Blog: 2014

The Transportation Research Board’s annual meeting and Railroad Day on Capitol Hill are two events in D.C. that many in the railroad industry look forward to during the first quarter of every year. Both have major changes for 2015.For the first time in nearly 60 years, the TRB Annual Meeting will move to a new venue. The TRB 94th Annual Meeting will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., from January 11-15.

Here we are, at the change of the year, and while I wouldn’t classify 2014 as a tough year by any measure, 2015 already has the makings for one that will tax (no pun intended) us a bit. In the year past we have changed leadership at the ASLRRA (and the new president is already fast at work), got the 45G tax credit retroactively renewed, and have dealt with challenges like rulemaking on two-man crews, train securement, and crude by rail. So what are the items that we will be facing in 2015?

I kind of like this time of year. I’m talking about the period from Thanksgiving to Christmas, roughly three weeks that really signal the end of the business year (truth be told, I’m also kind of partial to it because my birthday falls in it, but that’s beside the point). Yes, it is a time for parties and celebrating, but it is also a time that careers come to a close, and three people that have had an effect on my career are in the process of calling time right now. Two of them you have probably heard of. One, probably not.Let’s start with the one you probably ha

Picture this: following the accidents that took place last year on short lines, people start calling for the end of the short line industry because it just simply isn’t working. The industry just can’t do the job, and no one can tolerate the damage and deaths. Crazy you say? Maybe for our industry, but it did take place a couple of weeks ago in another industry that has small companies starting to forge new paths for transportation. What industry am I talking about? Private space transportation.You might have seen the first accident that took place on live telev

I’ve written in the past about the meetings the ASLRRA Technology Committee have in the fall, and the cool places we get to go and see as part of our meetings. This week was no exception, as following our business meeting in Fort Worth, Texas, we went on a little rail-related excursion. No, we didn’t go to Tower 55, the famous UP yard, or any of the numerous other facilities in one of the busiest railroad towns in the country. No, we got to go to the

I’m a bit behind on my reading these days, but I finally got around to reviewing a recent report to Congress that projected dollars needed by short lines and regionals to address infrastructure needs.The small railroad sector is one that isn’t easy to get your arms around so it’s always helpful to see reports like this with facts and figures. The report prepared for the U.S.

Just got back from a nine-day, 4,500-mile adventure that included two meetings in places that could not be as different as they were. The calendar dictated the marathon trip, and as I will discuss below it was not without its issues, but there was a lot of good that came from the trip.My first stop was in Pueblo, Colorado for the AAR’s Wireless Communications Committee meeting. TTCI in Pueblo is the railroad industry’s version of Disneyland. They test new products for the industry in and on a collection of laboratories, tracks, test fixtures, and yes, a crash wall.

Getting to know your customers is key to any business, but particularly in sales. For some of us, it’s even important to get to know our customer’s customers and their needs.Railroading is a relationship business. Always has been and probably always will be, in my opinion. In that context, I was pleased to see that one of the first agenda items for the new president of the

When you have lived in the same area for a long time, you get to know how things flow around you. You know generally from which direction the storms come from, and if you are outside on a hot, humid, sunny day, you usually take a look in that direction to make sure that thunderstorms are not on their way. Things are not that much different on the political horizon for the short lines, and there might be a couple of clouds forming in that familiar location.Our old friends Senators Schumer of New York and Blumenthal of Connecticut have dropped S.

I have written many times in the past about how much attention to detail makes a difference in providing service to others. With that goes showing that you are actually paying attention to what you are doing, and not just going through the paces. Unfortunately, I have two recent examples of how not paying attention to what you are doing makes you come off looking like an idiot.First one comes from the school system where my children attend school. More specifically, the transportation department for the school system. One of our neighbors has two sons, one is a ju

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Blog: 2014

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