Trains – October 2019

AS RAILROADS ADOPT the Precision Sched-
uled Railroading operating model, some
disgruntled shippers are making it clear they
find precisely nothing to like about PSR.
In late July, Union Pacific, Norfolk
Southern, and Kansas City Southern touted
their operational improvements under PSR
— while shippers were telling a U.S. House
of Representatives subcommittee they’re
paying the price for PSR-related cutbacks.
The new NS operating plan launched on
July 1 is meant to move traffic faster and
more dependably, while reducing costs by
permitting NS to use fewer locomotives,
freight cars, and crews, CEO Jim Squires
told Wall Street analysts.
NS is concentrating tonnage on fewer
but longer, heavier trains. As a result, the
number of road train starts has declined by
more than 10%, to around 390 per day. The
railroad has reduced its reliance on major

terminals, which has cut car route-miles by

20% and train miles by 15%. NS has con-

verted hump yards in Allentown, Pa., and

Sheffield, Ala., to flat-switching facilities af-

ter volumes handled at the yards declined

due to reduced switching demand.

July’s shipper roundtable in Washington,

hosted by the House Subcommittee on Rail-

roads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials,

was a one-sided affair. No railroads were in-

vited to participate.

Shippers say they understand and sup-

port the rail industry’s need to become more

efficient and more profitable. But PSR has

gone too far, they say, and rewards investors

to the detriment of customer service.

“A combination of poor service and ris-

ing costs over the last few years is not only

unacceptable — it falls in the category of

unimaginable,” says Mike Amick, a senior

vice president at International Paper, the

largest user of boxcars.

Ross Corthell, vice president of transpor-

tation at Packaging Corp. of America and

head of the National Industrial Transporta-

tion League’s rail freight committee, says

Class I first- and last-mile service leaves a lot

to be desired. Railroads do a good job mea-

suring the performance of road trains, but

not local service. “This is where railroads do

a horrific job,” he says. “They’re very unpre-

dictable, they make resource planning at our

facilities almost impossible, and yet they

don’t measure that service at all.”

U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., says he

has “grave concerns” about PSR. The U.S.

freight rail system is the envy of the world,

he says, and it shouldn’t be threatened by

what he calls Wall Street’s focus on short-

term profits. — Bill Stephens

Precision Scheduled Railroading

works for big roads, not shippers

New operating plans go smoothly for Class I

railroads; panel complains of fallout for customers

“[LOCAL RAIL SERVICE IS] VERY UNPREDICTABLE, THEY MAKE

RESOURCE PLANNING AT OUR FACILITIES ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE,

AND YET THEY DON’T MEASURE THAT SERVICE AT ALL.”

— ROSS CORTHELL, PACKAGING CORP. OF AMERICA

12 OCTOBER 2019

NEWS

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