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VIEW FROM ACROSS THE POND THE PRICE OF PROGRESS Michael R Weinman sums up the news to have come out of America’s railways over the last month, including a downturn in freight’s rising fortunes and railrelated lawsuits © Scott Frangos – FOTOLIA The multiplicity of newsworthy occurrences on the west side of the pond renders this month’s column a series of ‘sound bites’. First, think back to the January column’s anguish over the potential lifting of a line east of Seattle WA which sees little traffic today, but bisects a densely populated suburban corridor – and clearly will be needed in the future, both for passenger service and as a relief line for freight. The owner, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, has reached agreement to transfer the line to public agencies, which will indeed abandon it, but with the caveat that it would be available in the future for transport use. Which brings to mind the old music hall line ‘I’d give my right arm to be ambidextrous’! Conundrum! Outrageous! These were some of the exclamations used by commentators to describe the situation in which crowding, insufficient car park capacity and a lack of auto disincentives – tolls and other road pricing factors – combined with necessary fare increases, actually encourage substantial auto use at the same time that public transportation use is being preached as gospel. Petrol prices are again on the rise, approaching US$3 per gallon (about 34p per litre, which would, of course, be considered modest in the UK). This time, however, reports are that consumption is rising, as the American public becomes enured to the situation. An elasticity study reported that in 2001, a 20 per cent rise in prices would see a six per cent drop in fuel use, whilst a 2006 measure showed but a one per cent drop for an equivalent rise. Currently, although smaller vehicles are being purchased, per capita petrol consumption continues to escalate. A related recent New York Times article implied that, while public transport use is also rising, success breeds new demands for spending, ergo the necessity for fare increases. Moving on to legal matters, rail-related court actions have been grabbing headlines on both sides of the Atlantic. Whilst the potential for criminal prosecution was raised following Hatfield and, appropriately, put the fear of God into many industry managers, an ongoing story in the US press combines legitimate offence at historical wrongs with the growing tendency toward the litigious. Several hundred legal complaints are being made, about half emanating from the US, against SNCF, for its alleged role in the Holocaust by transporting people to Nazi camps. Perhaps the well-documented Nazi offences against humanity were of such magnitude as to cause children and grandchildren to flail at ghosts. But unless SNCF has discovered the fountain of youth, all the people who made any decisions whatsoever in regard to transport of prisoners to detention camps are long since dead, or at best retired and departed from the railway by decades – so punishing the railway of today is fruitless. Isn’t it about time we accepted this? Unsurprisingly, Guillaume Pepy, chief executive of SNCF, found more recent events of note to discuss during his recent 2007 CILT Sir Robert Reid Lecture – perhaps he thought that SNCF high speed progress would be a more relevant topic for today’s audience. I’m a hi-tech-Luddite and proud of it. Now, if I may quote from my technically-savvy colleague Roger Ford, in March’s Modern Railways, ‘Cutting extra cars into a modern computer-controlled multiple-unit is a complex process. Doing it when the trains are already scheduled to be in [the depot] for several days makes a lot of sense.’ Luddite says: Does this complexity really buy sufficient value? 28 RAIL PROFESSIONAL : MAY 2007
Compare, for instance, the thousands of old-fashioned vehicles in the US in which lifting a cutting lever, unplugging four head end power cables and two control cables, and two minutes time, is all it takes to remove cars, and the same process in reverse, plus connecting two air hoses – which uncouple without intervention – takes about four minutes? And these trains, I’m thinking mostly of push-pull stock, almost never fail. Our Acela Express high speed trainsets, the US Pendolino if you will, are modern computercontrolled, and thus must be ‘surgically’ uncoupled and recoupled, in a depot. To paraphrase retired Amtrak/New York Transit/SEPTA executive John F Tucker, if a toaster or coffee maker in the Acela buffet fails, US$30m of train is tied up, with consequent revenue loss! Luddite questions: is this really progress? Freight news is next, last and, likely, best! Signs of a slowing economy are in sight. Cargo haulage gains dipped through the first months of 2007, with intermodal essentially flat or showing small gains, and some losses in carload traffic. Most noticeable were automobiles and Unless SNCF has discovered the fountain of youth, all the people who made any decisions whatsoever in regard to transport of prisoners to detention camps are long since dead, or at best retired and departed from the railway manufacturing components, forestry and food products. This impacted on short lines and regional railways most as they have little intermodal traffic, drawing a warning from Michael Smith, president of the Finger Lakes Railway, an assemblage of short routes through upstate New York, in and near wine country. Smith addressed the recent New England Railroad Club Annual Rail Forum and Expo, with his thesis being that the efficiencies fostered by new technology were a necessity for the survival of such railways in uncertain economic times. His cautionary note was not echoed by noted railway financial analyst Anthony Hatch, whose keynote address was decidedly upbeat, as was Rail Stockwatch editor Tom Murray in the recent 6 March edition of his fine newsletter. Both reflected that the increase in pricing power, gains in operating efficiency, increasing challenges to the trucking industry and the reaping of benefits from huge railway capital investments, often in capacity, will permit the industry to grow the top line, as well as stabilise and grow the bottom line, despite economic fluctuations. Review the presentation cited in my April column, and it can be seen that confidence and optimism may indeed be a trend. Post Script: I’m pleased to report that the impressive talents of Richard Phelps, mentioned in this column, passim, as longtime general superintendent of Amtrak’s Southwest Division, have finally been recognised with his recent appointment by Amtrak as vice president – transportation. Expect better times ahead! Michael R Weinman is head of PTSI Transportation USA, a railway management consultancy. He is a former officer of New York Central, Penn Central and Amtrak. MAY 2007 : RAIL PROFESSIONAL 29
Page 1: PROFESSIONAL THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE
Page 4 and 5: NEWS Putting rail on the political
Page 6: NEWS ISLE OF WIGHT’S TRAINS SOLD
Page 9 and 10: POLICY TRANSPORT MUST GO GREEN Chri
Page 11 and 12: NEWS ANALYSIS FEATURE Justin Graing
Page 14 and 15: INTERVIEW ‘We are key to UK plc,
Page 16 and 17: TRANSPENNINE EXPRESS FIRST PAST THE
Page 18: TRANSPENNINE EXPRESS Vernon Barker
Page 21 and 22: SMOKING BAN Bob Crowley, head of em
Page 23 and 24: INFRASTRUCTURE Main picture: wwwlra
Page 25 and 26: INFRASTRUCTURE At 8.1 metres in dia
Page 27: COMMENT LEARNING FROM PAST MISTAKES
Page 31 and 32: LEGAL OPINION although the new (200
Page 33 and 34: IRO NEWS DIARY OF EVENTS SCOTTISH A
Page 35 and 36: BUSINESS NEWS TRAVEL PERKS ROW THRE
Page 37 and 38: PEOPLE PEOPLE ROUND-UP CARILLION DI
Page 39 and 40: PRODUCTS AND SERVICES SIEMENS Leadi
Page 41 and 42: TO LIST YOUR APPOINTMENTS CALL Rob
Page 43: TO LIST YOUR APPOINTMENTS CALL Rob

move over freightliner, we want to get into ... - Rail Professional

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