Nineteenth century economist Thomas Malthus is associated with a failure to recognize improved productivity as a tide lifting humankind’s standard of living.
Each year, hundreds of executives, technical experts, engineers and safety officers from across the railway supplier universe engage in an activity that, while largely unheralded, is enormously important to our industry and the North American economy.
As a perfect scene does not a great movie make, ideal legislation cannot deliver its intent absent proficient administration.
“Fire burn and caldron bubble … something wicked this way comes”—and it’s neither Shakespeare’s Macbeth nor his lady.
I have stressed many times in this blog, and in my monthly magazine columns—at times in harsh terms that may have offended some people who, for reasons I can’t quite figure out, took my remarks personally—that the Trump Administration’s extremely nationalistic ideology, if it morphs into law, will critically injure the railroads and the railroad supply community.
With early indications that the Trump Administration is a political version of the Jerry Springer show, expect an atypical legislative session, with the Republican majority sometimes in open conflict with a Republican President who is unpredictable, impetuous, lacking previous government experience and quick to take vengeance on those critical of him.
Expediency over principle describes a unanimous vote Jan. 27 by the three Surface Transportation Board (STB) members—Acting Chairman Ann Begeman, a Republican, and Democrats Dan Elliott and Deb Miller.
The 115th Congress will soon be under way, and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) on Dec. 6 announced several senior staff changes.
I’ve heard some pretty disingenuous (that’s a polite word for “dopey”) things said about railroads in my nearly 25 years at Railway Age. Nearly all of them have come from uninformed generalist reporters who are mostly clueless about what we do, how we do it, and the technology we employ—and that they don’t take the time to understand.
As the rail industry suffers through the 2015-2016 winter of its discontent, it is becoming clearer with each passing week that as an industry we are entering uncharted territory. Former mainstay coal is in long-term decline, removing the largest pillar under the rail industry and creating a giant volume hole for the industry to fill.