HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE MAY 2008 ISSUE
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Commentary
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“This isn’t a job. It’s a way of life”—Michael Ward
“The Chessie and Seaboard roads had been merged into three units, one responsible for sales and marketing, a second that oversaw the maintenance of all cars and locomotives, and [John] Snow’s CSX Transportation, which handled all operations.
“Immediately, Snow began cutting costs. When the time came to lay out the next year’s budget, he slashed investment in improvements of tracks and yards by $226 million, or nearly 42%. Capital improvements had totaled 14.7% of operating revenues in 1986, but for 1987 they equaled less than 9%. By contrast, Norfolk Southern, which was still faithful to the precepts of Graham Claytor, was reinvesting nearly 14% of it annual revenues.”
It has taken years for CSX to recover from scenarios like this. Today, under the leadership of Michael Ward—a career railroader who has spent 30 years at CSX and its predecessors and who knows something about roller coaster rides and (his words) “flavor of the month operating plans”—there is growth, continuous improvement, and, perhaps most important, stability. Today’s CSX is a very different organization than the one that existed even just a few years ago. Hostile forces are now attempting to take over the fort and undo the good that’s been accomplished, but there’s an underlying feeling of strength, a sense of confidence that has nothing to do with arrogance or false pretenses.
“Railroading gets in your blood,” Ward told us for this month’s cover story. “I’ve been here 30 years, and I’m still learning. This is a dynamic industry, one that makes a difference. For ‘old heads’ like me, and the young people we’re managing to attract, this isn’t a job. It’s a way of life.”
“The New Railway Age.” The term “rail renaissance” has in recent years been evoked quite often in this industry, both by those who work in it and by those who observe it. We have used it many times in the pages of this magazine. This renaissance amounts to a new “railway age,” and the fact that these words and the title of this publication are one and the same is not just happenstance.
CSX, our featured Class I in this month’s issue, has had to replace 50% of its workforce over the past five years. Aggressive recruitment, hiring, and training will continue for the foreseeable future, as experienced people retire and take their institutional knowledge with them. This is true for all railroads. But perhaps more important, how well do this industry’s newer people (and prospective employees as well) understand the issues? How in tune are they with its future? Would they stand to benefit from exposure to experienced, high-level thinking from high-level people?
This December, Railway Age is sponsoring a new conference designed to address these issues. It’s appropriately titled “The New Railway Age.” The dates are Dec. 11-12, 2008; location, Washington, D.C. This conference was proposed by Railway Age Contributing Editor William D. Middleton and Dr. George Smerk of the Indiana University Transportation Institute. It’s directed toward new and recent hires as well as graduate and undergraduate transportation students—those who represent the future of our industry. Our speakers will be high-level, experienced railway industry professionals.
“American railroads, now in their third century of operation, are in the midst of an era of major change and great opportunity, with prospects for growing freight traffic, increased demand for passenger services, the impact of growing emphasis on environmental issues, increased profitability, and growing opportunity for investment, public and private,” Middleton says. “They have advantages over their competitors, in a time of heightened environmental awareness. Railroad management is embracing new technology, and new forms of providing service. Railroads are planning for the future, and growing to meet increased demand for their services. ‘The New Railway Age’ will address the future of the railway industry from all angles—technical, operational, institutional, financial.”
Sessions will focus on such topics as new technology; roadbed and track structure; motive power; communications, signal and train control systems, and braking systems; rolling stock; personnel; national transportation policy issues; and national mobility and capacity issues. We invite railroads—as well as the supply companies and Wall Street institutions that have a stake in them—to send their best and brightest to Washington, D.C. in December. Details will be available on this website as the conference agenda is developed. (See Railway Age Conferences for more information.)
Copyright © 2007. Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corp.