Just a few observations.Have reported dark signals and crossing gate problems to csx the past couple weeks.(also today).Today in Deshler the MOW hounds were working on the east side of town.A worker came down checked on the diamond and said things are going to get worse. They wished management would let them maintain things like they should.Not a good way to run a railroad[:(]
stay safe
Joe
Joe-
CSX is hurting for ca***o handle repairs. That is one reason they are spinning off all sorts of lines and will continue the program in 2005. It could even be that the lines you are looking at might be candidates for spin offs. They have been spinning some mighty big lines.
LC
What is their problem exactly? Are they have troubles with their budget? Not enough customers? Not enough revenue? Too many managers? What’s up?
I didn’t think CSX was running into problems until lately when I have checked out some of the news wire and media business news.
What’s this "we"stuff ?
$Randy
Part of CSX’s problem is their huge debt service. They have to clear millions of bucks every week just to pay for swallowing their part of Conrail; after that, they can start to look for profit.
Another problem for the future is their employees. [I HATE the word “workers”; it’s so BOLSHEVIK!] A lot of employees will be leaving in the next five or six years, and they’ve been hiring like mad so they’ll have some trained people to take over. The joke is that their “training” program isn’t only insufficient, but dangerous. These poor guys haven’t got the faintest idea what’s going on, but they can spout off the training manuals verbatim. And stepping off of moving equipment is a capital crime; yet they are only allowed to practice getting off ONCE if at all. Sooner or later most of them will have to get off or get hurt. Since they don’t know how to get off, most will be hurt and some killed.
I think the biggest problem with CSX, and with most of the megarailroads is just that, their size. CSX is like any huge bureaucracy or government in that the top doesn’t know what the bottom is doing. They only get the news from the middle managers. When they occasionally come down to my level, they don’t often get the facts of what’s going on.
Oh, and the most IMPORTANT thing for lower and middle managers isn’t taking care of customers; it’s their stinking bonus. The end result is like a Denny’s Restaurant; instead of four waitresses working the tables, there are only two. Or even one. At Denny’s, the restaurant is charged with racism; on the railroad, the customer stops using the railroad and goes to the more expensive, but more reliable truck.
CSX during the late 80’s and early 90’s followed Wall Streets dictum to ‘Rationalize’ their physical plant. Reduce double track areas to single track, downgrade existing single track lines to no more than secondary branch line status, sell off branch lines to ‘Short Lines’ and flat out abandon lines. All this was done with Wall Streets view that railroads, especially railroads in the East were and anachrosim and would soon have very little traffic to move prior to their eventual death. Couple this with John Snow’s rape of the CSX Treasury while enroute to the position of raping the US Treasury and you have a company that is ill suited to operate in a time of increasing traffic levels.
The only thing CSX has to fear is prosperity and increased demand for its services which it doesn’t have the physical plant or manpower to deliver.
There goes to prove that MERGERS do not work!
What’s frustrating for me working in T&E service is to see the inconsistency in management. One minute they are preaching safety this and safety that, but if comes down to it they’ll turn the other way to make sure things get done. And then if somebody gets hurt management wants to cover up the injury or persuade the person not to sign anything. And much like what was said before, the managment are more worried about their bonuses than what puts the food on their table. In my terminal, claims are turned down reguardless of legitamacy, safety meetings and improvements are minimized and thrown to the wayside. Then the trainmaster wonders why morale is so low??? As the saying goes: You have to give a little to get something in return. If employees were just treated with a little respect instead of as the enemy, relations would turn around for the better. Unfortunately businesses worry about the bottom line, but life just doesn’t work that way. Not everything can be solved by number crunches throwing statistics around. Sometimes it’s okay to lose a little initially. What I don’t understand is the rationale that the RR would rather save $1 today and pass up the opportunity to make a million tomorrow.
I hired on to make money, which I feel I’m well compensated. All I ask is that I have a safe workplace where simple improvements to my work enivronment are made to ensure the safety of myself and everyone I work with. Eventually you cut too many corners and you have nothing left. I just hope it doesn’t get that bad.
Those managers who are only watching the Bottom Line,and nothing else,should be forced to watch “A Christmas Carol” over and over until they are cured.
LC
spinoff the willard sub or toledo sub??that would be interesting.[:0]
stay safe
Joe
If CSX doesn’t watch themselves, they are going to Erie Lackofmoney themselves into bankruptcy. Having just read the previous posts, what CSX is doing is not an intelligent way to do business.
If CSX runs out of money and gets into Trouble, then the UP can buy them.
Problem Solved.
UP?!?!?!
Problem Solved??? Not hardly!!! CSX is still reeling from taking over Conrail and the UP would have to inherit that problem as well as the nightmare of doubling its territory and responsibilities. UP is still wiping its hands from the SP takeover. Anyways, I don’t think the NTSB would even consider it. Things will probably stay the way there are pertaining to the Class 1’s. That’s my [2c]
n_stephenson -
I think you mean the STB not the NTSB which only investigates accidents and has no regulatory power. The STB regulates the economic matters of railroads, particularly their franchises. This includes mergers.
LC
As far as CSX’s debt problems go, I wonder if their sale of their port facilities will help them? Does anyone know where the proceeds of that sale will go or if they can go into retiring a large portion of CSX’s debt?
I am deeply concerned about CSX. I see the problem as one of essentially money. I know everyone complains about how bad upper management is, and I don’t doubt they have their problems, but those kind of criticisms are typical for companies on the financial ropes.
A troubled CSX is an invitation for another round mergers–something I think would be devastating right now. For that reason, I am really hoping CSX gets its act together and can use the money from the sale of its ports to solve a lot of its problems.
As far as mergers and CSX goes, I am not sure that is the solution. To paraphrase a well known poster on here: when UP took the SP many people thought UP’s practices would solve the problems of the SP–instead SP’s practices are infecting the UP.
Gabe
I sometimes wonder if we would have been better of with east/west mergers instead of regional. What if, instead of Penn Central, UP+NYC and ATSF+Pennsy?? Then maybe NS+SP and BN+C&O/B&O???
What I’ve seen and read of CSX leads me to believe that their problems are the result of some questionable strategic decisions added to general lack of focus and short span of attention.
They made a strategic decision to concentrate on bulk commod. and drop their “high speed” routes, figuring intermodal had no future. This turned out to be flat wrong and they have been scrambling around trying to re-assemble some high speed east-west routes. The Conrail aquisition was part of this. They also have had trouble figuring out if they were just a RR, or a RR/steamship/barge company. So, lots of money and opportunity down the drain.
They also have tried out many bright ideas over the past couple of decades such as “service lanes” and “local operating playbooks”, but just didn’t stick with any of them long enough to fine tune and actually make work. They would tend to declare failure after a relatively short time and look for another magic, silver bullet solution. This approach really corrodes the commitment of the employees to any new idea - they figure they just have to bide their time until mgt. loses interest in the “program du jour” and moves on to something else.
I think the way out is to pick one key thing, such as intermodal train performance or carload terminal car connections or even their current network redesign and then set up a measurement system that allows local management to see their particular details, create some goals, and then manange by that measure until goals are met. Focus everybody on that measure and don’t move onto anything else until the goals are achieved.
Sounds like a good idea. Has the Senior Management “Lend Lease” of Tony Ingram from the NS made any difference?
LC
That makes sense. In life, a relationship won’t go to far without commitment.