Hunter aims for a three-peat
COVER STORY, RAILWAY AGE, OCTOBER 2017: After “a very ragged 90 days,” CSX seems to be settling down as its CEO gives his Precision Scheduled Railroading one more go.
COVER STORY, RAILWAY AGE, OCTOBER 2017: After “a very ragged 90 days,” CSX seems to be settling down as its CEO gives his Precision Scheduled Railroading one more go.
Is CSX emerging from what many observers, including customers, say is an operational and service meltdown created by a “too much, too soon” rush to implement Precision Scheduled Railroading on an arguably complex network? CSX President and CEO E. Hunter Harrison says “yes.”
Knee-jerks are part of business, one of the risks of doing business. As for knees, like most people, I have two of them, and as for jerks, I’ve been one, on occasion.
CSX late Tuesday said it revised the way it calculates three key service metrics – Train Velocity, Terminal Dwell and Cars Online – to “more accurately reflect the company’s operational performance.”
CSX in a report to the Surface Transportation Board said employment fell from June to July fell by 785 to 22,313.
More than 80% of respondents to a CSX Service Quality survey issued by Cowen and Company say they have experienced service issues since the company initiated President and CEO Hunter Harrison’s Precision Railroading. According to Cowen Managing Director and Railway Age Wall Street Contributing Editor Jason Seidl, “nearly 40% [of respondents] have switched some freight to Norfolk Southern, and 67% have transferred freight to a trucker.”
CSX Chief Executive Hunter Harrison in a letter to the railroad’s customers apologized for mounting service issues, citing the rapid pace of operational changes he has implemented and blaming employees who have “pushed back” against those changes.
Growing concerns by shippers regarding service issues with CSX have prompted a response by regulators.
Hunter Harrison, what exactly is going on at CSX? I’m hearing lots of voices. They’ve become loud and frequent and as such are nearly impossible to ignore. They’re the voices of railroaders, from the executive to the train and engine service level. They’re former and present CSX employees. They’re people who have worked for you at other railroads. And they’re all saying basically the same thing: That the changes you are making at CSX aren’t the right thing to do, or aren’t working.
Canadian Pacific Railway reported record second-quarter earnings on across-the-board improvements and ongoing volume gains through the first half of the year.