Class I Briefs: CSX, CPKC, UP
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
CSX has donated $5 million to help transform the B&O Railroad Museum in celebration of B&O’s bicentennial anniversary in 2027. Pictured: B&O Railroad Museum Executive Director Kris Hoellen (left), CSX President and CEO Joe Hinrichs (center) and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore. (CSX Photograph)
CSX donates $5 million to the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Md. Also, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) reports its commitment to developing a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target aligned with a 1.5⁰C future and supporting the global economy to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050; and Union Pacific’s (UP) Training team earns a 2023 BEST Award from the Association for Talent Development.
CSX is supporting the B&O Railroad Museum with a $5 million donation to its $30 million capital campaign, in anticipation of the B&O’s and American railroading’s bicentennial anniversary in 2027, the Class I reported June 8.
The gift will be used to build the “CSX Bicentennial Garden,” an amphitheater and multi-use space that can host local organizations and hold community gatherings. “This installation will serve as a vibrant event space and provide a fresh, new location to welcome visitors to the museum,” said the railroad, the first corporate patron to pledge support for the campaign, which is slated to “improve the overall campus flow; add state-of-the-art educational space, including an Innovation Hall focused on present-day and future railroad technology; house extensive historical archives; and spark community economic development.”
“As the successor to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, CSX has been an integral part of the Maryland economy for generations,” CSX President and CEO Joe Hinrichs said. “We are thrilled to be able to deliver this substantial contribution and serve as a catalyst of growth for this iconic institution and the Baltimore community.”
“We are profoundly grateful to CSX for their extraordinary commitment to the preservation and celebration of our nation’s railroad heritage,” said Kris Hoellen, Executive Director of the B&O Railroad Museum.
“This [B&O Railroad Museum] campus transformation will serve our administration’s goals of connecting institutions with their neighboring communities; expanding workforce training opportunities on campus; creating publicly accessible open space; and remodeling the South Car Works building, our nation’s oldest, continuously operating railroad repair facility as the new entryway to the Museum,” said Maryland Gov. Wes Moore. “Maryland will be ready to celebrate the 200th anniversary in 2027.”
The B&O was the first steam-operated railroad in the United States to be chartered as a common carrier of freight and passengers. The museum was established in 1953. CSX in 1987 officially transferred all land and property for the museum to a non-profit that became the B&O Railroad Museum. A $1 million grant for the museum was included in the state of Maryland’s FY2024 capital budget to aid the master plan effort.
CPKC on June 8 reported that it has joined the Science Based Targets initiative’s (SBTi) Business Ambition for 1.5⁰C global campaign, which includes alignment in supporting the global economy to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
“While we work toward developing a 1.5⁰C aligned emissions reduction target, as an interim measure, CPKC has established a consolidated locomotive emissions reduction target using SBTi’s sectoral-based approach for freight railroads and a well-below 2oC global warming scenario,” said CPKC, which on April 14 became the first single-line, transnational railway connecting Canada, the U.S. and Mexico through the merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern.
The consolidated target, which CPKC said has been recently validated by SBTi, is its commitment to reducing scope 1, 2, and 3 well-to-wheel locomotive GHG emissions 36.9% per gross ton-miles by 2030 from a 2020 base year. It replaces individual former Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern targets to provide a single SBTi validated target.
“This represents an important milestone in the sustainability journey for the new CPKC,” CPKC President and CEO Keith Creel said. “It comes early in our integration and reaffirms our commitment to operating sustainably as we grow our business for the future. This new commitment builds on the foundational work addressing climate change already under way, including our industry-leading Hydrogen Locomotive Program.”
Separately, CPKC recently revealed five new locomotive livery options.
UP was one of 72 companies honored with a 2023 BEST Award at the Association for Talent Development’s International Conference & Exposition, which was held last month in San Diego, Calif. The global program recognizes organizations that “demonstrate enterprise-wide success through talent development.” Also receiving an award: Jacobs (Dallas, Tex.).
Organizations that want to be considered for an award submit quantitative and qualitative information about their talent development practices and programs, which is assessed in “a rigorous blind review by members of the BEST Awards advisory committee, comprising a group of experts in the field,” according to the Association for Talent Development, whose members come from more than 100 countries and work in public and private organizations in every industry sector.
“These 72 organizations are driving impact and solving business challenges through talent development practices, and they are doing it in innovative ways,” said Tony Bingham, President and CEO of the Association for Talent Development. “Senior leaders in these organizations understand the critical strategic role learning has, and they are committed to investing in the growth and development of their people.”
