I have noticed that a couple of trains that operate in the area have been significantly longer lately, fairly consistently. I wonder if some shippers have been switching to rail to reduce shipping costs.
Sad to say it - but it’s probably due to the abolishment of a few other trains and just tucking it on to jobs which can handle the capacity…
I’ve certainly noticed a trend toward rail…it makes sense as railroad service levels have improved alot in recent years, and rail is certainly more environmentally friendly than other modes.
The shift to rail is probably most noticeable in markets that are fairly simply… like Canada. About 80% of our population (and industry) is located in 8 or 9 large cities that are for the most part spread along the Canada/USA border. Therefore domestic Canadian shipments work well on rail, and domestic trucking has therefore been in decline over the last ten or 15 years. For example…15 years ago the rate from Toronto to Halifax, NS was in the range of $2200.00 to $2500.00 for a box or flatbed truck. Today that rate is down to $1500.00 to $1800.00 due to downward pressure on rates from a much more competitive rail system. Even short hops like Toronto -Montreal have seen a decline in prices or have stagnated. Back in 1988 (when I first got started in transportation) a truck could be had for $450.00 (Montreal to Toronto)…same rate as today. Once again due to the resurgence of rail in that market.
The US is a little bit more difficult due to the fact that your population and industry base is spread all over…therfore requiring much more complex route structures than we in Canada do. However strides in technology and system rationalization as well as better coordination with intermodal alternatives has improved rail competitiveness.
In today’s business climate, railroads are consolidating general merchandise whenever possible to be able to run a ‘standard’ size train for whatever territory the train supplies service to. That includes running certain trains only 2 or 3 times a week instead of daily. The name of today’s railroad game is to maximize ton miles per crew start, with that being the case the railroads are running fewer bigger trains with more complex blocking than in the past. When and if traffic levels return to prior levels we will see a return of more frequent service and more, bigger trains.
Historically, when traffic has dried up, railroads have curtailed capital improvements, whether history will repeat itself during this downturn remains to be seen, as some companies are still looking at projections of needing more capacity in the future.
One of the trains I saw yesterday and today. It seems like I saw the other (a local) three days in a row last week.