Hi, does anybody know some figures about freight trains in the USA?

Like the millions of tonnes transported by rail on major mountain passes, the grade of their railways, the number of daily trains (if possible, counting also passengers trains) and weigth and lenght of these trains, to compare with europeans lines.

Hi, does anybody know some figures about freight trains in the USA?

Like the millions of tonnes transported by rail on major mountain passes, the grade of their railways, the number of daily trains (if possible, counting also passengers trains) and weigth and lenght of these trains, to compare with europeans lines.

it was recently stated here that 38% of US freight went by rail, and that was far above the situation in Europe. Interestingly, in Japan, freight goes by road and the people take the train.

U.S. railways carried 427 billion ton-miles of cargo annually in 1930. This increased to 750 billion ton-miles in 1975, and had doubled to 1.5 trillion ton-miles in 2005

Thank you.

Do you know also how many goods transported the busiest railway in the USA (in million of tonnes, not tons-mile or tons-km, to compare with Europenan lines - even if I know yet that American's railways are more heavily used).

U.S. railroads see coal boom continuing
11 September 2008
By Nick Zieminski

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. railroads expect shipments of coal to remain strong for the foreseeable future, supporting the rail sector's double-digit earnings growth in coming years, industry executives said on Thursday.

Railroads, including CSX Corp, Union Pacific Corp., Norfolk Southern Corp. and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp, all highlighted coal shipments as a key growth area in presentations at a transports conference.

CSX raised its 2008 profit forecast, citing pricing and industry momentum, and said long-term earnings growth would be higher than previously expected, sending its shares up more than 10 percent. Other rail stocks also rallied.

Shipments from the U.S. Appalachian coal region to Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports, which account for 29 percent of CSX revenue, should remain strong for the next few years, CSX Chief Financial Officer Oscar Munoz told the Dahlman Rose Transportation Conference on Thursday.

"We have in hand the demand that we see," he said, citing long-term contracts. "It's tangible, not hoping and wishing."

CSX also raised its 2008 capital expenditure budget to $1.75 billion, from $1.6 billion, partly because of increased spending on new coal train cars.

CSX RAISES FORECAST

Railroads have benefited in recent quarters from global demand for metals, fertilizers and ethanol, offsetting softer shipments of autos, some consumer products, and freight related to housing. They have also invested in productivity improvements and picked up business from trucking by emphasizing the relative fuel efficiency of shipping by rail.

Strong momentum is expected to continue beyond 2008, Jacksonville, Florida-based CSX said. It expects 2008 earnings of $3.65 per share to $3.75 per share, up from its earlier outlook of $3.40 to $3.60 and above the $3.57 expected by analysts polled by Reuters Estimates.

CSX said it expects compound annual earnings growth of 20 percent to 25 percent through 2010 over 2008.

CSX shares rose $5.92, or 10.8 percent, to close at $60.77. Burlington added $4.93, or 5 percent, to end at $104.37. Union Pacific Corp gained $4.83, or 6.5 percent, at $78.64. Norfolk Southern was up $3.01, or 4.6 percent, at $68.48. All trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

The Dow Jones Transports index was up 11 percent year-to-date, counting Thursday's advance of 3.4 percent. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index finished 1.4 percent higher.

"Domestic and export markets continue to provide opportunities for expansion," Longbow Research analyst Lee Klaskow said in a research note. "The solid coal market should benefit Norfolk Southern as well."

GLOBAL DEMAND

Coal demand has soared in recent years among steel producers in emerging markets like China, and among power producers. Exports are up 63 percent this year, helped by a weak U.S. dollar and production limitations in Australia, Norfolk Southern said.

World demand for coal is expected to jump another 57 percent by 2030, western rail giant Union Pacific said.

"Western coal is one of the most abundant natural resources in the world," Union Pacific's CFO Robert Knight said. "Demand for coal will continue to drive volumes."

Shipments of energy-related products, including coal, are up this quarter, helping offset lower auto volumes, Union Pacific said. It expects about $5 billion in energy-related revenue this year, up from $4.3 billion in 2007.

"We're very bullish on coal," Tom Hund, CFO of Burlington Northern Santa Fe, told the transports conference. Burlington ships coal from the Powder River Basin (PRB) area in Wyoming and Montana, almost all of it for domestic energy production. Coal accounts for 22 percent of Burlington revenue.

Burlington did not update its earnings forecast but said it expects long-term, double-digit earnings growth to continue.

Half of U.S. power generation comes from coal, versus about 20 percent each generated by nuclear and natural gas plants, and coal is expected to become even more dominant.

Western coal will account for the bulk of that increase in coming years, Hund said, because it is easier to dig up and less of it is exported. As a result, Burlington is seeing more interest from East Coast utilities.

"We'll continue to see PRB coal migrate east," Hund said.

If anybody want to compare the European rail freight situation with other parts of the world, I will suggest to also look at South Africa and Australia. Also do not forget Canada, Russia, Brazil and India.

South Africa compares well with Europe with shorter distances than that of the USA and a network that is electrified for all the main corridors. The smallest of freight trains in South Africa is bigger that biggest (excluding Ore trains in Sweden) than the freight trains in Europe. The biggest freight trains in South Africa will transport up to 30 000 tons of Iron ore in one train that is 3.5 kilometer long. These long trains use Electronically controlled Pneumatic brakes and the Federal Railroad Administration of the USA is taking the South African standard and this will now becomes the American standard. Remember that the South African network is narrow gauge with a gauge of only 1067mm or 3 foot 6 inches.

The Rail freight company, Transnet Freight Rail (TFR), is the second most profitable railway company in the world after America Latina Logistica (ALL) in Brazil. ALL achieves an Operating Profit margin of 42%, TFR a margin of 30% followed by Indian Railways with 27% and then Canadian National with 24%. Interesting is that ALL in Brazil mostly run their freight trains on 1 meter gauge lines. During my last visit to ALL it was interesting to see representative of at least 3 of the biggest USA freight companies looking at the processes and technology of ALL as they were achieving better productivity figures that any USA railway.

Average freight rates is most probable the lowest in South Africa due the high usage of electric traction - TFR spend only 10% of total expenditure on Energy - the lowest in the world and the energy cost per tonnekm in South Africa is about a third of that of the USA. Europe will be able to replicate this with electrified networks although the ratio of diesel freight trains to electric freight trains in France and Germany (Europe) is higher than that of TFR in South Africa.

Just for those interested parties, TFR in South Africa transports more freight by rail than France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Switserland and Austria combined. This is achieved even with a population of less than 15% of that of the countries listed combined.

Canada and the USA are essentially one country when it comes to their freight railroad networks - the integration of their physical plants, technical standards and operating companies is that great.

Also, yes, North American freight railroads are straining under their traffic loads, this after making major cutbacks and rationalizations during the second half of the 20th century.

Mike

I think to some degree Mexico could also be included...I think, does anyone know for sure?

They do use the same kinds of locomotives and rolling stock and a few companies own track on both sides of the border

I think to some degree Mexico could also be included...I think, does anyone know for sure?

They do use the same kinds of locomotives and rolling stock and a few companies own track on both sides of the border
Yepper, you can include Mexico in that, too, their railroads are fully interoperable with those of the USA and Canada and have STRONG ownership ties with the USA. When Mexico de-nationalized the NDEM (Ferrocarriles Nationales de Mexico) a few years back, its various lines were purchased by several consortia backed by other USA-based railroad companies (Mexican law requires that at least 51% of the shares be held by Mexico-based owners). The largest chunk is with the Kansas City Southern.

Mike

Hi, does anybody know some figures about freight trains in the USA?

Like the millions of tonnes transported by rail on major mountain passes, the grade of their railways, the number of daily trains (if possible, counting also passengers trains) and weigth and lenght of these trains, to compare with europeans lines.
As for some of your original questions, the maximum major mainline grade that I am aware of is about 3% on UP and BNSF as the descend from Cajon Pass into the Los Angeles, CA metro area (roughly along I-15 north of San Bernardino, CA). This trackage is INTENSELY busy, too.

The World's busiest freight railroad is Union Pacific's mainline between Gibbon, NE and Sutherland, NE (this is about 900-1000 km west of Chicago). This line averages 120-130 freight trains per day and includes the World's largest and busiest railroad yard, located at North Platte, NE. Many trains on this line (ie, loaded coal trains) will normally go about 2 km long and weigh upwards of 14.000-15.000 t. Other trains on this line (ie, containers) will easily go over 3 km long.

Mike

Do you know the weight of goods transported in a year by these trains (without counting the weight of waggons), especially on the line with 3% grade?

I would compare this traffic with similar European railroads, for sure with few freight traffic compared to American oens.

In a total numbers, UIC statistic for freight millions tonne-kilometres in 2007 are:
United States 2820
China 2211
Russia 2090
India 480.99
older figures (2005,2006)
European Union 382.7
Canada 352.1
Ukraine 240.8
Brazil 232.3
Kazakhstan 191.19
South Africa 108.51
Germany 89.69
Mexico 54.39
Australia 46.04
Belarus 45.72
Poland 42.65
France 42.12

for rail share of freight transport, OECD 2005 figures are (coastal shipping excluded, pipelines included in total):
United States 40%
Russia 56%
Canada 38%
Germany 18%
Mexico 10%
Australia 42%
Poland 33%
France 17%

If anybody want to compare the European rail freight situation with other parts of the world, I will suggest to also look at South Africa and Australia. Also do not forget Canada, Russia, Brazil and India.

South Africa compares well with Europe with shorter distances than that of the USA and a network that is electrified for all the main corridors. The smallest of freight trains in South Africa is bigger that biggest (excluding Ore trains in Sweden) than the freight trains in Europe. The biggest freight trains in South Africa will transport up to 30 000 tons of Iron ore in one train that is 3.5 kilometer long. These long trains use Electronically controlled Pneumatic brakes and the Federal Railroad Administration of the USA is taking the South African standard and this will now becomes the American standard. Remember that the South African network is narrow gauge with a gauge of only 1067mm or 3 foot 6 inches.

The Rail freight company, Transnet Freight Rail (TFR), is the second most profitable railway company in the world after America Latina Logistica (ALL) in Brazil. ALL achieves an Operating Profit margin of 42%, TFR a margin of 30% followed by Indian Railways with 27% and then Canadian National with 24%. Interesting is that ALL in Brazil mostly run their freight trains on 1 meter gauge lines. During my last visit to ALL it was interesting to see representative of at least 3 of the biggest USA freight companies looking at the processes and technology of ALL as they were achieving better productivity figures that any USA railway.

Average freight rates is most probable the lowest in South Africa due the high usage of electric traction - TFR spend only 10% of total expenditure on Energy - the lowest in the world and the energy cost per tonnekm in South Africa is about a third of that of the USA. Europe will be able to replicate this with electrified networks although the ratio of diesel freight trains to electric freight trains in France and Germany (Europe) is higher than that of TFR in South Africa.

Just for those interested parties, TFR in South Africa transports more freight by rail than France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Switserland and Austria combined. This is achieved even with a population of less than 15% of that of the countries listed combined.

:ohno:

South Africa has roughly the same area/size as France+Germany+Poland(plus add luxembourg + nederlands + belgium) put together ... these 3(6) countries are roughly the double of the SA traffic ... and consider that neither is a large raw materials provider nor a big railfreight user (france's railways are actualy losing a great share every year). :cheers:

About the USA ... considering that the USA + canada are about the same size than Europe from Portugal(west) to the Urals (middle of russia in the east) with only 1/2 the population ... everything has to be shipped by container from one large urban region to another somehow .. usualy it's done by train. :lol:

Theres no need to overextend the european railway networks to acomodate quilometers long trains ... simply add enough trains to haul the cargo more easily.

Example ... hour local coal trains run in a roundabound using the current railways (300km between the port and the power station) with 3 to 4 trains of "only" 2000ton per direction each day ... do you think that a 10.000 ton train per day train would be more usefull ??? For that you either needed a segregated railway our you ended up with the kind of ultra restrictive railway directives of FRA in the USA ... so this way we get both 2000ton coal trains and 230km/h high speed trains in the same railway (and at the same time) ... and considering that the majority of the freight in europe is being moved less than 500km. :cheers:

And remember ... SA is in south africa ... 3rd world (expression not to be taken that way) so not everything is overpriced like in Europe (starting by the high electricity costs). :ohno:

Everything has its own reasons for being ... long trains are an american/canadian/sa/australia feature ... in europe's environment they are basicaly useless since direct door to door express freight is much more simple to handle.

America needs to expand its freight rail lines and improve the bottlenecks that make increased use of rail for freight shipment difficult.

The Chicago-NW Indiana region is a key chokepoint in America's freight rail system.

Seen this and rememberedthis thread:

The Ministry of Transport in Jordan unveiled its railway development plan at the end of July which would see two lines totalling 1 018 km built by 2013. A north-south route would run from the Syrian border to Aqaba via Mafraq, Amman and Ma’an, whilst an east-west route would run from Mafraq to the Iraq border via Irbid and Azraq. A link with the north-south line in Saudi Arabia is also envisaged. Total cost is put at 2·9bn dinars for the infrastructure and 1·4bn for rolling stock.

Participating in a ceremony on August 4, when Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad marked the start of work on a 4·1 km tunnel to carry the Tehran – Tabriz line through the capital’s suburbs, RAI Managing Director Hassan Ziari said he hoped work could start soon on electrification of the Tehran – Mashhad route, which will require the purchase of 70 electric locomotives capable of 200 km/h operation.

Studies have started for a new line in Angola, running north for almost 1 000 km from Luanda through the provinces of Bengo, Uíge and Zaire. It would connect with the Chemin de Fer Congo – Océan line from Pointe Noire to Brazzaville, in the Republic of Congo, and then continue to Angola’s northernmost province, Cabinda, which is physically isolated from the rest of the country. A similar project began in the 1940s under a Portuguese initiative, but only 10 km of track was laid.

The provincial government in Zhejiang announced on August 16 that it has approved construction of the planned Shanghai – Hangzhou maglev route, which will extend the existing Pudong Airport shuttle to 199·4 km. However, the start of work has been put back to 2010, with opening now envisaged in 2014, and the planned 30 km cross-city section in Shanghai to serve Hongqiao Airport has been dropped.

Eastern Cape Department of Transport in South Africa has invited expressions of interest in the supply, maintenance and operation of 'high speed inter-city passenger trains’ for the re-opened Kei Rail line to Mthatha (RG 6.08 p372). The intention is to cut the journey time for the 282 km trip from 10 h to around 5 h, which is still only an average speed of 56 km/h.

An Environmental Impact Statement for a proposed 320 km passenger railway between Victorville in California and Las Vegas in Nevada is due to be completed by the end of this year, according to Victorville Mayor Terry Caldwell. Launched in 2006, the privately-promoted DesertXpress envisages 200 km/h trains operating along existing rail corridors or beside Interstate 15.

See the differences ???

Offtopic: nothing beats multiple diesel locos hauling a quilometers long coal train to feed a power station wich will allow an electrified comuter/subway to operate. :cheers:

America needs to expand its freight rail lines and improve the bottlenecks that make increased use of rail for freight shipment difficult.

The Chicago-NW Indiana region is a key chokepoint in America's freight rail system.

There are huge fights going on in Chicago right now with the city and the suburbs, trying to find routes to increase capacity. Every day there are literally thousands of freight trains around the Chicago area trying to squeeze through on the old infrastructure.

It can take as long for a train to move halfway across the country as it can take to snake through the Chicago metro area.

There are huge fights going on in Chicago right now with the city and the suburbs, trying to find routes to increase capacity. Every day there are literally thousands of freight trains around the Chicago area trying to squeeze through on the old infrastructure.

It can take as long for a train to move halfway across the country as it can take to snake through the Chicago metro area.

I experience the jam first hand. The at-grade crossings need to be removed. And I noticed how just in NW Indiana so many rail lines have been torn up over the past fifty years. That has to stop. Rebuild the rail lines!!

Ultimately, laying more track and separating passenger from freight traffic on rail lines is what will have to happen. It is an expensive solution, but it has to happen and the gains made in decreased transportation costs and shipping time will make up for the expense.

CSX CEO: slowdown could push customers to US rails

DETROIT, Oct 15 (Reuters) - A slowing U.S. economy could push more customers to opt for the low-cost option of shipping their goods by train, the top executive of No. 3 U.S. railroad CSX Corp said on Wednesday.

"If the economy does get a little tougher, then more people will turn to the railroads as a cheaper alternative," Chief Executive Michael Ward told Reuters in a telephone interview. "I think we're also going to see more trucking companies partner up with the railroads, with us providing the long-haul service and them taking goods the last few miles to customers."

He added that the U.S. housing and automotive sectors should "continue to be challenged throughout 2009," but that CSX's business should continue to perform strongly regardless.

"While I wouldn't say that we're recession proof, we are somewhat recession resistant," Ward said. "More than 50 percent of the goods we haul are daily essentials."

"People are still going to need to eat, they're going to need to heat their homes and have someone haul the trash away. That's where we come in," he added.

CSX's CEO said the railroad was well into the process of re-pricing its contracts for 2009 and was confident it could raise freight rates at a similar pace to the 6 percent to 7 percent annual average increases of the past few years.

"Broadly speaking, we can expect to see the same price increases as we've seen in previous years," Ward said.

Ward said so far CSX has not seen the credit crunch impact its customers' ability to ship and pay for goods, but added that the railroad was "monitoring the situation daily."

CSX's CEO spoke to Reuters the day after the Jacksonville, Florida-based company reported a higher third-quarter profit as strong pricing offset a 2 percent decline in freight volumes.

The company also said its full-year 2008 earnings per share would come in at the low end of its previously stated range of $3.65 to $3.75, due to the weakening of the U.S. economy.

The major U.S. railroads have all posted strong profits in recent quarters despite faltering retail and auto sales and the worst housing crisis since the Great Depression, thanks to solid pricing.

"Rail shares have been battered in the last month on concerns over the economy and longer-term pricing power," Deutsche Bank analyst Marcelo Choi wrote in a note for clients. "While there could be some risk to 2009 EPS, CSX and other (major U.S. railroads) have proven in the past that they can get strong pricing despite softer volumes.

"If this scenario continues to play out, we think shares are attractively priced," he added.

In a note for clients, Merrill Lynch analyst Ken Hoexter raised full-year 2008 earnings-per-share estimates for CSX to $3.63 from $3.60, "slightly below the company's EPS target range as we remain cautious on the economy."

In New York Stock Exchange trading, CSX shares were down $4.66, or nearly 10 percent, at $43.48.

Rail should be responsible for long haul freight shipment with trucks doing the short haul shipments.

Why companies weren't shipping goods via rail before the economic downturn is beyond me. It is a far more environmentally friendly and efficient form of transportation.

^ It's not as flexible and likely less profitable. The environment isn't always at the top of companies' concerns.

INTERVIEW - Norfolk Southern CEO sees "pricing momentum"

DETROIT, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Norfolk Southern Corp's freight prices look solid through the second quarter of 2009 and should remain robust beyond that point, CEO Wick Moorman said on Wednesday.

"In this kind of economic environment, we are always a little cautious," Moorman told Reuters in a telephone interview. "That said, we still think our service is attractively priced, and we are confident we can maintain pricing momentum."

He added that "not much is likely to happen" in the U.S. auto industry in 2009 and said he was hopeful the slumping U.S. housing sector has "approached a bottom."

"When it will start to climb out the other side is unclear," Moorman said.

The chief executive spoke to Reuters a day after the No. 4 U.S. railroad announced a better-than-expected third-quarter profit. Solid pricing offset weakness in the housing and automotive sectors and an overall weakening of the U.S. economy.

Moorman said although housing and automotive remained a "drag on earnings," the railroad's coal and agricultural freight business remains robust.

And while international intermodal services are down, Moorman said domestic U.S. shipments were benefiting from a shift from truck to train.

Intermodal services haul finished consumer goods in standardized containers that can be interchanged between truck, ship and train. Hauling goods by train is cheaper than by truck, and railroads have picked up some long-haul business from trucking companies in recent months thanks in large part to high gas prices.

Analysts hailed Norfolk Southern's quarterly results, which were posted after the stock market closed on Tuesday.

"In our opinion, Norfolk Southern remains the best operating U.S. railroad, led by its ... continued pricing power and large exposure to coal, intermodal and grain," Merrill Lynch analyst Ken Hoexter wrote in a note to clients.

Barclays Capital analyst Gary Chase wrote in a research note that "we see upside to fourth-quarter earnings for the rails."

But he added that he was "concerned about the longer-term ability to increase pricing and sustain earnings growth in a weakening economic environment."

In midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Norfolk Southern shares were up $1.48, or 2.75 percent, at $55.35.

Union Pacific 3rd-qtr profit leaps, beats analysts' estimates, on higher prices, productivity
23 October 2008

NEW YORK (AP) - Union Pacific says its third-quarter earnings jumped 32 percent on higher prices and better productivity.

The Omaha, Neb.-based railroad earned $703 million, or $1.38 per share, compared with $532 million, or $1 per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Revenue rose 16 percent, to $4.85 billion, from $4.19 billion a year earlier.

Thomson Reuters says analysts were expecting a profit of $1.30 per share on revenue of $4.74 billion.

Union Pacific Corp. says revenue jumped in five out of six commodity segments, led by energy and agricultural products. Revenue from automotive shipments fell 7 percent.

The company says higher fuel prices and hurricane damage were offset by higher prices.

Railroads stock fall with market despite better than expected results at Burlington Northern
24 October 2008

NEW YORK (AP) - Railroad stocks fell Friday along with the broader market despite Burlington Northern's better-than-expected results and upbeat view of the rest of the year.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., owner of the nation's second-largest freight railroad, released third-quarter results after the markets closed Thursday.

Still, Burlington and other freight railroads couldn't dodge the runaway selling that dragged the Dow Jones Industrial Average throughout most of Friday.

Burlington Northern shares lost $1.58 to close at $80; and shares of Union Pacific Corp., the nation's largest railroad, edged up 3 cents to end at $58.28.

Shares of Norfolk Southern Corp. lost $1.46, or 2.7 percent, to finish at $53.12; CSX Corp. shares shed $1.36, or 3.1 percent, to $42.38; and rail car manufacturer FreightCar America Inc. shares gave up $1.30, or 6.5 percent, to $18.60.

Burlington Northern said late Thursday that it expects freight revenue to grow between 8 and 10 percent and prices will remain firm in the fourth quarter despite a slight decline in freight volume.

But Chief Executive Matthew Rose declined to offer predictions about next year until January, citing uncertainty in the economy.

Goldman sees railroad volume to be even lower in 2009

Jan 20 (Reuters) - Rapid economic deceleration should drive 2009 volume of U.S. railroads even lower, Goldman Sachs said and removed Union Pacific Corp , the No. 1 U.S. railroad, from Americas conviction buy list.

"As the U.S. economy continues to deteriorate, so do the shipments of goods by rail," analyst David Feinberg wrote in a note to clients, while removing Canadian National Railway Co , Canada's largest railway, from Americas buy list. Canadian National will not be able to avoid challenges of lower volume growth despite its track record as best-in-class operator, the analyst said.

Feinberg forecast a 10.8 percent decline in industry volume growth, compared with his prior estimate of a 6.3 percent decline.

"Heading into the start of fourth-quarter earnings season, we expect railroad stocks to continue to underperform as visibility of a recovery in freight volume does not exist," Feinberg said.

The analyst also said he was more cautious about railroads' pricing power in 2009.

Investors will be more concerned about the sustainability of pricing in the face of deflationary cost pressure and rapidly deteriorating demand, he said.

Feinberg, however, remained "neutral" on the railroad industry, saying any signs of pricing power would be an "incremental positive relative to current investor expectations and could drive shares higher".

He removed Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp from Americas sell list, saying the No. 2 U.S. railroad's shares accurately reflect concerns over decline in volumes.

Feinberg added Kansas City Southern to the Americas conviction sell list and forecast that the company will have the worst 2009 organic volume among the Class 1 railroads.

Shares of Kansas City were down more than 10 percent, while those of Canadian National fell 8 percent in morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

Union Pacific shares were down almost 5 percent, while Burlington shares had shed more than 3 percent.

Actually, the current method of freight delivery is very inefficient. Shipping via air for example involves going through a central hub (Memphis for Fed Ex) meaning a lot of fuel is wasted when shipping via rail is more direct and uses much less fuel.

And if the U.S. hadn't ripped out half of its train tracks over the past fourty years flexibility wouldn't be an issue.

I didn't know that all those ripped out rails were likely to lead right doorstep of stores and retail all over the country. Trucks are an essential part of our society today, the question is not how many there "should be" but what distance each truck will travel.

Also the railroads were doing well before the slump as well given the higher gas prices. It was during the late 80's and 90's during the era of cheap fuel that trains had some of their worst years.

didn't know that all those ripped out rails were likely to lead right doorstep of stores and retail all over the country.

I think its more relevant to industry, which in fact often does have rail to its doorstep. In my town, we have a fairly modern warehouse district with some private spurs.

I think the US rail system needs a diverse network of producers and suppliers who ship trainloads to one another. If these lie at the ends of branch lines and you cut those tracks off thinking its best to save the main lines, your just killing off the traffic on the whole system.

Steel mills and ports have train tracks that run right up to them.

Eliminate the choke points (Chicago, LA) and shipping via freight clearly becomes the cost effective choice. Trains can ship more than trucks on less fuel.

America became a trucking country because of the power of the highway lobby. There is nothing intrinsically more efficient about shipping via truck.

Trucks are a danger on roadways.

Are there other large scale secondary ports that can handle the traffic? Is Long Beach the only real choice?

Norfolk Southern plans more employee furloughs as shipping demand remains weak
28 January 2009

NEW YORK (AP) - Railroad operator Norfolk Southern Corp. said Wednesday it has reduced the number of its train and engine service employees by 6 percent in the last eight months through furloughs and a hiring slowdown, and more job cuts are likely.

Norfolk Southern said Tuesday its fourth-quarter profit rose 13 percent as higher shipping prices and lower fuel costs offset tumbling demand for goods.

The company has cut its train and engine service crew from a high of 12,380 in April to 11,622 as of last week, Chief Operating Officer Stephen Tobias said in a conference call with analysts. About 400 of those employees were furloughed and the rest of the reduction was the result of a hiring slowdown.

Norfolk Southern expects to furlough more train and engine employees -- including 100 in the next month. Tobias also said reductions in other areas are possible, such as mechanical, as engine crews are reduced.

Norfolk Southern has also reduced shifts at some terminals. It cut shifts at its Buckeye terminal in Columbus, Ohio, to one from three, and its Sheffield, Ala., terminal, now has two shifts instead of three. The company has also has fewer workers at its terminal in Reading, Pa.

Norfolk Southern also reduced the number of scheduled trains it operates by almost 44,000 and put 60 trains out of service as a result of deteriorating demand. The reductions began in October.

Norfolk Southern shares rose $1.50, or 4 percent, to $39.15 in morning trading.

I used to work with someone who had been in the shipping department of a large company. According to him shipping by rail is good for non-perishables and real bulk freight. Trucks are actually faster.

As I said, trucks are faster because freight rail is forced to use subpar, single track to ship goods and most of it goes through Chicago, which is a horrible chokepoint. Eliminate the chokepoints and add more track along existing corridors and shipping via rail becomes much more efficient.

The US has been building highways and tearing up railroad track over the past fifty years.

As I said, trucks are faster because freight rail is forced to use subpar, single track to ship goods and most of it goes through Chicago, which is a horrible chokepoint. Eliminate the chokepoints and add more track along existing corridors and shipping via rail becomes much more efficient.

The US has been building highways and tearing up railroad track over the past fifty years.

Canadian National completes acquisition of railway line around Chicago
2 February 2009

CHICAGO (AP) - Canadian National Railway Co. says it has completed its acquisition of a nearly 200-mile railway line encircling Chicago.

The closing on the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company was completed late Saturday.

In a statement Sunday, CN's CEO E. Hunter Harrison says the acquisition will drive new efficiencies and the deal is important to the Chicago area's economy.

The $300 million bid by Montreal-based company was heavily scrutinized, with many wondering if the U.S. Surface Transportation Board would accept the deal in spite of heavy political pressure not to.

Federal regulators approved the sale in December, despite vocal concerns over environmental impact and safety from many in Chicago suburbs.

The rail line encircles Chicago from Waukegan to Gary, Ind.

That line in question is mostly single track- double track it and you could take a lot of traffic off of the inner city Chicago railroads.

If I had my way, the entire rail network on the North American continent would be nationalized and given to state/provincial authorities, where they would be reborn as European-like public bodies. They would then rationalize the system (no more parallel railways competing) and promote efficiencies which can deliver more services.

If I had my way, the entire rail network on the North American continent would be nationalized and given to state/provincial authorities, where they would be reborn as European-like public bodies. They would then rationalize the system (no more parallel railways competing) and promote efficiencies which can deliver more services.

That would be ideal- but this is America you are talking about, politics trumps good policy in this country.

One can hope :P that the economic crisis forces CN, CP, UP, CSX, etc to the brink of bankruptcy and require a public bailout just like the banks and auto industry...

railways are a natural monopoly. it didn't make sense (from a macroeconomic perspective) to have them in private hands. the argument back then was to have the railways compete with the trucking industry. it just resulted in a powerful trucking industry, and a bunch of disparate yet still profitable rail routes.

Kansas City Southern reports first-quarter loss as economy cuts rail loads by 15 percent
30 April 2009

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Kansas City Southern has reported a first-quarter loss as the struggling global economy reduces the size and number of railroad shipments.

The Kansas City-based company said Thursday it lost $7.5 million, or 8 cents per share, during the three months ending March 31. The company saw profits of $32.9 million, or 39 cents per share, during the same period a year ago.

Not including one-time charges, the company said it would have earned 6 cents per share, meeting the expectations of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

Revenue during the quarter fell 23 percent to $346 million, below the $377.4 million expected by analysts. The company said rail volumes were down 15 percent for its U.S. and Mexican operations.

U.S. rail freight down 22.9 pct from year ago-AAR

WASHINGTON, May 21 (Reuters) - Freight traffic across North America slumped 23.2 percent in the week ended May 16 from the same week a year ago, including a 22.9 percent drop in U.S. rail freight, as a sluggish economy continued to drag rail shipments downward.

For the first 19 weeks of the year, North American rail freight was off 19.7 percent to 6.4 million car loads from the same 2008 period, the Association of American Railroads said in a weekly report.

Intermodal volume -- freight loaded into a container or truck trailer and then transported by train -- dropped 16.3 percent in North America from the first 19 weeks of 2008, the group said.

U.S. rail car loads fell 0.9 percent to 247,258 in the May 16 week from 249,576 carloads the prior week. Carloads were 25.3 percent below the year-ago week's 331,198 total.

Freight transported in trailers or containers on U.S. railways for the week ended May 16 was off 19.4 percent from a year ago to 188,435 trailers and containers combined, the association said. Container volume fell 14.1 percent while trailer volume plummeted 39.1 percent from a year ago.

U.S. carloads of all commodities that the association tracks, including the miscellaneous category of "all other carloads," fell from the year-ago week. Declines ranged from 10.2 percent for grain mill products to 69.5 percent for shipments of metallic ores.

U.S. freight transportation in the first 19 weeks of 2009 has reached an estimated 534.6 billion ton-miles, down 18.1 percent from 652.7 billion at this time a year earlier, the report said.

The ton-mile is a unit used by the association and represents one ton of freight hauled one mile.

Are there other large scale secondary ports that can handle the traffic? Is Long Beach the only real choice?

On the West Coast, there is Port of Oakland CA, Portland OR, and Seattle, WA. But I think Long Beach is favored because it is the end of transcontinental routes with the fewest grades (=fewer big mountains to cross), so manufactured goods can get faster to markets.

U.S. rail freight down 23.5 pct from year ago-AAR

WASHINGTON, June 4 (Reuters) - Freight traffic across North America slumped 24.7 percent in the week ended May 30 from the same week a year ago, including a 23.5 percent drop in U.S. rail freight, as demand for rail shipments was dragged down by the economy.

For the first five months of the year, North American rail freight was off 20.2 percent to 7 million carloads from the same 2008 period, the Association of American Railroads said in a weekly report.

Intermodal volume, freight loaded into a container or truck trailer and then transported by train, dropped 16.6 percent in North America from the first five months of 2008, the group said.

U.S. rail carloads fell 10.1 percent to 233,195 in the May 30 week from 259,264 carloads the prior week. Carloads were 26.3 percent below the year-ago week's 316,384 total.

"Industrial production is still down sharply across the board," John Gray, AAR senior vice president, said in a statement.

"That means lower demand for rail service for everything from chemicals and scrap metal to cement and ores. Basically, railroads are in a waiting game -- waiting for the economy to turn," he said.

Freight transported in trailers or containers on U.S. railways for the week ended May 30 was off 19.2 percent from a year ago to 164,916 trailers and containers combined, the association said. Container volume fell 13.8 percent while trailer volume plummeted 39.2 percent from a year ago.

"May marked the second straight month in which U.S. rail coal carloadings had double-digit declines, a consequence of lower electricity demand and higher coal stockpiles," Gray said of coal shipments which were off 15.2 percent from a year ago.

U.S. carloads of all commodities that the association tracks, including the miscellaneous category of "all other carloads," fell from the year-ago week. Declines ranged from 7 percent for farm products excluding grain to 80.3 percent for shipments of metallic ores.

U.S. freight transportation in the first 21 weeks of 2009 has reached an estimated 586.8 billion ton-miles, down 18.5 percent from 720.2 billion at this time a year earlier, the report said.

The ton-mile is a unit used by the association and represents one ton of freight hauled one mile.

The full report is available at http://www.aar.org.

US rail freight off 19.9 percent from year ago-AAR

WASHINGTON, June 11 (Reuters) - Freight traffic across North America slumped 20.8 percent in the week ended June 6 from the same week a year ago, including a 19.9 percent drop in U.S. rail freight, a trade group said on Thursday in a weekly report.

For the first 22 weeks of the year, North American rail freight was off 20.2 percent to 7.3 million carloads from the same 2008 period, the Association of American Railroads said.

Intermodal volume, freight loaded into a container or truck trailer and then transported by train, fell 16.7 percent in North America from the first 22 weeks of 2008, the group said.

U.S. rail carloads rose 11.6 percent to 260,282 in the June 6 week -- the highest in nine weeks -- from 233,195 carloads the prior week. AAR said the increase showed "slight signs of a slowly moving economy."

Carloads were 19.8 percent below the year-ago week's 324,589 total.

Freight transported in trailers or containers on U.S. railways for the week ended June 6 was off 20.1 percent from a year ago to 188,801 trailers and containers combined, the association said. Container volume fell 15.3 percent while trailer volume plummeted 37.7 percent from a year ago.

U.S. carloads of all commodities that the association tracks, with the exception of the miscellaneous category of "all other carloads," fell from the year-ago week. Declines ranged from 6.7 percent in grain mill products to 68.2 percent for shipments of metallic ores.

Miscellaneous carloadings rose 24.4 percent from a year ago, AAR said.

U.S. freight transportation in the first 22 weeks of 2009 has reached an estimated 615.6 billion ton-miles, down 18.4 percent from 754.3 billion at this time a year earlier, the report said.

The ton-mile is a unit used by the association and represents one ton of freight hauled one mile.

INTERVIEW-BNSF CEO- US at bottom, recovery likely slow

DETROIT, June 15 (Reuters) - The pace of economic decline in the United States appears to have slowed but there are few indications that a recovery will be anything but a long, drawn out affair, the top executive at America's No. 2 U.S. railroad said on Monday.

"It appears that we've seen a leveling out," Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp Chief Executive Matt Rose told Reuters on the sidelines of the National Summit in Detroit. "The next logical question is when does it start to come up."

"It's still too hard to tell, but it definitely feels like we're in the bottoming process," he added.

According to the Association of American Railroads, for the first 22 weeks of 2008 ending June 6 U.S. rail freight volumes were down 19.5 percent. But the pace of decline has slowed in recent weeks.

"But it's going to be a slow recovery, as there's nothing out there that suggests this will turn around quickly," Rose said.

Rose added that the sense he gets from customers and executives at other companies is that there is a "lot more sense of calm than there was 90 days ago" as the economic free fall that followed the collapse of Lehman Brothers has eased.

"We're looking for recovery now," he said. "But everybody believes it's going to be a longer climb."

More federal support of freight rail system needed, Senate panel told
19 June 2009
Environment & Energy Daily

Federal efforts and funding to strengthen the nation's freight rail system would relieve the country of road infrastructure problems and threats to competitiveness, several witnesses told a Senate panel yesterday.

"You don't have to be an engineer to ride down a roadbed and see ruts on a rainy day," said Larry "Butch" Brown, executive director of the Mississippi Department of Transportation. "That rutting is not caused by light passenger vehicles and pickup trucks. It's coming from the enormous weights we're imposing on the roads."

Fewer heavy trucks on the road would make life a lot easier for Brown. Take away the 80,000- to 90,000-pound semi-rigs that rumble down Mississippi roads and the cost of construction and maintenance would be reduced to a fraction, he said.

"Instead of $10 million to $15 million a mile, we could duplicate those roads for about $1.5 million to $2 million a mile," Brown explained.

Brown was part of a five-person panel of transportation officials, railway executives and retail representatives urging the Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security to boost federal support for the nation's stressed freight rail system.

Their plea came just hours after the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee released a draft bill to replace the SAFETEA-LU transportation authorization set to expire this September. Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) and ranking member John Mica (R-Fla.) outlined a $500 billion, six-year plan that includes the creation of a National Infrastructure Bank to provide grants, loans and other financial tools for states to finance critical freight rail projects.

A shortage of investments in the U.S. intermodal system has led to massive congestion, stymieing the flow of goods to their industrial and retail destinations. The delays have raised annual costs to the country by an estimated $8 billion, according to Cambridge Systematics Inc., a Massachusetts-based transportation consulting firm.

The neglect has come at the cost of the United States' competitiveness in the world economy, said Matt Rose, CEO of BNSF Railway.

"You have to incentivize more capacity," said Rose, who warned that the economic recession was causing an "emotional trap," giving the impression that the rail system will be able to accommodate more goods when the economy recovers.

"This economy will get back to some nominal growth," Rose said, "and it's going to be harder to make the improvements long term than it is going to be right now."

Rose said the country needs a better multi-modal vision for freight rail mobility and called on members to craft incentives like investment tax credits, more public-private partnerships and sensible deregulation.

Moreover, the country needs to find a way to merge transportation, energy and climate policy into one harmonious system, said Rose, adding that one BNSF train removes more than 280 long-haul trucks from the highways.

"The freight's always going to move," Brown said. "Target is always going to get the next box into the country, but that last box will be incredibly inefficient from a carbon standpoint."

Brown, the head of MDOT, is also a member of the Coalition for America's Gateways and Trade Corridors. While estimations of total freight needs vary greatly, he said there was a strong consensus that a minimum of $7 billion to $10 billion is needed each year to begin addressing the nation's needs to move goods.

He asked the committee to consider those needs as it marks up legislation introduced last month by committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Surface Transportation Subcommittee Chairman Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) that seeks to move more people and goods onto trains and buses.

Competing demands for freight and passenger service

A recurring concern of witnesses was the need to craft a transportation bill that would not pit passenger and freight rail against each other in the race for funding. President Obama and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood have pledged to make rail transport a top priority as part of a wider plan to put people back to work and wean the country off petroleum.

High-speed passenger rail received $8 billion in the stimulus package, and the president is calling for $5 billion more over the next five years. But freight rail has received a trickle of the $9.3 billion devoted to rail in the recovery package.

"Congressional action prompted New York to prepare a statewide rail plan that reveals the challenge of competing demand for both rail freight and passenger service," said Richard Roper, director of planning at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. "But there's no federal framework -- much less enough funding -- to address both goals."

Roper called for more federal financing for agencies like his, which is run completely on user fees but no taxes from either state. Integrating freight into the next transportation authorization will require the development of a "national freight transportation plan" that can balance the need to move people and goods quickly, he said.

The nation's intermodal system will likely add 1 million containers annually by 2015, according to John Clancey, CEO of Maersk Inc., the largest container shipping company in the United States.

US rail freight off 14.4 percent from year ago-AAR

WASHINGTON, July 9 (Reuters) - Freight traffic across North America fell 16.6 percent in the week ended July 4 from the same 2008 week, including a 14.4 percent drop in U.S. rail freight as industry shipments dwindle due to the slumping economy, a trade group said on Thursday in a weekly report.

For the first 26 weeks of the year, North American rail freight was off 20 percent to 8.7 million carloads from 10.8 million in the same 2008 period, the Association of American Railroads said.

Intermodal volume, freight loaded into a container or truck trailer and then transported by train, fell 16.8 percent in North America from the first 26 weeks of 2008, the group said.

The association made a change to its reporting practices this week to reflect Canadian National's acquisition of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railroad.

Data was revised as far back as Jan. 1, 2008, to include this traffic in the Canadian freight total, instead of in U.S. freight traffic.

U.S. rail carloads fell 5.7 percent to 241,240 in the July 4 week from 255,934 carloads in the previous week.

Freight transported in trailers or containers on U.S. railways for the week ended July 4 was off 12.8 percent from a year ago to 169,290 trailers and containers combined, the association said. Container volume fell 6.4 percent while trailer volume plummeted 34.9 percent from a year ago.

"Freight traffic on U.S. railroads continues to parallel the nation's overall economic condition," the report said.

U.S. carloads of most of the commodities that the association tracks fell from the year-ago week. Declines ranged from 3.3 percent for coal to 72.4 percent for metallic ores.

Shipments of grain mill products managed a 4.3 percent gain from a year ago.

U.S. freight transportation in the first 26 weeks of 2009 has reached an estimated 723.7 billion ton-miles, down 18.3 percent from 885.7 billion at this time a year earlier, the report said.

The ton-mile is a unit used by the association and represents one ton of freight hauled one mile.

CSX thinks demand has hit its worst point, but recovery may be down the line
14 July 2009

NEW YORK (AP) - Railroad operator CSX Corp. said Tuesday that demand might have reached its worst point, signaling possible but still far-off signs of an economic recovery.

Shares leaped on the news, a day after the company reported second-quarter earnings that fell 20 percent, but topped Wall Street expectations. The stock jumped $2.26, or 7 percent, to close at $34.80 Tuesday. The stock has ranged between $20.70 and $69.50 in the past year.

Jacksonville, Fla.-based CSX expects shipping demand to sink by double digits again this quarter, but not as drastically as in the second-quarter. Shipping volume fell 21 percent in the April-June period, compared with 22 percent industrywide. Business on the tracks is viewed as a key economic indicator because so many consumer and manufactured goods move on railroads.

CSX, the nation's third-largest railroad, is the first of the major rails to report earnings.

In a conference call with analysts and investors, the railroad said it is prepared to bring back furloughed employees and restart idled rail cars when the economy begins to pick up, but it is still not sure when that will happen. It is possible, the company noted, that the economy will remain at low levels for some time.

Citi Investment Research Matthew Troy said in a note to clients Tuesday that he thinks investors are underestimating the potential for a "long, drawn-out recovery." He applauded CSX's performance in the quarter, but suggested investors hold their money.

As of the end of the second quarter, the railroad had 29,878 employees, compared with 33,082 a year earlier. The number of active train and engine workers was down 17 percent, and the number of its signature yellow and blue locomotives dropped by the same amount. CEO Michael Ward said the company brought back "a couple hundred" employees during the second quarter to cover active employees' summer vacations and retirements.

The company didn't offer an earnings outlook, but said it now expects to get more money from raising prices this year among its existing customers -- about 75 percent of its annual business. It predicts it will now be able to increase prices by 6.6 percent this year, compared with a previous estimate of 5 to 6 percent.

Ward said that cost cuts should continue to buoy sinking demand this quarter. In the second quarter, the company slashed expenses by 27 percent from a year earlier -- mostly through labor reductions.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe set to report earnings on Thursday; analysts await demand news
23 July 2009

NEW YORK (AP) - Analysts expect the second-quarter profit of railroad operator Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. to fall from a year ago. They're just not sure how much.

Shipping demand was still very weak in the second quarter, although railroads indicated there were signs that volume was approaching its worst point. Industrywide, demand fell 22 percent from a year ago.

Analysts, on average, predict the nation's second-largest railroad will report a profit of $1.01 per share, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters. That's down from $1.34 a year ago.

The company has said that while coal demand has leveled off a bit in the second quarter, demand for agricultural, consumer and industrial products -- three cornerstones of its business -- were similar to weak levels seen in the first three months of this year.

Jacksonville, Fla.-based CSX Corp., the first railroad to report, said its second-quarter earnings fell 20 percent as it collected fewer fuel surcharges and shipments continued to drop. The results still topped Wall Street's expectations, as the company slashed expenses by 27 percent.

Burlington Northern is set to report after the market closes on Thursday. Burlington's chief rival, Union Pacific Corp., also reports earnings Thursday.

Norfolk So CEO confident on 2010 price rises

CHICAGO, July 29 (Reuters) - The top executive of America's No. 4 railroad said on Wednesday the company faces tough negotiations with customers on pricing because of the recession but said he is confident of raising prices for rail freight services for 2010.

"It's going to be a tough pricing environment out there," Norfolk Southern CorpChief Executive Wick Moorman told Reuters in a telephone interview. "But our anticipation is that pricing will be above inflation because we continue to offer a very high service level."

Like the other major U.S. railroads, Norfolk Southern has posted robust profits in recent quarters as pricing discipline and cost-cutting have offset the impact of falling freight volumes.

Norfolk posted a second-quarter profit late Tuesday that beat analyst expectations, but it fell short of Wall Street predictions on the revenue side.

"We continue to favor rails over trucks/parcel and believe investors should be looking to add risk to play the pending volume recovery," Morgan Stanley analyst William Greene wrote in a research note on Norfolk Southern's results.

"As destocking slows and the economy edges towards positive 3Q GDP readings (led by increased auto production), we expect volumes and sentiment to improve," Greene said.

Moorman said that the railroad has seen a "little bit" of recent improvement in steel and automotive-related shipments.

"But the question is whether it can be sustained," he said. "At this point, however, we're not making any plans to ramp our network as we don't see any sign of a significant rebound any time in the near future."

Moorman said the Norfolk, Virginia-based railroad is not expecting much in the way of a peak shipping season for consumer goods ahead of the holidays this year.

"I don't think anyone is expecting a seasonal surge this year," he said.

In trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Norfolk Southern shares were down $1.13, or 2.6 percent, at $42.50.

US rail freight off 17.4 percent from year ago-AAR

WASHINGTON, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Freight traffic across North America fell 18.2 percent in the week ended Aug. 1 from the same 2008 week, including a 17.4 percent drop in U.S. rail freight, a trade group said on Thursday in a weekly report.

For the first 30 weeks of the year, North American rail freight was off 19.8 percent to 10 million carloads from 12.5 million in the same 2008 period, the Association of American Railroads said.

Intermodal volume, freight loaded into a container or truck trailer and then transported by train, fell 17.1 percent in North America from the first 30 weeks of 2008, the group said.

U.S. rail carloads rose 0.3 percent to 274,728 in the Aug. 1 week from 273,943 carloads in the previous week.

Freight transported in trailers or containers on U.S. railways for the week ended Aug. 1 was off 16.1 percent from a year ago to 193,684 trailers and containers combined, the association said. Container volume fell 10.6 percent while trailer volume plummeted 36.4 percent from a year ago.

U.S. carloads of all the commodities that the association tracks fell from the year-ago week. Declines ranged from 6.5 percent for grain mill products to 42.6 percent for shipments of metallic ores.

For the month of July, U.S. rail carloads were down 17.5 percent from a year ago, with carloadings down in every commodity group.

"July was an interesting month," John Gray, AAR senior vice president, said in a statement.

"If you see the glass as half full, 14 carload commodity categories were 'less worse off' than they were in the first half of the year," he said.

Gray noted that shipments of motor vehicles, down 37.5 percent in the month, improved from recent levels, but that came with "a billion dollars" of aid from the government.

"When this assistance ends," he said, "it remains to be seen whether the combination of production, inventory and sales levels will continue to boost railcar loadings."

U.S. freight transportation in the first 30 weeks of 2009 has reached an estimated 839 billion ton-miles, down 18.1 percent from 1.025 trillion at this time a year earlier, the report said.

The ton-mile is a unit used by the association and represents one ton of freight hauled one mile.

US weekly rail freight shows small gain -AAR

WASHINGTON, Aug 27 (Reuters) - U.S. bulk rail traffic reached its highest weekly level since early March, but the recession continues to hurt overall volumes, an economist said.

Weekly rail traffic was up 1.1 percent for the week ended Aug. 22, reaching a five-month high, the Association of American Railroads said in a report on Thursday.

But compared with a year ago, weekly rail carloadings were still down 16.1 percent, the group said.

July was the ninth straight month of double-digit declines in U.S. carloads, the trade group said, although it noted the dip was the smallest in three months.

The slight uptick since April does not mean the recession is over for rail freight, "but at least we can say traffic is moving in the right direction," Shannon Stare, an economist with the group, said in a statement.

U.S. carloads of most commodities the association tracks fell from the year-ago week.

The exception was nonmetallic minerals, such as sand, gravel, stone and clay used in highway and road construction.

Weekly rail shipments of those materials were up 1.3 percent from a year ago.

Spending on public construction hit a record high in June, according to the Commerce Department.

Intermodal volume -- freight loaded into a container or truck trailer and then transported by train -- has not seen the kinds of gains made in U.S. bulk rail traffic, the economist said.

Freight transported in trailers or containers on U.S. railways for the week ended Aug. 22 was off 16.2 percent from a year ago to 193,207 trailers and containers combined, the association said.

Stare said the continued slow intermodal pace was not surprising because containers mainly ship consumer products.

"If people aren't building or buying things, freight rail traffic feels the effects," Stare said.

U.S. retail sales were down in July, and the likelihood of large gains in August are slim based on the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers. The report showed U.S. consumers' confidence sagged in early August in the face of scarce jobs and falling income.

Total U.S. freight transportation in the first 33 weeks of 2009 reached an estimated 927.7 billion ton-miles, down 17.9 percent from 1.130 trillion ton-miles a year ago, the weekly report said.

The ton-mile is a unit used by the association and represents one ton of freight hauled one mile.

I didn't know that all those ripped out rails were likely to lead right doorstep of stores and retail all over the country. Trucks are an essential part of our society today, the question is not how many there "should be" but what distance each truck will travel.

Also the railroads were doing well before the slump as well given the higher gas prices. It was during the late 80's and 90's during the era of cheap fuel that trains had some of their worst years.

There are a lot of disconnected sidings and industrial branches along the Northeast Corridor, though thouse companies are still quite active.

Are there other large scale secondary ports that can handle the traffic? Is Long Beach the only real choice?

Port of Newark, Baltimore, Boston.

I used to work with someone who had been in the shipping department of a large company. According to him shipping by rail is good for non-perishables and real bulk freight. Trucks are actually faster.

The reason trucks are faster is because lots of parallel tracks were torn up or simply left to rot or built over. If we still had the same amount of line track (vs yard track) that we did in 1946, rail freight would be the obvious choice for sending anything anywhere except any cross country 1-3 day deliveries. You would see fedex, USPS, DHL, UPS, TNT etc railcars, and i don't mean the intermodal kind.

If I had my way, the entire rail network on the North American continent would be nationalized and given to state/provincial authorities, where they would be reborn as European-like public bodies. They would then rationalize the system (no more parallel railways competing) and promote efficiencies which can deliver more services.

Firstly, the east coast lines were nationalized from 1971 up until the 90's. Secondly, there is no way a nationalized freight system would work in the usa, it's too big with too many differing views, needs, and ideas.

One can hope :P that the economic crisis forces CN, CP, UP, CSX, etc to the brink of bankruptcy and require a public bailout just like the banks and auto industry...

Not going to happen, these companies are 100% solid and made good business practices, can't say that about the auto makers or banks. They will be fine.

railways are a natural monopoly. it didn't make sense (from a macroeconomic perspective) to have them in private hands. the argument back then was to have the railways compete with the trucking industry. it just resulted in a powerful trucking industry, and a bunch of disparate yet still profitable rail routes.

Intermodal and semi trailerflat cars could carry more than there are trucks in the world.

On the West Coast, there is Port of Oakland CA, Portland OR, and Seattle, WA. But I think Long Beach is favored because it is the end of transcontinental routes with the fewest grades (=fewer big mountains to cross), so manufactured goods can get faster to markets.

They are expanding & upgrading Port of Newark in NJ.

- A

N.America railroads see green shoots but CP demurs

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Three large North American railroad companies said on Tuesday they see tentative signs of a recovery in the U.S. and Canadian economies but Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd disagreed.

Canadian National Railway Co , Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp and Norfolk Southern Corp said freight volumes had edged up in the past couple of months, the first "green shoots" of growth since the recession decimated carload numbers starting in the fourth quarter of last year.

"Today I feel good to tell you that we feel that we have found the bottom and that it is a firm one," said Claude Mongeau, chief financial officer and chief-executive-in-waiting of Canadian National Railway Co .

"We are on the path to recovery," Mongeau, who takes the reins at year-end at Canada's largest railroad company, said at a transportation conference in Toronto.

He cautioned though that there were still risks of a "false start" if a "double-dip" recession was in the wings. But he remained optimistic of slow growth in 2010 and 2011, helped by government stimulus spending starting from next year.

But Fred Green, chief executive of Canadian Pacific, CN's chief rival, said there were no clear signs yet of an economic recovery and instead predicted a rebound was at least nine months away.

"I am not seeing any evidence anywhere that would cause me to believe that there is a substantive, sustained recovery under way," Green said. "I don't personally believe yet that we are done on the downside."

"I am looking at the second half of 2010 before I think that we will see any growth."

CP Rail and CN operate both in Canada and the United States across broad swathes of the economy, shipping a variety of goods from grains to metals, timber and retail products.

Green said he was unsure whether CP Rail would have its traditional "fall peak", when retailers bring in large volumes of imported goods in advance of the Christmas shopping season.

As of the end of August, CP Rail's carloads were 19 percent to 20 percent below what they were a year ago. However, that was an improvement on the 32 percent year-on-year decline in the second quarter of this year.

On the bright side for the railway, Canada's grain crop looks strong this year although potash shipments are quiet.

Turning south, an executive of Burlington Northern said the railroad, which operates in the U.S. West and Midwest, was enjoying a "modest uptick" in carloads in the last six or seven weeks.

Especially encouraging was the fact that the improvement was in consumer-sensitive areas like intermodal and industrial products as opposed to coal haulage, where carload increases can be driven by the weather, said Thomas Hund, Burlington Northern's chief financial officer.

Norfolk Southern chief financial officer Jim Squires was also sanguine on the outlook for the No.4 U.S. railroad although he said economic conditions in the United States remain unstable.

"It does appear as if we have experienced a bottom in the economy," Squires said.

US rail carloadings decline from year earlier--AAR

WASHINGTON, Sept 17 (Reuters) - U.S. weekly rail traffic fell in the week ended Sept. 12 compared to the year-ago week, but figures were skewed by the Labor Day holiday, a trade group said in a report on Thursday.

Carloadings on major U.S. railroads dipped 19.8 percent to to 263,349 from 328,250 in the same 2008 week, the Association of American Railroads said in a weekly report.

Carloads were also down 7.5 percent from 284,715 last week.

Shipments of all commodities the association tracks fell from a year ago. Declines ranged from 1.5 percent in farm products, excluding grain, to 52.3 percent for shipments of metallic ores. Carloads of motor vehicles and parts, expected to see increases from the "cash for clunkers" program, were down 32.8 percent from a year ago.

"The comparison week from last year, however, did not include the Labor Day holiday," AAR said. The trade group has said trends could not be determined until after the holiday was no longer a factor.

Intermodal volume, which primarily consists of consumer goods loaded into a container or truck trailer and then transported by train, fell 25.8 percent from a year ago.

But other economic data this week pointed to an improving economy. Earlier on Thursday, the Labor Department said U.S. jobless claims fell to 545,000 in the week ended Sept. 12 from 557,000 the prior week. The Commerce Department also reported a 1.5 percent rise in U.S. August housing starts to an annual rate of 598,000 units.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday said the recession is "very likely over." But he added that job growth and recovery would be moderate going into next year.

"Even though from a technical perspective the recession is very likely over at this point, it's still going to feel like a very weak economy for some time," Bernanke told a Brookings Institution conference.

Also this week, Commerce said U.S. August retail sales rose 2.7 percent, boosted by a 10.6 percent jump in sales of motor vehicles and parts, while the Fed reported a 0.8 percent rise in industrial production in August as output of motor vehicles and parts increased.

AAR said total U.S. freight transportation in the first 36 weeks of 2009 reached an estimated 1.017 trillion ton-miles, down 17.5 percent from 1.233 trillion in the same 2008 period. The ton-mile is a unit used by the association and represents one ton of freight hauled one mile.

COLUMN-Rising rail freight volumes point to recovery: John Kemp

LONDON, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Rising freight movements on U.S. railroads provide unambiguous confirmation that manufacturing activity has begun to increase.

Most manufactured items move in intermodal containers by rail, road and sea, so container counts provide the most accurate, real-time measure of changes in manufacturing output.

Freight movements are strongly influenced by both public holidays and seasonal factors, normally peaking in late September and early October as consumer goods are shipped from the manufacturers to retailers ahead of the Christmas shopping season.

Year-on-year comparisons therefore provide a better guide to activity levels than week-to-week changes. Unfortunately, the collapse in activity during the final quarter of 2008 provides a poor baseline for comparison. But a comparison with volumes in the same period in 2007, which was more typical year, shows clear signs of a pick up.

The number of containers hauled on U.S. railroads last week (176,578) was down just 13,479 (-6 percent) compared with the same period in 2007, a marked improvement on mid-May, when volumes were down 14.5 percent, or mid-April, when volumes were down 13.0 percent.

Container volumes have continued to rise beyond their normal seasonal peak, suggesting the increase is not purely a seasonal effect and indicates real underlying improvement.

The key question is whether it can be sustained once the shopping season is over and short-term boost from rebuilding depleted stocks along the supply chain has run its course.

UNPRECEDENTED STIMULUS

While the expansion will have to overcome strong headwinds from the continued rise in unemployment (a lagging indicator), the burden of household debt inherited from the boom years, and a much more restrictive credit environment, there are reasons to be cautiously optimistic.

In the early stages, activity should be driven by business investment and exports. The degree of stimulus from both the monetary and fiscal authorities is unprecedented. Plentiful liquidity combined with near-zero money market rates is forcing capital deployment towards higher-risk asset classes (equities and corporate issuance) and easing credit conditions for at least some corporations (those not over-leveraged as a result of private equity deals or aggressive debt-fuelled expansion strategies before 2008).

Senior Fed officials have already noted signs of a modest upturn in business spending on equipment and software (notably computers and vehicles), though construction spending looks set to remain depressed for some time, owing to the huge overhang of unused office space from the building boom and the substantial amount of spare production capacity in many manufacturing industries.

The dollar's renewed devaluation will provide an additional stimulus for exporters and import-competing firms, and U.S. manufacturers are set to benefit from a gradual strengthening of demand in key export markets across Asia and Europe.

FITFUL RECOVERY -- AS USUAL

The most likely outcome is a slow, fitful recovery, which will require support from ultra-low interest rates and liquidity measures for an extended period. In fact, the recovery could look a lot like the rather anaemic upturn after the last recession in 2000-2001. The last trough in the business cycle was reached as early as November 2001, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)'s Business Cycle Dating Committee, but growth remained so weak the Fed was still cutting rates as late as June 2003, and did not feel emboldened to begin raising them until June 2004. Uncertain recoveries are the norm rather than the exception.

I have written before about the two very distinct types of recessions experienced since the end of World War Two: (1) severe recessions characterised by declines in final demand for at least two consecutive quarters; and (2) inventory-driven recessions where final demand remained positive throughout but the attempt to liquidate excess inventories by cutting production below final consumption pushed the economy into a contraction.

Past experience suggests the early stages of recovery are very different depending on whether the economy is emerging from a severe recession or an inventory-driven one.

After severe recessions, inventory rebuilding makes only a modest contribution to the upswing in the first nine months. Recovery is reliant on final demand, which shows a strong impulse within about 6 to 9 months after the bottom of the cycle is passed.

In contrast, after inventory-driven recessions, final demand was much less important, with restocking supplying most of the initial impetus for expansion.

For the first time, the current downturn appears to be a blend of the two. In the depth of the contraction and loss of final demand, it has the characteristics of a severe recession. But in the speed of production losses and inventory reductions, it has many of the features of an inventory-driven one; just-in-time ordering and manufacturing systems accelerated and amplified the response to the drop in consumer and business spending.

If the current recession is indeed a sui generis mix, the recovery is also likely to be blend, combining moderate inventory rebuilding (in the first six months) with renewed growth in final demand (starting from 3 to 9 months after the cyclical trough).

If we date the trough to sometime in Q3 2009, restocking should support the economy in Q4 2009 and Q1 2010, while final demand will start to show signs of sustained improvement by Q2 2010.

The most dangerous period will come in Jan-Mar 2010, when the initial impetus from the inventory cycle starts to fade but businesses and households may not yet feel confident enough to commit to substantial purchases.

Back in the 50's, a now defunct (because of the current economic issues sadly & ironically) furniture company would bring their stock in by train, because it saved them 6 dollars a piece... This was on a line that is now inactive but still owned by SEPTA, the regional transit agency here. Why they have not electrified to my town and run trains here with a yard is beyond me, i think ti would spur huge economic benefits and jobs.

- A

Coal demand set to drive new U.S. rail boom: John Kemp

LONDON, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's investment in the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad is a shrewd move and highlights the tangled relationship between coal, rail and electricity industries.

It gives Berkshire Hathaway exposure to an industry with formidable entry barriers and pricing power, where capacity constraints will quickly emerge as the economy picks up, and could become severe if coal demand continues to grow in the decade ahead.

* For U.S. railroads, coal is their biggest customer by both tonnage and revenue. It accounted for 44 percent of the total tonnage moved by rail in 2007, and 21 percent of the gross revenue for the major Class I railroads, according to the Surface Transportation Board (STB), which regulates rail rates.

* For miners, rail is the most important mode of transport, taking 71 percent of the total tonnage shipped, far ahead of road (11 percent) and water-based vessels (11 percent).

* Power producers depend on both. Coal-fired plants generated 50 percent of all U.S. electricity last year, far ahead of natural gas (21 percent), nuclear (20 percent) or conventional hydro (6 percent). In most cases, coal moved from the mine to the power plant on a railcar.

UNDER-INVESTMENT, RISING RATES

Before the financial crisis, severe capacity constraints were emerging in the industry. The volume of coal shipped each year rose almost a third between 1995 (625 million tons) and 2007 (850 million tons). Despite efforts to boost efficiency by using larger railcars, running 24 hours per day, and loading coal into "unit trains", the number of railcars originated grew almost a quarter from just over 6 million a year to 7.5 million.

Investment failed to keep pace. Building new rail infrastructure is at the mercy of the economic cycle. Construction and investment is very capital intensive. Costs take years to recover but demand increases can be short-lived. Railroad companies have often been punished by Wall Street for making capital investments, according to the STB.

Between 1987 and 2004, rail operators' rates for carrying coal fell by more than half in real terms, as an overhang of excess capacity from previous periods and pressure from rail regulators put a fierce squeeze on charges.

But by the early part of this decade, most of this capacity cushion had disappeared, and rates rose sharply in 2005, 2006 and 2007, with the largest increases for the short journeys where one rail operator often had dominance over the market.

Even after recent rate rises, real revenues per ton-mile were 34 percent lower in 2007 than in 1990.

In the STB's judgment, rail carriers were still not earning "adequate revenues", which the Board defines as "sufficient -- under honest, economical, and efficient management -- to cover operating expenses, support prudent capital outlays, repay a reasonable amount of debt, raise needed equity capital, and otherwise attract or retain capital in amounts adequate to provide a sound rail transportation system" (STB Ex Parte 657, page 6).

This was a strong hint the Board was prepared to accept further rate rises. In the event, the recession has seen the emergence of excess capacity. But as the economy recovers, this excess will disappear and upward pressure on rates looks set to resume.

INCREASING COAL-FIRED GENERATION

The main long-term source of uncertainty for the rail industry is whether coal-fired generation will continue to expand in the medium term.

The United States has the world's largest recoverable coal reserves (about a quarter of the total) sufficient to last more than 200 years. Increasing coal-fired generation would help curb dependence on crude oil imports.

With its high ratio of carbon to hydrogen atoms, however, coal produces more carbon dioxide (CO2) on combustion than natural gas, and is regarded as one of the dirtiest of the fossil fuels. Tough cap-and-trade proposals would probably have made further development uneconomic and even seen the industry shrink.

But two developments this year have seemed to resolve this uncertainty in favour of an expansion in coal-fired generation:

(1) Cap-and-trade proposals before the U.S. Congress contain generous allocations of emissions permits for power utilities over the next two decades, which will help ease the pressure on coal producers.

(2) The Obama administration has committed itself to an expansion of coal-fired generation linked to new technologies for integrated gasification and combined-cycle generation (IGCC) and carbon capture and storage (CCS) to limit the emissions impact.

In a letter to other energy ministers, Energy Secretary Steven Chu acknowledged "coal … is likely to be a major and growing source of electricity generation for the foreseeable future". Chu called for an "aggressive effort" to develop and deploy CCS technology.

The Obama administration has restored $1 billion of federal government funding to the FutureGen partnership with coal and power producers to develop a "zero emissions" power plant in Illinois that will use IGCC and CCS technology, injecting liquid CO2 into saline aquifers. The aim is to have a commercial-scale plant operating by 2016.

In addition, the administration has committed $1.3 billion to five demonstration projects retrofitting existing industrial facilities and power plants with CCS.

The administration's enthusiasm for IGCC and CCS technologies has lifted the Damoclean Sword hanging over the coal industry -- and in turn provided guaranteed growth for the rail companies.

WRANGLING OVER COAL RATES

The STB has legal authority to set maximum rail haulage rates per ton where a railroad has "market dominance" (defined as the absence of effective competition from other rail carriers or modes or transportation to which a rate applies).

In the event a carrier sets its rates at more than 180 percent of its variable costs (the threshold level for intervention) customers can ask the Board to investigate. If the Board finds the rate is "unreasonable" it can prescribe a maximum rate in future and order the railroad to pay "reparations" for overcharging on past movements.

Following a review in 2006, the Board has replaced the old rate-case guidelines. The new system fixes future rates as a maximum mark up over allowable variable operating costs, with adjustments for productivity and certain other limited factors.

BNSF v WESTERN FUELS ASSOCIATION

Ironically, the first case brought under the new system was a complaint by the Western Fuels Association (WFA) against coal rates fixed by Burlington Northern for a short journey between mines and a power plant in Wyoming.

In a stinging rebuke to BNSF, the Board found that "Although the challenged rates are among the lowest … any utility pays to receive [Powder River Basin] coal, WFA has shown that its rates far exceed the level BNSF needs to charge to earn a reasonable return … because the plant is located so close to the PRB … As such it is now clear that BNSF has been forcing WFA to cross-subsidise other parts of BNSF's broader rail network that WFA does not use".

BNSF was ordered to cut rates as much as 60 percent for 2009 and pay reparations for past overcharging.

As the Board thundered: "This amounts to the largest single rate reduction in rail rates ever ordered by this agency. We estimate reparations are roughly $28 million per year. We further estimate that the total relief WFA will obtain as a result of this order -- including both reparations and the lower prescribed rate through 2024 -- will approximate $345 million (in current dollars)". On Oct 21, BNSF was given a final order to repay WFA $120 million.

But the details of the WFA case should not obscure the fact coal and other rates are set to rise substantially in the coming years to fund the massive investment that will be needed to ease congestion and create new capacity to meet growing demand.

Thought I'd stick this here:


Warren Buffett buys Burlington Northern for $34B
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=36018&seenIt=1

(AP) — Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. on Tuesday agreed to buy Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., a mainstay of Chicago's freight rail industry, making a $34 billion bet on the future of the U.S. economy.

Burlington Northern, the nation's second-largest railroad, is the biggest hauler of food products like corn and coal for electricity, making it an indicator of the country's economic health. The railroad also ships a large amount of goods from Western ports including everyday items such as refrigerators, clothing and TVs.

BNSF has deep roots in Chicago and its reach here is broad. The city serves as the railroad’s eastern end point for its western U.S. routes, and locally, Metra commuter trains use the BNSF track.

Chicago freight rail expert Gerald Rawlings says he anticipates Mr. Buffett’s purchase will not mean any changes in Metra service or in the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency group, known as Create, a project that aims to reduce rail congestion.


Much more at link.

http://www.freefoto.com/images/25/44/25_44_6---Burlington-Northern-Santa-Fe-Railroad_web.jpg?&k=Burlington+Northern+Santa+Fe+Railroad

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8363565.stm



Full steam ahead for US railways

By Kevin Connolly
BBC News, New Mexico
Tuesday, 17 November 2009

The story of the railroad is written like a thread of thick and shining steel woven into the tapestry of American history.

There is a poetry to the names of the trains and the tracks that bound this great land together as it expanded west towards California in the 19th Century.

Perhaps it is no coincidence that the names of the Wabash Cannonball or the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe are remembered in song where those of the London and North Eastern Railway or the French national SNCF by and large are not.

This month's business headlines though are a reminder that America's railways have a future, as well as a past.

It was the announcement that Warren Buffett - the man often described as the world's greatest investor - was forking out $44bn (£26bn) for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) which made the news.

If the Oracle of Omaha was convinced there was money to be made on the rails, ran the argument in many investment columns, then surely he must be right.

And in a sense, you could see his decision to invest as a kind of vote of confidence in the whole American economy - after all BNSF carries the heavy stuff like coal and corn - the kind of commodities for which you can expect increased demand when recovery comes.

And even if recovery is not economically straightforward, of course it hauls cheap imported goods from Asia to points all over the United States from the Pacific ports - like Los Angeles - where they land.

Freight success

Mr Buffett himself explains the reasoning behind one of the biggest investment decisions of his career in characteristically straightforward terms as a bet on the future of his country.

He says simply: "It's a very effective way of moving goods. I basically believe this country will prosper and you'll have more people moving more goods 10 and 20 and 30 years from now, and the rails should benefit."

But the truth is that American freight railways have probably been doing rather better than you might have been thinking for quite a while.

True, it is not so long since there were too many, too big, railway companies with thousands of miles of uneconomic track, unprofitable passenger operations and over-long pay rolls - there was a time when 2% of the entire population of the United States worked on the railroad.

Deregulation set the industry onto a leaner, but more profitable path (it happened under Jimmy Carter by the way, rather than under Ronald Reagan) and rail companies settled down to making steady, if unspectacular profits moving bulk goods across the vast expanses of North America.

The industry has prospered to the extent that it now transports nearly 10 times more freight by rail than the European Union does.

That may come as something of a surprise when you consider how ready Europeans tend to be to lecture Americans about the environment.

Rail travel is vastly more environmentally friendly than road transport - American trains can shift a ton of freight over 436 miles on a single gallon of diesel fuel for example.

So the freight sector is strong and will get stronger as the American economy revives. Does that mean there is also a future for rail passenger transport here? The short answer is that it might - and the prospects have probably improved a little in the last year.

Passenger trains of course are already an important part of the transport mix in big cities, especially in New York.

'Essence of frontier state'

And around the time the stimulus programme was passed, there was talk of new state investment in high-speed rail links - even if some of it was accompanied by dark muttering that one of the potential projects just happened to be in the constituency of Senate majority leader Harry Reid.

And from New Mexico, perhaps rather surprisingly, comes a striking example that new passenger rail projects can be made to work in North America.

The south-western state where commuter trains carve their way between craggy mountains and across sun-baked plains is the very essence of an American frontier state - a place where the old settler trails crossed Mexican and Navajo lands.

Under its governor - the former presidential candidate Bill Richardson - New Mexico has used public money (quite a bit of it) to open a new train service operating between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, a distance of about 60 miles.

It was a very European solution to a worldwide problem of overcrowding on the highways - and a direct alternative to widening one of the state's most congested roads, I-25.

'Rifles and pick-ups'

The Rail Runner (the name is a play on the state bird, the roadrunner) is a clean, modern, roomy double-decker train that offers what by European standards are very low prices for a 90-minute commuter journey.

Mr Richardson admits that selling the idea of environmentally-friendly public transport to car-happy New Mexicans was not easy at first.

"A lot of New Mexicans said this is going to be Richardson's folly... we like to drive our pick-ups, we like to drive fast, we like to drive along with our rifles in the rack at the back of the car, and what's happened is everyone's realised that the Rail Runner has been a blessing because it gets people to where they're going quicker," he says.

"And you know, that lone spirit, that individualist spirit, you can still exercise it on a train."

Rail Runner is still bedding down - there are more stations due to open in the future for example - but the commuters we spoke to as we travelled between Albuquerque and Santa Fe were all keen supporters of the project.

Bill Richardson, one of America's most experienced politicians, does believe there is a head of steam growing up once again behind the idea of expanding rail travel in America.

As part of his case he points to the reputation of Warren Buffett as a kind of superstar of capitalism.

"That's his image," he told me. "Everything he touches turns to gold, so if Buffett is putting money into trains and rails, then that is a good signal."

We will see - there are plenty more economic and environmental points to be made - and the over-arching argument to be had about whether or not public transport in itself is compatible with the rugged individualism of the American way.

....

...the over-arching argument to be had about whether or not public transport in itself is compatible with the rugged individualism of the American way.

This equation of "rugged individualism" (a real laugher when most people today live in cities and suburbs utterly dependent on public services and consumerist institutions) being incompatible with public transport is nonsense. The idea that owning a car = freedom is a construct of the past fifty or so years created by the auto industry and big oil. The true "rugged individualist" settlers of the American West relied on the railroad to transport them and ship their freight. Before the age of "happy motoring", our grandparents and great-grandparents- certainly more self-reliant and "rugged" than the current obese generation, relied on an excellent network of rail transport between cities supported by comprehensive rail transit within the cities (trolleys/interurbans). It can be argued that comprehensive passenger rail actually makes people more free to be individualistic- by allowing choices in how they get around, free from the shackles of rising oil prices, insurance companies, and the environmental destruction caused by sprawl.

Wow, anti-car ideology again. Cars are the ultimate instrument of freedom of movement - no government telling you when/where to work and live, far less risk of disruption due to tranportation companies' strikes, reduced power for leftist urban planners ditcate your lifestyle etc.

That being said, I see no reason why US tracks should be nationalized, given the share of rail transport in total freight haulage is FAR greater than the European Union (42% in US X a mere 14% in EU, where unprofittable, cash-drain passenger service dominates). It is a system that reconstructed itself out of shambels, focused on what it is most efficient (long-distance bulk freight) and now is profitable. Why should anyone want US government (or individual states governments for that matter) to start interfering with was is working FINE? I can barely imagine... European-style public entities lowering priorities of freight trains so unprofitable passenger services could be run etc. etc.

Union Pacific pauses rail expansion projects in Arizona, New Mexico
4 December 2009

PHOENIX (AP) - Several construction projects to increase Union Pacific's freight-moving capacity on the railroad's main line across southern Arizona and New Mexico are being temporarily sidetracked by the recession.

Plans to build a new yard in Pinal County in Arizona and a new rail facility in Santa Teresa, N.M., are on hold, and spokesman Tom Lange says installation of a second set of tracks across Arizona also has been postponed indefinitely.

Lange says there's no timetable but that Omaha, Neb.-based Union Pacific Corp. expects the projects to go forward again when the economy turns around.

Union Pacific reported in October that the global recession was reducing its rail traffic, down 15 percent in the third quarter from the corresponding period of 2008.

Parked rail cars an unwelcome guest in Lakeville
25 December 2009

LAKEVILLE, Minn. (AP) - Due to the bad economy, about 300 empty rail cars parked on the tracks around parts of suburban Lakeville, and it's a scene that's become familiar in cities and towns around the country.

Green railroad cars tattooed with graffiti line the main thoroughfare in Lakeville. The rail cars stretch along the city's open fields in an unbroken line and snake through wooded neighborhoods full of sprawling homes.

They also stand adjacent to Pam Steinhagen's backyard.

"We built our homes here knowing that there'd be train activity, and probably saw the train three times in 15 years," Steinhagen said. "Never did we ever envision train storage facility in our backyard. Never. Pardon me but it looks trashy. I wouldn't have moved here if I had known."

A company called Progressive Rail began parking cars in the town two years ago.

"We've got people in this neighborhood whose homes are in foreclosure and who've lost their jobs and people don't want to buy because the trains are here," she said.

Steinhagen said the unlocked cars are a draw for area teens. Police have issued about two dozen trespassing citations since this summer.

"The kids park, young adults from other neighborhoods and Lakeville too, and they go back to the boxcars and do things that are illegal," she said. "Before someone does get hurt, we want to say we've done everything we could."

People call Steinhagen the Train Lady and she's become a spokeswoman for Lakeville's anti-rail car movement.

The community is one of many across the country dealing with hundreds of parked rail cars. In a way, the cars are a physical reminder that important areas of our economy haven't improved yet.

Several industries that usually move goods around by rail have been hit hard by the recession. They're not selling as much, so they're not transporting as much. The rail cars they usually use are sitting empty.

The American Association of Railroads said in a normal economy companies have about 30,000 cars in storage. Right now, that number is at 451,000.

"Wherever they can park cars is where they're parking them right now," said Dave Fellon, president and owner of Progressive Rail. "These issues come across the nation; it isn't just Progressive Rail."

Progressive leases the tracks that run through Lakeville, and they're renting those tracks as storage space to big railroad companies and businesses that own their own rail cars.

"(It is) really no different than just parking your own automobile in a parking ramp," Fellon said. "You're paying for the use."

Fellon won't say how much his company charges to store cars. He said storage fees only make up a small portion of Progressive's income.

And that's enough to make Pam Steinhagen feel like Progressive is profitting from the misery of others.

"Why should we have a city that's (a) dumping ground for their rail cars, and they're making money on it," Steinhagen said.

Still, the rail cars have to go somewhere. Fellon said there's nowhere else. "As soon as the economy picks up, out the door they go. We'd like to see them back to work," he said.

Fellon's aware that he could come off as the bad guy.

"I try to remind people that the railroad is good," he said. "It brings a lot of revenue to the community coffers. That helps keep their taxes low. Progressive Rail has done a number of things for the city of Lakeville, but we also have to take care of our customers too. So it's a double-edged sword."

Either way, the city can't do much because the railroad is federally regulated. And Lakeville's director of economic development, David Olson, said there's no evidence the city's economy or property values have been affected by the cars.

"It doesn't add to the community's aesthetics necessarily, but you know it's just a fact of life that our community was built along this rail line," Olson said. "It's something we'd prefer it not be there, but I don't think it's changing the image of the community necessarily."

Still, the Lakeville City Council has adopted a resolution asking Minnesota's congressional delegation to look at ways rail cars can be kept out of residential areas.

------

Information from: Minnesota Public Radio News

Another uptight suburban whiner... why do we have the worst of them in Minnesota?

I mean.. I understand where she's coming from.. I wouldn't like the situation either.. but I think she's blowing it a bit out of proportion.

Some of my Freight Videos...

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Do you know the weight of goods transported in a year by these trains (without counting the weight of waggons), especially on the line with 3% grade?

I would compare this traffic with similar European railroads, for sure with few freight traffic compared to American oens.
A bit of a late response here, but I would say that on a fully loaded freight train in North America, about 10-12Kt of that weight is cargo, including on the lines into and out of the Los Angeles area. I don't offhand have the figures for that on an annual basis. The main difference between here and Europe is the relative strength of the respective standard couplings.

Mike

I experience the jam first hand. The at-grade crossings need to be removed. And I noticed how just in NW Indiana so many rail lines have been torn up over the past fifty years. That has to stop. Rebuild the rail lines!!

Ultimately, laying more track and separating passenger from freight traffic on rail lines is what will have to happen. It is an expensive solution, but it has to happen and the gains made in decreased transportation costs and shipping time will make up for the expense.
I was (fancifully?) musing not long ago about what current rail line would likely become the busiest freight railroad in the World should North American railroads ever be successfully converted to European-style 'open access' and pretty much settled on the southern part of what is now (or until very recently was) the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern (now part of CN), especially between West Chicago (UP ex CNW mainline)/East Aurora (BNSF ex CBQ mainline) and Lake County, IN - nearly all of the through traffic coming in from the west on the present-day UP and BNSF mainlines will head south and then east on it to bypass Chicago. Under 'open access', I can easily see it having to be upgraded to at least four main tracks. The present-day Indiana Harbor Belt (closer 'in' from the EJ&E) will also be a popular alternate routing.

Mike

There is nothing quite like the sight of a quartet of NS Dash 9s hauling a milelong unit coal train. Thoroughbred indeed. :cheers:

I have a question (if anybody knows the answer): of Chicago-New York transshipments, how much winds up, percentage-wise, on each of the tree mains--that is, the former main lines of the New York Central, Pennsylvania Railroad, and Baltimore & Ohio? And what types of cargo are most frequent?

A bit of a late response here, but I would say that on a fully loaded freight train in North America, about 10-12Kt of that weight is cargo, including on the lines into and out of the Los Angeles area. I don't offhand have the figures for that on an annual basis. The main difference between here and Europe is the relative strength of the respective standard couplings.

Mike

Thank you.

American trains are bigger than European, thus less frequent. 10.000 tonnesin a train X 20 loaded trains X 320 days a year (to exclude low traffic days like holydays) = 64.000.000 tonnes...

I may suppose traffic around 50 millions tonnes on a quite used double track line, as in Europe the highest traffic is probably around 20 (on lines full of passenger trains which have priority).

To compare on the main Italy-Northern Europe axis (the Brenner Pass) traffic is 50 millions tonnes, 15 on rail and 35 on road (in 2008, much less after the economic recession).

Passing through the Kearny CSX Yard..

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There is nothing quite like the sight of a quartet of NS Dash 9s hauling a milelong unit coal train. Thoroughbred indeed. :cheers:

I have a question (if anybody knows the answer): of Chicago-New York transshipments, how much winds up, percentage-wise, on each of the tree mains--that is, the former main lines of the New York Central, Pennsylvania Railroad, and Baltimore & Ohio? And what types of cargo are most frequent?
At least in Indiana, the former PRR mainline (parallels US 30) is used by only a couple of local/regional freight trains per day. Much of its route between Gary, IN and Chicago has been abandoned. I'm not sure on the split between the CSX (ex B&O) and NS (ex NYC) mainlines, but the NS is two main tracks with trains running on about about 20-30 minute headways in each direction while most of the CSX is single track. Amtrak's long-distance trains between Chicago and points due east (ie, the Lake Shore Limited) use the NS at least to Cleveland, then the CSX into western upstate New York (former NYC all the way).

As for freight on the ex NYC across Indiana, it's lots of mixed freight and double-stacked container trains.

Mike

Thank you.

American trains are bigger than European, thus less frequent. 10.000 tonnesin a train X 20 loaded trains X 320 days a year (to exclude low traffic days like holydays) = 64.000.000 tonnes...

I may suppose traffic around 50 millions tonnes on a quite used double track line, as in Europe the highest traffic is probably around 20 (on lines full of passenger trains which have priority).

To compare on the main Italy-Northern Europe axis (the Brenner Pass) traffic is 50 millions tonnes, 15 on rail and 35 on road (in 2008, much less after the economic recession).
The busiest freight line in the USA (and the World) is Union Pacific's mainline across central Nebraska, between Gibbon and Sutherland, NE - 120 trains per day is normal. The train mix is probably half to 2/3rds unit coal trains (loads eastbound, empties westbound - loaded trains about 14-15Kt gross weight, empties about 3 Kt) with the rest being mixed freight and double-stacked containers. It was upgraded to three main tracks about ten years ago.

Also, 20 trains per day would warrant only a single-track mainline with CTC and passing sidings. CN's ex Wisconsin Central/Soo Line mainline here in eastern Wisconsin is mostly single-track and carries more traffic than that (30-40 trains/day). Traffic growing to beyond about 40 or so freight trains per day, or adding useful passenger service to the mix (as was done to that line in the 1990s in northern Illinois), would warrant upgrading to double track.

Mike

70 coal trains, of them half are empty, say around 11.000 tonnes of coal X 35 trains X 330 days = 127.000.000 tonnes

I don't know the average weight of goods on other trains, say 6.000. Then 6.000 X 50 X 330 = 100.000.000

I know it isn't accurate, but the weight is the only way (beside TEU) to compare traffic on so different railway systems. Maybe volumes could be better to compare, but these values are harder to find.

Excluding coal transport 100 millions of tonnes (Mt) is the double of the Brenner Pass, so this seems a reasonable estimate (or something in the range 70-120 Mt). All goods exchanegd by Italy by land are around 180 Mt (metric), without counting the sea which has a relevant part for intra-EU traffic (unlike Northern America).

In Europe some railways reach 160 freight trains a day (some around 400 to 500 mixed traffic, but usually less than 250), weighting usually no more than 2.000 gross tonnes. This could give 1.200 X 160 X 330 = 63 Mt of goods in theory. Single tracks lines handle 50 to 90 (usually no more than 70, sometimes 110) trains a day. Each train is never (beside very rare exceptions) longer than 750 m or 2500 feet or around 0.5 miles (but often trains are shorter, like 600 m).

We need automatic couplings, chains are too weak...and more lines dedicated to freight. But above all higher clearance profile, on some lines high cube containers can't be transported even on low floor wagons...except very low floor wagons used only for trucks (not containers) because they are too expensive...maybe we should try wagons similar to the ones seen in Nexis' video in post 23.

Last but not least...the three different gauges on main network, standard, 5ft and 5ft6in. This without considering 5ft3in of Ireland (but it's an island) and metre gauge.

At least in Indiana, the former PRR mainline (parallels US 30) is used by only a couple of local/regional freight trains per day. Much of its route between Gary, IN and Chicago has been abandoned. I'm not sure on the split between the CSX (ex B&O) and NS (ex NYC) mainlines, but the NS is two main tracks with trains running on about about 20-30 minute headways in each direction while most of the CSX is single track. Amtrak's long-distance trains between Chicago and points due east (ie, the Lake Shore Limited) use the NS at least to Cleveland, then the CSX into western upstate New York (former NYC all the way).

As for freight on the ex NYC across Indiana, it's lots of mixed freight and double-stacked container trains.

Mike
Thanks for the info. I guess I should have clarified: on those parts of the mainline which cross the Eastern Divide (i.e. the Alleghenies), which sees the most traffic?
70 coal trains, of them half are empty, say around 11.000 tonnes of coal X 35 trains X 330 days = 127.000.000 tonnes

I don't know the average weight of goods on other trains, say 6.000. Then 6.000 X 50 X 330 = 100.000.000

I know it isn't accurate, but the weight is the only way (beside TEU) to compare traffic on so different railway systems. Maybe volumes could be better to compare, but these values are harder to find.

Excluding coal transport 100 millions of tonnes (Mt) is the double of the Brenner Pass, so this seems a reasonable estimate (or something in the range 70-120 Mt). All goods exchanegd by Italy by land are around 180 Mt (metric), without counting the sea which has a relevant part for intra-EU traffic (unlike Northern America).

In Europe some railways reach 160 freight trains a day (some around 400 to 500 mixed traffic, but usually less than 250), weighting usually no more than 2.000 gross tonnes. This could give 1.200 X 160 X 330 = 63 Mt of goods in theory. Single tracks lines handle 50 to 90 (usually no more than 70, sometimes 110) trains a day. Each train is never (beside very rare exceptions) longer than 750 m or 2500 feet or around 0.5 miles (but often trains are shorter, like 600 m).

We need automatic couplings, chains are too weak...and more lines dedicated to freight. But above all higher clearance profile, on some lines high cube containers can't be transported even on low floor wagons...except very low floor wagons used only for trucks (not containers) because they are too expensive...maybe we should try wagons similar to the ones seen in Nexis' video in post 23.

Last but not least...the three different gauges on main network, standard, 5ft and 5ft6in. This without considering 5ft3in of Ireland (but it's an island) and metre gauge.
I agree with the sentiment that stronger couplers need to become mainstream in Europe if they ever want to see more transcontinental freight shipped by rail than by road or ship, and that the variants in national gauges--particularly the Pyrenees divide and the one between the former Russia and the rest of Europe--do more to hinder than help things, but at the same time I don't think much real change will happen until the market demands it--namely, by enforcing standards requirements for interchange purposes, i.e. if China and Europe were linked by a standard-gauge line, the demand for Chinese-origin or China-bound freight, and hence need for knuckle-coupler-equipped equipment in Europe would increase exponentially. (See the Intercontinental thread for further discussion.)

As for your meter-gauge comment, don't forget that it has always had--and will always have--a niche in the most challenging environments. The U.S. once had a sizable meter-gauge network, particularly in the Colorado Rockies, and it is quite useful as a gauge standard for insular nations which are unlikely to see interchange traffic anyway.

Today lenght is limited by passing sidings, and for half-mile long trains chains are still usually sufficient, except on heavy gradients and with heavy loads when one engine has to be at the end of the train.

5ft3in and meter gauge are niches carrying very few traffic, the biggest traffic being on the FEVE network in Spain (3 Mt per year) and the Rätische Bahn network in Switzerland (1 Mt per year).

So long as the railways are primarily used for passengers in Europe freight trains will never get as long as in the US in general. The main problem with long freight trains is the amount of time they block junctions, and that the passing loops are not long enough.

I can see a few routes being changed but I can't see there economic benefit to going more than 1000m, especially when in Europe it is easy to send another train in a few minutes if necessary.

Some nice videos.

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More here: http://www.youtube.com/user/LostOzarkRambler

Here's 2 more of my Freight Videos

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So long as the railways are primarily used for passengers in Europe freight trains will never get as long as in the US in general. The main problem with long freight trains is the amount of time they block junctions, and that the passing loops are not long enough.

I can see a few routes being changed but I can't see there economic benefit to going more than 1000m, especially when in Europe it is easy to send another train in a few minutes if necessary.

Indeed, longer trains aren't always needed. Don't forget another main difference between Europe and the US: In Europe the engineer is usually all by himself on the locomotive, whereas train crews are larger in the US.
The new Gotthard base tunnel and its approaches will eventually allow 1400m trains however. The idea there is to just join two 700m trains together somewhere one side of the Alps, and split them again at the other end, so that slots in the tunnel can be spared.

However, the economical case for longer trains in Europe is weak. The miles long trains in the US are part of a logistic chain that brings containers from China to the East coast, where most of the US population lives. In Europe containers from Asia can be landed a lot closer to their final customers in most cases.
The main cargo flows across the continent is intra-european freight, and that doesn't often travel in containers (for a variety of reasons). The most urgent investment at the moment is to enlarge the profile of as many routes as possible for 4m corner height swap bodies.

The new Gotthard base tunnel and its approaches will eventually allow 1400m trains however. The idea there is to just join two 700m trains together somewhere one side of the Alps, and split them again at the other end, so that slots in the tunnel can be spared.

Not very soon because there aren't today passing loops and yards long enough to accept them.

The main cargo flows across the continent is intra-european freight, and that doesn't often travel in containers (for a variety of reasons). The most urgent investment at the moment is to enlarge the profile of as many routes as possible for 4m corner height swap bodies.

...and semitrailers!

I experience the jam first hand. The at-grade crossings need to be removed. And I noticed how just in NW Indiana so many rail lines have been torn up over the past fifty years. That has to stop. Rebuild the rail lines!!

Ultimately, laying more track and separating passenger from freight traffic on rail lines is what will have to happen. It is an expensive solution, but it has to happen and the gains made in decreased transportation costs and shipping time will make up for the expense.

Is there a master plan?

The line shown here, located in Hershey NE, west of UP's Bailey Yard, frequently gets about 100 trains a day on 6 tracks. It is part of the Nebraska Cornhusker line, part of the triple track Kearney Subdivision.

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This is the densest commodity regularly hauled by rail in North America. Each of those freight cars weighs the same as any other freight car when fully loaded, only that they are each between 7.5 and 8 meters long.

These trains are running around here in NE Wisconsin while several Great lakes ports are frozen up for the winter.

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Yes, those loaded 200 car trains weigh about 25000t.

Also, a train of empties at Main St in Neenah, WI (immediately south of my home town of Appleton):

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Enjoy!

:cheers1:

Mike

:lol:

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ANALYSIS-Railroads look to the highways to boost shipments

NEW YORK, May 26 (Reuters) - A recovering U.S. economy and rising fuel prices are giving the nation's railroads a chance to muscle in on what long has been trucker's turf -- the shipment of consumer products.

Big companies including Union Pacific Corp and CSX Corp are stepping up their investment in intermodal shipping -- handling the 53-foot (16 metre) boxes that are moved expeditiously from ship to truck to train around the world, carrying goods from appliances to toys.

Taking advantage of rising fuel prices -- U.S. diesel costs have surged some 32 percent over the last year -- railroad executives are looking to snag more business from their trucking rivals.

That marks an expansion from railroads' traditional strong suit, hauling bulk commodities such as coal and grain.

Their moves have caught Wall Street's attention, with investors seeing a chance to cash in not only on the railroads themselves but on the makers of shipping containers.

"We're believers in the intermodal story," said Benjamin Hartford, senior research associate at Robert W. Baird. "It's cheaper than truck and more fuel efficient, and it behooves retailers and other shippers to use domestic intermodal."

While most trains and trucks run on the same fuel-- diesel -- trains are far more efficient, using a quarter the amount of fuel a truck does to haul a comparable amount of cargo.

The top reason cited is that steel wheels on steel tracks create less resistance than rubber tires on concrete roads. Also, freight locomotives run on diesel-electric power, relative to hybrid autos.

"Rising costs on the truckload side because of increasing capacity scarcity, higher fuel prices, highway congestion, the increased (trucking) regulatory environment all help promote conversion from truck to rail," Hartford said.

He expects about 10 pct growth in total domestic intermodal cargo shipments this year.

Intermodal revenue at the five top U.S. railroads -- BNSF Railway Co, owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc ; Union Pacific, CSX, Norfolk Southern Corp and Kansas City Southern -- rose to $11.3 billion in 2010 from $6.9 billion in 2000, the Association of American Railroads said.

Union Pacific believes that intermodal shipping offers its greatest growth potential, said Chief Financial Officer Rob Knight.

"Over the mid-term and long-term, in our book of business, intermodal will, without question, be the highest volume growth and ... the highest margin improvement," he said Thursday at a Wolfe Trahan conference that was Webcast.

The largest publicly held U.S. railroad spent over $28 billion on infrastructure last decade and plans a record $3.3 billion this year, including significant investment in its intermodal network such as adding track lines and buying containers.

"We see a possible 11 million truckloads of opportunity, meaning 11 million truckloads we could potentially convert from highway to Union Pacific," spokesman Thomas Lange said.

The railroad recently bought 5,000 shipping containers, boosting its fleet 9 percent,

A pickup in demand for containers would be good news for the world's top container makers -- China International Marine Containers (Group) Co Ltd and Singamas Container Holdings , analysts said.

TEST, OPPORTUNITY FOR TRUCKERS

While railroad executives speak of moving shipments off the nation's highways and onto their rails, they are not cutting truckers out of the picture entirely.

Intermodal transport works best for freight that's moving at least 500 miles (800 km) and is not particularly time-sensitive, such as televisions and refrigerators, rather than trendy fashions or fresh produce.

While a railroad could make a good case for hauling Chinese-made sofas from California to a distribution center in New Jersey, it would not be able to make the next stage of the shipment -- to individual stores.

That is where truckers come back in.

"Rail intermodal is a win-win. Trucking companies are putting a big chunk of freight on the railroads," said Bob Costello, chief economist at American Trucking Associations.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services and Hub Group Inc are among those who stand to gain.

BULLISH VIEW

After touring CSX's new Northwest Ohio intermodal hub this month, several Wall Street firms turned more bullish. The hub "lived up to its billing and helped highlight intermodal's strong long-term growth potential," wrote Deutsche Bank analysts, led by Justin Yagerman.

Barclays sees CSX gaining more truck traffic in longer-haul eastern freight lanes, estimating a 1 percent shift there from truck to intermodal would boost intermodal tonnage 13 percent.

Those views are reflected in railroad shares, which have outperformed the transportation sector. Over the past year, Union Pacific is up almost 50 percent and CSX has risen 52 percent, outpacing the 28 percent rise of the Dow Jones transportation average <.DJT>.

Analysts said railroads could hold the gains they have made over truckers even if the diesel prices come back down.

"Given a lot of capacity fears in the trucking side that aren't fuel related, a lot of this freight will prove sticky for the railroads," said Dahlman Rose analyst Jason Seidl. "If fuel goes down 10 percent from here, all this freight isn't going to rush back to the highway."

^^
I'd LOVE to see some of these more aggressive competitors be able to come up here into central and northeastern Wisconsin, the local Class I railroad here is uninterested in serving this area and won't let anyone else onto their track.

:no:

Mike

^^
I'd LOVE to see some of these more aggressive competitors be able to come up here into central and northeastern Wisconsin, the local Class I railroad here is uninterested in serving this area and won't let anyone else onto their track.

:no:

Mike

Or , when is CSX going to upgrade its tracks....there in bad shape they seem to have minds on something else. Why not give your trackage to the states....NJ would love to take all the CSX lines , seeing how we want to turn them into Regional Rail and LRT....so does NY and MASS....

^^
I'd LOVE to see some of these more aggressive competitors be able to come up here into central and northeastern Wisconsin, the local Class I railroad here is uninterested in serving this area and won't let anyone else onto their track.

:no:

Mike

Excuse my ignorance but I thought that trackage rights in the USA are something agreed by the regulatory authorities, not the railroad companies themselves.

I thought the rail operators own the tracks. Regulators are there for safety enforcement and rule-setting.

I thought the rail operators own the tracks. Regulators are there for safety enforcement and rule-setting.
True in North America.

BTW, for 'trackage rights', that's usually negotiated by two companies and the track's owner will likely NEVER agree to it if another operator would want to come in to serve one or more of their own on-line customers. It is usually used by a railroad company to get between one part of its own system and another and the agreement almost always includes strict 'no compete' clauses.

It's a complicated mess and a real drag on the economies of many local areas.

We don't operate on a European-style 'open access' system here. <sigh...>

:ohno:

Mike

A small question - what is height of fully loaded double-stacked container car?

A small question - what is height of fully loaded double-stacked container car?
I'm not exactly sure, but I do know that new bridge structures in the USA MUST be a minimum of 7 meters above the railhead of most railroads. Auto racks and loaded double-stacks just clear them.

Mike

So it seems to impossible to doublestack in Russia and CIS - default height of overhead wire is "not lower than a 5,75 m above railhead"...

Does anyone know the status of this freight rail improvement project?

http://www.nscorp.com/nscorphtml/galleries/ns/crescent-corridor-map.jpg

Does anyone know the status of this freight rail improvement project?

http://www.nscorp.com/nscorphtml/galleries/ns/crescent-corridor-map.jpg

I think its dead...or on hold....

DOUBLE POST

I thought different parts were under construction? At least from what simple internet research turns up.
http://www.ble-t.org/pr/news/headline.asp?id=31361

Sounds less sexy than a whole new railroad but it makes me feel good there is investment like this in the US rail infrastructure.I found a great site for North American railroads, its a massive forum filled with rail workers and transport geeks alike http://www.railroad.net/forums/index.php

Isn't KCS also doing something like this, or am I wrong? In south Texas, they just rebuilt an abandoned line(former SP, they tore it up in 1993 but left the right of way) from the towns of Rosenburg to Victoria, with a yard and a intermodal terminal in Kendleton, TX. I think the idea is for KCS to own more of its own track between its principal network in the southern US and the Mexican railroads it as a corporation owns.

abqjournal (http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBYQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.abqjournal.com%2Fmain%2F2011%2F06%2F27%2Fbiz%2Foutlook%2Fa-port-in-the.html&ei=WTIJTpqWGY2-sQP6oeGRDw&usg=AFQjCNEA9MzKypyAQabnH8eWIJoGnZqCMw&sig2=yTXfF70s3c8io5OUY2he3g)


A Port In The Desert

By Bill Hume / For the Journal on Mon, Jun 27, 2011

http://www.trainweb.org/screamingeagle/other/j_glenewinkel/dark_t/UP-train-lineup-2.jpg

SUNLAND PARK – Santa Teresa “will become a key inland port in the United States” when Union Pacific Railroad’s massive $500 million refueling and intermodal yard is completed there in five years, according to Zoe Richmond, UP’s director of public affairs for Arizona and New Mexico. “Think of it as a chicken coop for trains,” Richmond said.

It will be a major refueling, crew change, switch yard and intermodal ramp for UP’s busy Sunset Corridor, from Los Angeles-Long Beach through to Chicago and across the nation.

Union Pacific in New Mexico
• 618 miles of track
• 327 employees
• Annual payroll: $22.4 million
• In-state spending: $4.1 million
• Capital spending: $14.8 million
- Source: Union Pacific

An intermodal ramp is characterized by the heavy gantry crane machinery necessary to move massive freight shipping containers from railroad cars to highway trailers and vice versa.

Speaking to more than 700 people attending the 17th annual NAFTA Institute, Supplier Meet the Buyer trade conference earlier this month, Richmond and other UP officials outlined details of the five-year project.

Construction alone will have a major impact on the economy of southern New Mexico. It will generate more than 3,000 jobs during the construction phase, and result in the payment of more than $23.5 million in state and local taxes, UP officials said. When in full operation, projected for 2015, it will have a permanent workforce of about 600. The project also is expected to trigger significant retail, service and entertainment enterprises in the Santa Teresa area in the near term, to serve this influx of workers. UP currently is moving about 40 trains a day on the Sunset Corridor, not yet back to the levels prior to the economic crash, “but getting close,” Richmond said. The goal is to support a capacity of 70 to 90 trains a day.

The railroad intends to use the Santa Teresa facility as a virtual extension of its Long Beach port facilities, with ocean freighters being unloaded in bulk onto trains bound for Santa Teresa. The cargoes will be broken down in Santa Teresa for shipping to diverse destinations around the country. The objective is to try to reduce the bottleneck and congestion at the California ports, Richmond said. The southern New Mexico operation will facilitate the movement of goods into the nation’s heartland – and, of course, to all points in New Mexico. In addition, it will give New Mexico manufacturers and agricultural producers an efficient and direct connection for shipment all over the country and the world.

The El Paso/Ciudad Juarez, Mexico/Las Cruces area already is the seventh biggest manufacturing center in the world – and the UP facility will materially improve its global connections to raw materials, components and consumers. “Make no mistake, we intend that Doña Ana County and the border area will lead jobs development in New Mexico,” said Economic Development Secretary-designate Jon Barela, at the NAFTA conference, predicting at least 800 new jobs in Doña Ana County within the next 12 months. “Infrastructure development along the border is a priority of mine, it’s a priority of the governor’s.”

Statistics on activity at the Santa Teresa border crossing demonstrate the growth potential. In 1997, fewer than 100,000 private vehicles crossed at Santa Teresa; in 2010, more than 500,000. Trucks totaled about 3,000 in 1993; in 2010, more than 80,000. “It is the fastest, most modern port crossing in the district,” said Jerry Pacheco, primary organizer of the NAFTA conference and a Journal trade columnist. “It still has to be fully developed and its potential fully realized.”

[...]




http://jaimeas.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/san-jeonimo-and-santa-teresa.jpg?w=450&h=339
Santa Teresa is in the upper left corner of this map. San Jeronimo is just to the south, in Mexico.

http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2008/nov/Site-Visit/images/Hi-Res-Map.jpg
The new Union Pacific inland port facility is shaded in yellow.


.

https://www.wtgnh.com/wtgnh/support/UP%20Rail%20Network.jpg

The key El Paso Union Pacific hub will be shifted to Santa Teresa NM. The U.P. intermodal facility in Joliet Il below indicates the type of layout U.P. will be constructing in Southern New Mexico.

http://www.truckinginfo.com/CharonThumbnailer/image_thumbnailer.aspx?i=/images/news/joliet_grand_open_web.jpg

Does anyone know the status of this freight rail improvement project?

http://www.nscorp.com/nscorphtml/galleries/ns/crescent-corridor-map.jpg
The best Wikipedia information (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crescent_Corridor) suggests it's being worked on...slowly. Working around an active freight line takes quite a bit of time...and NS needs to undertake this project because CSX is likewise preparing its (closer to the sea) ROW for doublestacks (they're undercutting the line and reworking bridges in Philadelphia right now).

My guess is that the NS project will involve tunnel heightenings, too.

Fox Junction Denver

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6128/5919035877_cf4fde4552_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghosstrider/5919035877/)
Blue Hour at Fox Junction (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghosstrider/5919035877/) by GhoSStrider (http://www.flickr.com/people/ghosstrider/), on Flickr

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^^
The first clip is on the former Green Bay and Western mainline in far western Wisconsin, just northeast of Winona, MN. The containers were loaded by Ashley Furniture in nearby Arcadia, WI and the entire train is to be interchanged with the BNSF at East Winona (Winona Junction), WI.

Mike

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Transport Politic (http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2011/10/16/at-the-heart-of-the-u-s-freight-rail-system-chicago-advances-grade-separation/)


At the Heart of the U.S. Freight Rail System, Chicago Advances Grade Separation
October 16th, 2011

http://www.rail.co/wp-content/uploads/ChicagoUnionStationCheifHuddleston1.jpg

Chicago is at the center of the American freight rail system, handling 40% of U.S. rail freight on 500 daily trains. It forms the primary junction of the four biggest American freight rail companies — BNSF, CSX, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific — in addition to the two big Canadian carriers, Canadian National and Canadian Pacific. But the complex and intertwined web of tracks that brings trains into and out of the city is hopelessly out of date and causing congestion that limits the number of both freight and passenger trains that can run there.

Last week, ground was broken on the Englewood Flyover, a major element of CREATE, a grand scheme to eliminate such delays in the Chicago area. CREATE — which stands for Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program — is a series of 67 individual projects that would speed up freight, commuter, and intercity rail by increasing trackage along heavily used routes and eliminating intersections between competing roads and rails.

Thanks to a significant federal grant, some of those delays will be eliminated.

The Englewood Flyover, but one of the hundreds of infrastructure projects reliant on funds from Washington, is designed to reduce train conflicts for the 130 trains that run through the intersection of the Metra Rock Island District commuter rail line and the Norfolk Southern/Amtrak line just south of 63rd Street and near I-90/I-94 on the South Side. Rock Island trains run between Joliet in the southwest suburbs and LaSalle Street station in the Loop; Amtrak trains connect Union Station with destinations in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan.

The two corridors currently intersect perpendicularly, meaning that trains can only pass through on one corridor at a time. A new bridge will not only separate the operations of the two rights-of-way, but will also increase the number of tracks on each line.

At $133 million, the Englewood Crossover is no major project when it comes to typical American infrastructure (one may question whether this cost is too high for a bridge and a few hundred feet of tracks), but the cumulative effect of similar investments is an improved rail system both for freight and passenger users.

Though this project is all about improving freight systems, the large majority of the project’s funding ($126 million) originated with the federal government and the DOT’s high-speed and intercity rail passenger program, the same funding source that has been much-maligned by GOP governors in states like Florida and Wisconsin. Illinois’ Jobs Now! program* will fund the remaining costs.

The CREATE project is far from the only intercity and freight rail improvement project being funded through public sector financing. Though the high-speed rail program, with its marquee projects such as the link between San Francisco and Los Angeles, has commanded much of the discussion and controversy in recent months, more mundane improvements will play a significant part in keeping the country moving.

Earlier this month, CSX announced that one-third of its major National Gateway improvement project is either complete or under construction. This project is designed to create a double-decker freight corridor between Mid-Atlantic sea ports and the Midwest. The major program will cost almost a billion dollars by itself and will have a majority of its costs paid by public sector sources.

[...]

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A short-ish video of a BNSF train along the Alameda Corridor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alameda_Corridor)