Now On Line: Railway Age December 2023 Digital Edition
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
Railway Age’s December 2023 issue is now available digitally, featuring the 2024 Freight Rail Outlook that predicts “brighter days ahead.”
“For the first time in a long time, high-level executives are taking a sober look at service levels, supply chain visibility and overall customer experience,” Railway Age’s Wall Street Contributing Editor Jason Seidl writes in the annual outlook article. “Indeed, we are hearing encouraging language from the C-Suite, and it reminds me of a time 20 years ago when Matt Rose took over at BNSF and started uttering unheard phrases like ‘we must earn our cost of capital.’”
But Railway Supply Institute President Patty Long warns of the “troubling schism in some Congressional circles that lauds privately owned and funded freight rail for its economic and environmental benefits while disparaging passenger rail as a wasteful use of taxpayer dollars.” In doing so, she notes, “I fear that our ‘friends’ on the Hill are throwing the baby out with the bath water.”
Inside you’ll also find features on:
• Maintenance-of-Way: In “A Grade Above,” learn how suppliers are ensuring that highway/rail grade crossing surfaces can withstand the long-term pounding of heavy rail and road traffic while providing a safe, smooth, and jolt-free ride for motor vehicles..
• Sea Change in Railcar Supply: Railway Age Contributing Editor Bob Cantwell provides a railcar and lease rate outlook for 2024 and beyond.
• TTC Operated by ENSCO: Ambipar Response Training Center Director Lee Nelson and ENSCO, Inc., Chief of Strategy and Development Matthew Dick address the critical need for specialized hazmat training in lithium-ion battery and hydrogen railway vehicle emergencies.
And don’t miss commentary by Railway Age Capitol Hill Contributing Editor Frank N. Wilner covering the exit of Surface Transportation Board Chair Martin J. Oberman, who “may be missed”; Railway Age Financial Editor David Nahass discussing how depreciation (both Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System and Bonus Depreciation) is no longer being effectively monetized and passed through to the intended beneficiaries, thereby contributing to increased rail equipment lease rates; and American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association President Chuck Baker discusses the value of short lines and their recognition by Class I and government partners as well as shippers.
