

Louisa didn’t try to plan every detail of her massive transformation. Instead, she established three “Safety-First Decision Anchors” that every team could use:

• If it compromises safety, we don’t do it—period.
• We share knowledge across all divisions immediately.
• We test small, learn fast, and scale what works.

These anchors meant that when crews encountered unexpected conditions during installations, they could make quick decisions without waiting for corporate approval. A signal maintainer in Kansas could immediately share a solution with teams in Montana, Montreal or Monterrey. Pilot programs could prove concepts before system-wide rollouts.

Your job isn’t to eliminate uncertainty—it’s to create decision-making frameworks that work within uncertainty.

Here’s where most rail transformations fail. You have a clear plan, but you still have multiple stakeholder groups pulling in different directions.

Consider James Chen, who led the operational integration of two major rail networks after an acquisition. These systems had been competitors for decades, with different safety protocols, equipment standards and operational philosophies. The potential for safety incidents during integration was enormous.

Instead of imposing one system on the other, James brought safety teams from both networks together with a single challenge: design the safest rail operation in North America using the best practices from both systems.

Within eight weeks, crews stopped identifying as “Company A” or “Company B” and started identifying as the team setting new industry safety standards. They weren’t just merging railroads—they were building something neither could achieve alone.

The key: Give people a shared mission that’s bigger than their individual concerns. In rail, safety is that mission.

Momentum in rail operations isn’t about speed. It’s about sustained progress in the right direction. After achieving early wins, the strongest rail leaders understand a crucial insight: Success in one area reveals new challenges in others.

As Louisa’s safety transformation succeeded, she started noticing other pressures that had been masked by the original crisis. Supply chain issues affecting equipment deliveries. Labor negotiations heating up. Environmental regulations requiring new operational procedures. Each success gave her the credibility and organizational confidence to tackle the next challenge.

This is the hidden truth about leading through uncertainty: The four stages—Heighten Awareness, Increase Clarity, Build Alignment, Drive Momentum—form a continuous cycle. Your success in addressing one challenge gives you the visibility and capability to see the next one coming.

Our industry operates in an environment where a single decision can affect thousands of miles of track, hundreds of communities and millions of tons of cargo. We can’t afford to wait for perfect information or ideal conditions.

The rail leaders who thrive in this environment understand that uncertainty isn’t something to eliminate. It’s something to navigate systematically. They use these four stages not once, but continuously, as each challenge reveals new opportunities for operational excellence.

The next time you face a crisis—and in rail, there’s always a next time—remember: You don’t need all the answers. You need to know which questions to ask first, and of whom to ask them.

Your track crews are waiting to tell you what they see. Are you ready to listen?

Pauline Lipkewich has been railroading since 2011, including leading the global group sales team at Rocky Mountaineer and growing revenues more than five times in less than four years.  She has also worked alongside Class I operators at CN, Kansas City Southern and Norfolk Southern, specifically targeting safety performance and operational effectiveness improvements. She runs KingdomBuilding Leadership, Inc., a boutique firm committed to helping individuals and organizations go further, faster by leveraging behaviors and culture as a key competitive advantage. Pauline’s love of leadership, heavy industry and unlocking the potential in people is the genesis in bringing The Rail Way to life. Her ability to build trust and performance with the individuals and organizations she works with has been demonstrated through the awards and recognition her teams and clients have received. Pauline has a Bachelor of Commerce and a Master of Arts (Leadership), both from the University of Guelph. If you have an idea for a future column for The Rail Way, contact Pauline directly at pauline.lipkewich@kingdombuildingleadership.com or +1.780.991.9993. The Rail Way, a division of KingdomBuilding Leadership, Inc., strives to be the preeminent voice on leadership, people, behaviors and culture for the transportation industry while transforming how the rail sector develops generational railroaders and creates value for all stakeholders. KingdomBuilding Leadership, Inc. specializes in organizational transformation by focusing on high performance leadership behaviors, people and culture. Leveraging three pillars of performance, clients witness rapid, profound and sustainable results—often taking them from industry laggard to industry leader—when implementing proven methods and strategies and utilizing tools.

The post How Rail Leaders Navigate Uncertainty and Come Out Stronger (Part 1 in a Series) appeared first on Railway Age.

To help ocean carriers manage their logistics and support efficiency in their supply chains, BNSF offers Intermodal service into several private Intermodal facilities through a program called Matchback. 

The strategy increases utilization out of each container by reloading those 20- and 40-foot boxes with export commodities, moving them on a train to the West Coast for transport by ship to points beyond. The program “matches back” the container with a different product, turning an otherwise empty trip into a revenue-generating one. 

“We’ve been offering this service to ocean carriers for nearly two decades,” explained Ben Murray, director of sales for BNSF’s Consumer Products team. “It offers the potential to move more than air back in those containers.” 

Under Matchback, BNSF partners with ocean carriers and logistics companies to move empty containers from our intermodal hubs to those logistic companies’ Intermodal facilities, where they are then reloaded onto a new train and sent back to West Coast ports. From there they’re loaded onto ships bound for China and other Southeast Asia countries. 

One of the companies BNSF works with is Rail Modal Group (RMG), which owns and operates inland ports at Amarillo, Texas; Fremont, Nebraska; and Minot, North Dakota. RMG, BNSF’s largest Matchback partner, averages 15-20 trains a month and recently loaded its 1,000th train for BNSF out of Minot.

 RMG supports the Matchback program by repositioning containers to underserved protein and agricultural product export markets, like Fremont. Producers at these locations need sustainable ways to move their freight other than by long-haul trucking that may require transloading, both of which add cost.  

At RMG’s facilities there’s track for up to two trains at a time, and their tracks connect with BNSF’s main line. When RMG receives empty containers, they dray (truck) them to local producers that can load bulk as well as refrigerated commodities.  

“We have storage and the ability to load many different types of commodities,” said Todd Whitmore, RMG’s chief commercial officer. “Cargo can include products like soybean meal, dried distillers’ grains (DDGs), cotton, whey powder, frozen beef and pork, animal hides and resins. We call them ‘grocery trains’ because of the diverse nature of the commodities on board.” 

Some commodities can be bagged or boxed for loading into the container. For bulk commodities like DDGs, the commodity is fed by conveyor into the back of the container, with bulkheads to keep product from flowing out.

Once the containers are filled, RMG returns them to its nearby facility, loads them onto the planned full train, all while working with BNSF on finalizing the outbound train plan. When that outbound train has been released, RMG has already secured spots for each container on the ocean carriers’ vessels and then monitors them until they get to their ports of destination. At destination, the containers are unloaded by the customer. For products like grain, they use container unloaders that lift and tip the container, allowing the grain to flow out. 

“We are an integrated supply chain company,” said Whitmore. “In addition to owning and operating the intermodal assets, we provide full, door-to-door logistics solutions for local producers — handling everything from export documentation to specialized refrigerated services for the country’s largest protein producers. In essence, we’re connecting stakeholders in a complicated logistics process and making it seamless.” 

It’s a win-win-win situation. The railroad and the ocean carrier get loaded moves going both directions, and customers have more container supply where they need it. You might say… it’s a perfect match. 

The post BNSF’s Intermodal Container ‘Matchmaking’ Program a Win-Win-Win appeared first on Railway Age.

Steam has returned to the slopes of the Northeast’s highest peak. On August 29, the Mount Washington Cog Railway resumed its regular steam operations, almost four months after announcing that both of its steam locomotives needed repairs.

From 1869 to 2008, steam power dominated the west slope of Mount Washington. Built in the 1860s, the Mount Washington Cog Railway was the world’s first mountain-climbing cog railway. However, in the late 2000s, diesel locomotives started replacing most steam engines. For a few years, only the first run of the day up the hill used steam. Recently, the railroad has offered a few trips to the summit using steam, as well as a Mid Mountain Steam Special that goes about halfway up the hill. 

Two steam locomotives are currently on the railroad’s active roster: Locomotive 2 Ammonoosuc, built in 1875, and 9 Waumbek, built in 1908. Both locomotives were built by the Manchester Locomotive Works, which later became part of the American Locomotive Company. Earlier this year, pre-season preparations showed that the two locomotives could not operate at full pressure until further repairs were completed. Repairs have now been made on one of the locomotives, and it will be pushing (not leading) regular runs halfway up the mountain on Thursdays through Sundays until mid-October, departing at 10 a.m., 12 p.m., and 2 p.m.

The railroad says it remains dedicated to steam and has two new boilers on order to ensure that the locomotives can operate for decades to come. 

—Justin Franz 

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