Side Tracks
Oh My Aching Feet
March 5th, 2010Last week was Railroad Day on Capitol Hill, and my feet are just recovering from the beating they took roaming the halls of Congress. Or, more specifically, the halls of the three House office buildings.
The Cannon, Longworth, and Rayburn House office buildings are all connected through tunnels in the basements of the buildings, which makes getting from one office to another relatively easy, as you don’t have to go through security each time you go to a different building (on the Senate side it is even easier as the two buildings are connected on the ground floor). The big problem comes if you are in a meeting on one of the top floors of the Cannon office building, and have to get to a meeting on one of the upper floors of the Rayburn building in ten minutes (or less), then it becomes more of a sprint.
Because of the complexities of moving about, and a very full meeting schedule this year (like every other year before), the New Jersey group of railroads and others tries to organize who will attend each meeting , and make sure that there is sufficient coverage at each meeting. For example, in three cases we had meetings that were either at the same time, at different ends of the congressional world, or were in a place that would have made it impossible to reach the next meeting on time. Well, despite all of the complexities, we met with eleven of the fifteen members of Congress from New Jersey (or their staffers), which is a pretty good total for a year, and I think I personally made it to eight of those meetings, which is a record for me.
As a whole, the meetings went very well this year. It does help that railroads in general are in vogue this year, and we really have not been fighting as much of an uphill battle as we have had the last couple of years. The health care battle has been taking up so much of their time, that other items and requests (like our need for the Short Line Tax Credit to be renewed) are almost minor, and maybe it is a little easier to get more co-sponsors (we did add a few). One other thing that was kind of neat was that my congressman recognized me. This may seem insignificant to you, but in a meeting a couple of years ago with him he opened the meeting with “Well, where have you guys been?” It has been a concerted effort of my company and the other railroads in New Jersey to make sure that we never get that statement again, and this year’s meetings were a real sign that we have made some progress, one step at a time.
—By Steve Friedland
Steve Friedland is a child of the railroad industry. Following summers and vacations working on the track gang for the family-owned Morristown & Erie Railway, a 42-mile New Jersey short line, he started full-time in 1994. He has worked in all areas of the railroad, including track, mechanical, signals, and operations, and currently is a member of the management team for the company as director of operations in Morristown, N.J. In 1999, he founded Short Line Data Systems, a provider of railroad EDI and dispatching software, AEI hardware, and management consulting to the short line industry. He also served as chairman of the ASLRRA’s Technology Committee for the past four years.
In Search of … Diversification
March 3rd, 20102009 was a tough year for railcar manufacturers in North America and 2010 may well be worse. Sounds pretty brutal, but that’s what executives of railcar manufacturing companies are expecting and bracing for as they predict a drop in railcar deliveries for 2010.
That’s not news you race to tell your employees, shareholders and boards of directors. On the other hand, it’s not unfamiliar territory for these companies who have ridden the highs and lows of this cyclical business for decades.
Industry forecasts call for deliveries to fall from about 21,000 cars in 2009 to about 15,000 cars in 2010. And frankly those are the most optimistic forecasts. Some go as low as 10,000 cars. (By way of context, more than 60,000 cars were delivered in 2008. With so many cars scrapped in the last year and in storage, car deliveries could stay below 30,000 cars annually for a while).
It’s times like these when diversifying can really pay off. In an earnings conference call with analysts last month, FreightCar America’s new President and CEO Ed Whalen said one of his top priorities is broadening FCA’s business focus to address the entire railcar lifecycle. While still less than 10 percent of overall sales, FCA’s revenues from aftermarket parts sales were up 17.6 percent in 2009 and refurbishment revenues nearly doubled.
The freight car builder is hopeful about international opportunities to leverage its coal car expertise and capitalize on improving global economic conditions. In 2008, FreightCar America entered into a joint venture agreement with Titagarh Wagons Ltd., Kolkata, India, to develop coal cars for the rapidly growing Indian rail market. “We continue to work with our joint venture partner in India toward approval of our railcar design and hope to have a prototype in the market there for testing later this year,” according to Whalen.
Like FCA, other railcar builders are looking to diversify their operations in a variety of ways, including acquisitions, joint ventures, and expanding product lines. Freight car manufacturer American Railcar Industries, Inc. and US Railcar, LLC, for instance, have formed a joint venture to design and build passenger railcars and to tap into new transit funding and the high-speed rail push.
One of the goals of the new venture is to re-establish American-owned passenger train production in the United States. The joint venture plans to produce railcars at ARI plants in Arkansas to serve transit, commuter and regional rail service needs.
Trinity Industries is best known as a railcar builder but its business model is diversified. It has five main business segments: railcar manufacturing, railcar leasing and management services, inland barge building, energy equipment (wind towers) and construction materials. Last month, Trinity broadened its product line by completing its tender offer for Quixote Corp., a developer and manufacturer of highway safety products.
Trinity’s inland barge unit enjoyed record operating profits in 2009. It received more than $90 million in orders in the fourth quarter of 2009 and ended the year with a backlog of about $319 million.
Every business cycle has its winners and losers. Right now, it’s too soon to tell who they will be in the railcar sector. It will be interesting to see if other traditional freight car builders follow ARI and jump into the U.S. passenger market in a bid to diversify their operations and tap into federal money flowing for high-speed rail and transit projects.
–By Kathy Keeney
Kathy Keeney is Publisher of the Rail Group at UBM Global Trade. She is the granddaughter of a railroader and has been writing about railroads for 25 years. She is immediate past president of The League of Railway Industry Women, and served on the board of directors for the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association.
We All Strive for the Top Step
February 22nd, 2010Watching the Olympics for the last couple of days has been exhilarating. I love the speed of the winter sports, even though you will never see me out on the slopes, sliding down the bob run, or gliding across the ice on skates (that last one is not a pretty picture, believe me).
One other thing that really interests me is the level of preparation. For the top level athletes, they prepare constantly for their moment on the world stage, and for those of them that do it best, they get to stand on the top step.
Now most of us will never have the opportunity to appear on the world stage, but we do have to perform at a high level every day. And, in some ways, we are not that different than an Olympic athlete. First of all, we both have to perform without the use of drugs. When one of the players who had been selected for the U.S. Olympic Hockey team was unable to play due to injury, the players that were available to replace the injured person were limited because of who had been participating in the drug testing program for the six months prior to the games. Sound familiar? The drugs that the governing bodies are looking for may be different, but those of us who are in operations are all subject to random testing, and clean living is a fact of railroad life these days.
One area that the athletes have us beat is physical conditioning. Most winter athletes are prime examples of physical and aerodynamic efficiency (sorry curlers, but sliding a 42-pound stone does not require as good aerodynamics as it does physical prowess). Unfortunately, the instances of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and other physical ailments is very high for people in our industry (myself included), which is kind of unusual for an area where there is some significant physical labor at times. In reality, while an athlete will probably do hundreds of hours of non-related training for a couple minutes of performing, how many of us take the time during the week to exercise regularly?
The area that I think that we have the athletes beat is endurance. A top performing athlete may have a career that lasts ten or fifteen years at the most, and most of them have not made enough money to retire and do nothing for the rest of their lives. A railroader may have a career spanning 40 years (or more), and many never retire, continuing to work at the jobs they love until the very end (unfortunately there are too many of us who are leaving this world for the reasons stated in the paragraph above this one).
So, while we may not get to stand on the top step in front of the world with a medal around our necks, I think that we all get to perform on our own stage on par with the best every day.
—By Steve Friedland
Steve Friedland is a child of the railroad industry. Following summers and vacations working on the track gang for the family-owned Morristown & Erie Railway, a 42-mile New Jersey short line, he started full-time in 1994. He has worked in all areas of the railroad, including track, mechanical, signals, and operations, and currently is a member of the management team for the company as director of operations in Morristown, N.J. In 1999, he founded Short Line Data Systems, a provider of railroad EDI and dispatching software, AEI hardware, and management consulting to the short line industry. He also served as chairman of the ASLRRA’s Technology Committee for the past four years.
Just Do It
February 8th, 2010With the start of February, we are approaching one of my favorite events of the year, Railroad Day on Capitol Hill. This year the event is taking place on February 25, and you can register for it at the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association’s website: www.aslrra.org.
For those of you who are unaware of this event, Railroad Day is our industry’s opportunity to lobby Congress as a group. The participants include people from railroads big and small, labor, suppliers, contractors, and just interested citizens. For me personally it is one of my favorite events of the year, because in this case, everyone is for the most part the same. The group is the group, and it’s real hard to tell a Class 1 railroader from a Short Line railroader when they are all in business suits. Over the past 10 years this event has grown from about 275 participants to over 600, which is an indication of how important it is to have our voice heard in Washington.
The topics of discussion have varied over the years, but there are generally two major areas of interest: taxes and reregulation. The short lines have successfully been able to secure an infrastructure tax credit for the last couple of years, and the battle has not been easy. Sponsors and co-sponsors are difficult to secure when each representative or senator has their own interests, and unfortunately we have all been in the news for the wrong reasons. As for reregulation, there are a couple of people in Congress that have tried to put tighter controls on all railroads for various reasons (mostly financial), because they feel that we have too much freedom, and that everyone would be better off if the government had more control of how we do business.
That being said, I always hear a bunch of excuses as to why someone can’t go to Railroad Day, and I thought that I would debunk a couple of them:
- 1. “It costs too much to do it.” - This is one of the bargains of our industry. If wanted to, you can spend the day on the Hill for only the cost of getting to Washington. There is no charge for the Railroad Day event itself, and in past years you have received a Metro Card to cover your transportation to and from the Capitol. If you want to attend the Legislative Dinner on Thursday night there is a charge of $225 per person, but that’s it.
- 2. “I speak to my representative/senator all the time.” - That may be, but do you meet with his or her Washington staff, who are doing a good portion of the leg work? You would be surprised to see how much influence a staffer can have on their boss. Right or wrong.
- 3. “How much influence can I have? I only have (or work for) a small railroad.” - Remember, a representative only has a small district, and it’s pretty likely that your employees or co-workers live in that district. They will always listen to someone who can vote for (or not for) them. Also, nothing beats the image of a group of railroaders, labor reps, local politicians and suppliers all walking in together to deliver a common message.
So what is the bottom line to all of this? Just do it. We need your voice to be heard.
—By Steve Friedland
Steve Friedland is a child of the railroad industry. Following summers and vacations working on the track gang for the family-owned Morristown & Erie Railway, a 42-mile New Jersey short line, he started full-time in 1994. He has worked in all areas of the railroad, including track, mechanical, signals, and operations, and currently is a member of the management team for the company as director of operations in Morristown, N.J. In 1999, he founded Short Line Data Systems, a provider of railroad EDI and dispatching software, AEI hardware, and management consulting to the short line industry. He also served as chairman of the ASLRRA’s Technology Committee for the past four years.
Getting the Message
January 25th, 2010I was chatting recently with friends who were complaining about how often their high-school kids were sending text messages. In their world, the cell phone is rarely used to make actual voice contact but is instead a text machine. They even text among themselves in the same house.
Like all good parents, they urge their kids not to text while driving and hope and pray that they listen. Short of video surveillance in the car (similar to a nanny-cam in the home), hoping, praying and trusting is about all parents really can do.
Sounds an awful lot like the employee management issue that the National Transportation Safety Board raised just last week. The NTSB determined that the 2008 rail accident in Chatsworth, California, involving a Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific freight train, was caused by the Metrolink engineer’s prohibited use of a wireless device while he was operating the train. The engineer failed to react appropriately to a red signal because he was distracted and text messaging at the time, the NTSB said.
The September 2008 head-on collision resulted in 25 deaths and more than 100 injuries. As a result of its findings, the NTSB recommended that the federal government require audio and image recorders in the cabs of all locomotives and in cab car operating compartments. (A summary of the NTSB’s findings is available at: http://ntsb.gov/Publictn/2010/RAR1001.htm.).
According to records from the wireless provider, on the day of the accident both the Metrolink engineer and the Union Pacific conductor used wireless devices to send and receive text messages while on duty. The engineer also made non-business related voice calls while on duty.
“For the transportation industry, this accident demonstrates that we must find a way to wrap our arms around the pervasive problem of transportation operators using wireless devices while on the job, whether that job is driving a bus, flying an airplane, or operating a train,” NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman said.
The engineer’s prolific text messaging was “egregious,” Hersman added. “This was an accident waiting to happen.”
Although Metrolink bars its engineers from using wireless devices while operating a train, the private environment of the locomotive cab once the train leaves a station makes it difficult for violations of operating rules to be discovered through standard management supervision or testing, the NTSB noted.
The NTSB also cited the lack of a positive train control system (PTC) as a contributing factor in the accident. A positive train control system would have stopped the Metrolink train short of the red signal and prevented the accident.
Within a year of the Chatsworth crash, Metrolink installed inward-facing video cameras on its locomotive fleet. It’s too soon to know whether the NTSB’s recommendations for recorders in locomotives will gain traction in Washington and lead to wider implementation, but one thing’s for sure: the issue of distracted driving of vehicles of all kinds is on the radar screen nationally and won’t go away soon.
—by Kathy Keeney
Kathy Keeney is Publisher of the Rail Group at UBM Global Trade. She is the granddaughter of a railroader and has been writing about railroads for 25 years. She is immediate past president of The League of Railway Industry Women, and served on the board of directors for the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association.
Resolutions for 2010
January 25th, 2010Now that we are a couple of weeks into the new year, and most of us have stopped writing 2009 on our checks (others of us will still be doing it until March), I thought that it would be a good time to mention my resolutions for the new year, since I have already weeded out the easy ones to break, like trying to lose weight and exercise more. So, without further adieu, here are my resolutions for 2010.
I resolve to:
- Answer any and all questions relating to radio narrowbanding in a calm and complete manner, whether I have answered that question or written or spoken about it previously to the same person or group umpteen times. I will also remind them again that their interchange locomotives have to be equipped with dual band radios by July 1 of this year, and that the complete changeover to narrowband radios must be complete by January 1, 2013.
- Try to read the final PTC regulations, which came out January 12, without falling asleep. If I am able to finish them without losing consciousness, I’ll remind people that the implementation plans are due in April of this year, and that we will be required to have the PTC systems in place in 2015.
- I will give my customers at SDS new versions of my software, including ones that fully implement the new UMLER/EMIS equipment information system and new functionality to deal with the Hours of Service laws.
- I will stay on top of all of the work being done on the new Conductor Certification laws.
- Likewise, I will pay attention to all of the things going on with Grade Crossing registration, signage, and emergency notification phone numbers.
- Hazmat transportation is always a concern, and this year I will be glad to talk to local legislators who feel that it is appropriate for us to notify local responders before we carry hazmats through their communities, and explain to them some of the realities of the world.
- I also resolve to be more patient with the risk managers of the world (including my mother) and work with them to get over their innate fear of doing anything that involves some risk.
- I resolve to spend more time with my local, state, and federal representatives and their minions to hopefully prevent some of the legislation that has taken place over the last couple of years, preventing the need for most of the resolutions above.
- Finally, I resolve to make sure that my co-workers and I get to go home every night safe and sound, because I know that we work in a very dangerous industry, and both their families and Holly, Andrew, and Rob deserve it.
–by Steve Friedland
Steve Friedland is a child of the railroad industry. Following summers and vacations working on the track gang for the family-owned Morristown & Erie Railway, a 42-mile New Jersey short line, he started full-time in 1994. He has worked in all areas of the railroad, including track, mechanical, signals, and operations, and currently is a member of the management team for the company as director of operations in Morristown, N.J. In 1999, he founded Short Line Data Systems, a provider of railroad EDI and dispatching software, AEI hardware, and management consulting to the short line industry. He also served as chairman of the ASLRRA’s Technology Committee for the past four years.
Thanks Are Necessary
January 14th, 2010As I had mentioned previously, the holiday season was very busy at the M&E. We were involved with the Santa Trains at the Whippany Railway Museum, our freight was a bit up, so we were running around keeping our customers supplied, and we had the usual year-end rush of time off for our employees who were trying to use up any remaining vacation before they lost it.
There was one other project that we were involved in, a train for the New Jersey Toys for Tots campaign that ran over our lines, and up on the New York Susquehanna & Western Railway over the weekend of December 12-13. The train itself was a huge success, with almost 9,000 toys being donated over the entire campaign, and huge publicity for the Marine Corps, which sorely needed the donations in these tough times.
The train was the brainchild of John Sobotka, who has been a friend of mine since before I started working in this industry. John is an engineer for Norfolk Southern, and is assigned to the local crew that serves us. He is also a military vehicle nut, with a couple of vintage trucks in his collection. John did all of the legwork on this project, lining up the railroads (NS, M&E, NYSW, and New Jersey Transit), the Marines, the Military Vehicle Association, and most importantly, all of the local governments and businesses along the train route. John pretty much singlehandedly went to visit these groups or organizations to get them to participate or simply allow the train to stop in their town. Sometimes the pitch was easy (how can you say no to the Marines?), sometimes it wasn’t, as in one case where he had to show letters of support from the neighbors before one town would give him their blessing. It took almost a year of planning to pull this off, and without John’s vision and determination it would not have happened.
With all of the running around that John had to do for the train the easiest groups for him to get on board were the other railroads. When he came calling, the answer was simply, “what do you need us to do?” The answer from the other railroads was similar, as is usually the case when we are asked to step up for a cause. The price tag wasn’t even discussed, it was just taken care of. Between the equipment, the train crews, and all of the other incidentals, each of the participating railroads incurred significant expense, but each absorbed it for the greater good.
When it was all over, the last person looking for recognition was John (if anything, he was looking for some sleep). He deserves a great deal of recognition and thanks, and he is safe in the knowledge that if he wants to do this again, we are all ready to step up to the plate.
—by Steve Friedland
Steve Friedland is a child of the railroad industry. Following summers and vacations working on the track gang for the family-owned Morristown & Erie Railway, a 42-mile New Jersey short line, he started full-time in 1994. He has worked in all areas of the railroad, including track, mechanical, signals, and operations, and currently is a member of the management team for the company as director of operations in Morristown, N.J. In 1999, he founded Short Line Data Systems, a provider of railroad EDI and dispatching software, AEI hardware, and management consulting to the short line industry. He also served as chairman of the ASLRRA’s Technology Committee for the past four years.
Welcome to 2010. So Now What?
January 5th, 2010Once again, a new year is upon us. So where are we with all of the things I have been writing about for the last year? Well, some things are moving ahead, some faster than others.
Over the last year, we talked about Positive Train Control, Narrowband Radios, and Hours of Service Regulations among other things, and let’s see where we stand with them at the moment.
Narrowband Radios
On July 1 of this (2010) year, if you have locomotives in interchange service, they will have to be equipped with a standard band and narrowband capable radio. This is in preparation for the mandatory changeover for all radios used in our industry that will have to be completed on January 1, 2013. As this year progresses, the AAR’s Wireless Communications Committee, with help from ARINC, manufacturers, and both large and small railroads will be testing out the changeover processes, and formulate the overall plan that will be put in place. The clock is definitely ticking, and the FCC has reaffirmed that the change must be completed on January 1, 2013. Stay tuned for this one, folks.
Hours of Service Laws
This was one of the things that came out of the 2008 Rail Safety Act, and this has affected short lines more than any other part of the Act so far. The limits on Limbo (non working, but not released from work) time and communication (no contact whatsoever by the employer about work with the employee) during the ten (or more) hour rest period caused some confusion and different interpretations of the rules initially, but the ASLRRA and the FRA have gone to great efforts to educate everyone to a common standard. The coming year will bring the rulings on waiver applications, and the ASLRRA is embarking on a fatigue research program that will support the waiver for reducing the mandatory rest period after six consecutive days of covered service from 48 hours to 24 hours. An additional waiver applied for by the ASLRRA is looking to end the paperwork requirement for railroads with 16 covered service employees or less. Whatever the decision by the FRA on all of the waivers, these rules will continue to do two things: enforce needed rest for a large number of railroad employees, and greatly increase the amount of oversight needed by both management and the government.
Positive Train Control
I left this one for last, since it is the farthest from realization compared to the two items above. The clock is ticking towards two congressionally mandated due dates: the first is for an implementation plan that must be submitted by the end of 2010, and implementation by the end of 2015. Both dates are looking like they are going to be hard to make, since the technology isn’t completely there yet. I witnessed an example of this recently at the FRA Research Review a couple of weeks ago, where a paper was presented about the research that was being done on the braking curve for a PTC system. The good news is that they have been able to get overshoot distance down to a number that is small enough to consider acceptable. The bad news is that the undershoot is still averaging over 800 feet. In the west, where blocks are far apart, this might work, but in the east, where I work, our blocks are much closer, and to be almost two tenths of a mile from the point you are supposed to be might cause some problems of its own. Yes, it’s better than running through a stop point, but it still isn’t great.
Ok, so we’re moving along with these items, but we still have a way to go with all of them. And, they are going to be joined in 2010 by topics like conductor certification and grade crossing emergency call numbers. And this is not all. Watch out for the re-regulation bills that are starting to move through Congress, and other local regulations that will be finding their way to the forefront.
2009 was definitely an interesting year of change for our industry. 2010 should be no different.
Have a happy and safe New Year.
–by Steve Friedland
Steve Friedland is a child of the railroad industry. Following summers and vacations working on the track gang for the family-owned Morristown & Erie Railway, a 42-mile New Jersey short line, he started full-time in 1994. He has worked in all areas of the railroad, including track, mechanical, signals, and operations, and currently is a member of the management team for the company as director of operations in Morristown, N.J. In 1999, he founded Short Line Data Systems, a provider of railroad EDI and dispatching software, AEI hardware, and management consulting to the short line industry. He also served as chairman of the ASLRRA’s Technology Committee for the past four years.
New Year, New Uncertainties
December 29th, 2009There’s uncertainty in the air as the freight railroad industry enters the New Year.
There’s obvious uncertainty in terms of when the economy–particularly the housing, manufacturing and banking sectors–will bounce back. There’s also uncertainty in terms of further railroad and railroad supplier mergers and acquisitions. (And it’s anyone’s guess when all the railroads will remove their cars and locomotives from storage and return to more normal buying patterns).
But perhaps the most uncertainty exists in Washington, D.C., where legislators will resume work after the holiday break on landmark rail re-regulation legislation and a possible extension of the short line track maintenance tax credit.
If passed, “this bill would be the most significant rewrite of the railroad industry’s regulatory system in the last three decades.” That’s how the president and CEO of the Association of American Railroads (AAR) described the new Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization bill marked up and cleared by a Senate panel in December. It is the first comprehensive reauthorization of the STB since it was established under the ICC Termination Act of 1995 and the first significant reform of rail competition policy in 30 years since the Staggers Rail Act of 1980.
“For a quarter of a century, I have worked to enact needed rail legislation that would provide real reform and address the shippers’ problems,” said Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV). “The bill would fix these problems and prepare our rail regulatory structure to encourage a vital, robust rail industry.”
Senator Rockefeller pledged to continue to work with Senator Kohl and other members to add antitrust reforms to the bill as it moves to the floor.
“We continue to have concerns about certain provisions in the bill, particularly the nature and scope of the antitrust provision that may be added at a later date, and we will remain engaged with the Commerce Committee, Congress and the Administration to craft final legislation that ensures railroads can continue to make the investments that sustain a healthy national rail network,” the AAR said.
The bill, as written, would require major railroads to quote “bottleneck rates,” set standards for reciprocal switching and terminal access rates, create a process for parties to challenge “paper barriers,” and increase STB scrutiny of future railroad mergers for competitive, service, and environmental effects. Specifically, the bill would require mergers between Class I and II railroads to receive the same level of review that transactions between Class I carriers currently receive.
The STB would also become a fully independent agency, removing it from the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation, and it would be expanded from three to five members running the agency. It would also create a rail customer advocate and STB ombudsman to help customers resolve rail service and rate issues.
Meanwhile, the short line railroad industry was dealt a setback in its bid for a Congressional extension by the end of 2009 of its infrastructure tax credit. Consideration of a tax extenders bill that could have included the railroad tax credit was put on the backburner as Congress focused on health care legislation late in the year.
Lobbyists for and leaders of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) announced that their national effort to extend the railroad track maintenance tax credit had won support from a majority of members in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Some 240 members of the House and 51 Senators have signed on as official co-sponsors of the bill. H.R. 1132 and its companion in the Senate, S. 461, would extend the railroad track maintenance credit, known as the Section 45G credit, for an additional three years beyond the current scheduled expiration at the end of 2009. The bill would allow track acquired or created between 2005 and 2009 to qualify for the credit and proposes raising the credit limit from $3,500 to $4,500. The credit currently allows railroads to claim a 50-percent tax credit on qualified railroad track maintenance expenditures, with credits capped at a sum determined by multiplying the number of total track miles and $3,500. The credit helps support over $330 million in rail infrastructure improvements annually with a federal revenue cost of about $165 million per year.
Short line interests will take up the issue again in January and push to have the short line tax credit pass and be retroactive to Jan. 1, 2010. Railroaders say there’s no doubt that a renewed tax credit will quickly be put into use and the railway supply industry will see immediate new orders for ties, ballast, and rail.
“As soon as it passes, I can guarantee you that there will be purchasing officers ordering rail ties literally the next day,” said Ed McKechnie, chief commercial officer of short line operator Watco Companies Inc., who also serves as chairman of the ASLRRA’s Legislative Policy Committee. “It will be an absolutely immediate thing and that’s why it’s so important that it be done before the construction season starts.”
—By Kathy Keeney
Kathy Keeney is Publisher of the Rail Group at UBM Global Trade. She is the granddaughter of a railroader and has been a railroad journalist for 25 years. She is immediate past president of The League of Railway Industry Women.
What Time Does the 1 PM Train Leave?–Part 2
December 23rd, 2009When we last left our intrepid blogger, I was telling you about what a wonderful job we do this time of year running the Whippany Railway Museum’s Santa Claus Special, and how great it was running a scheduled railroad for these trains, and how a great time was being had by all. And, for the most part, that describes how the season was going.
That is, until December 13.
Now don’t think I have anything against the day. In fact, I am kind of fond of it, since it is my birthday. However, things got a little squirrely starting at 11:00am. See, we had a bit of a rain storm, which, when the rain contacted the very cold ground, turned to ice. Black ice. Those of you who live in the warmer climates are probably not familiar with this type of frozen water, but in this part of the world we get it with this type of weather, and there is nothing that I can think of with less friction. In the space of an hour there were accidents all over the place on the roads, so many in fact that the police resorted to just shutting some roads down for a while until they could catch up with the clean up. It took about an hour for everything to warm up enough that the roads were just wet, and then we had to think about running our Santa trains, which were scheduled for 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5pm.
We got enough of a crew to Whippany to operate the trains, and at 12:50, one of the museum people comes up to me and says, “We have a small problem. Santa is stuck in traffic.” Not good. In 18 years of running these trains, we have never had to think of plan B. Now we had to come up with one. We waited (with a close to full train), and as the bottom of the hour approached, we had a decision to make. Do we cancel the train entirely? Or, should we run the train without Santa, and offer the passengers who were there some compensation for the fact that we could not provide what we had promised for that trip? In the end, we ran the trip sans St. Nick, and most people understood the circumstances (there was one customer who called later to complain and tell us that her children were scarred for life, and we gave her a refund). Santa did arrive in time for the next train, and we ran the rest of the schedule that day 30 minutes late. Not exactly your choice for an ideal day, but in the end the majority of the people were happy.
So, after that fun day, did the next weekend run smoothly? Yes, but there was the snow storm. We got hit by the big storm that blanketed the East Coast, and it made for two very interesting days that weekend. On Saturday we ran waiting for the snow to start, and when it did at about 2:00pm, it made for some picturesque railroading. By the time we finished the last run of the day, the snow was really coming down and we were very happy to be heading home. The next day was one of the busiest days on the trips that we have had in many years. The snow had ended (we got about 10 inches), the sun came out, and it was a bright, beautiful day. We ran six trips, and they were for the most part full. We were tired when it was all over, but this was the most successful season of trips we have ever had. We ran 25 trains over the five days, and we carried somewhere in the range of 7,000 passengers.
And a good time was had by all (except, maybe for the mother of the children who were scarred for life).
—By Steve Friedland
Steve Friedland is a child of the railroad industry. Following summers and vacations working on the track gang for the family-owned Morristown & Erie Railway, a 42-mile New Jersey short line, he started full-time in 1994. He has worked in all areas of the railroad, including track, mechanical, signals, and operations, and currently is a member of the management team for the company as director of operations in Morristown, N.J. In 1999, he founded Short Line Data Systems, a provider of railroad EDI and dispatching software, AEI hardware, and management consulting to the short line industry. He also served as chairman of the ASLRRA’s Technology Committee for the past four years.
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