The MP/UP has had car scheduling since 1972. Each car, when released gets a “trip plan” that is dynamically changed as the car moves aling the railroad. Plus they can measure each yard with regard to how well they execute the plan for that car, making connections right train right day, etc. etc. They use that to forecast train sizes, make decisions on whether or not to run extras, annul small trains, how many engines a terminal will use, how many engines a train needs, which trains/cuts need to be switched next to protect connections, etc. MP/UP’s been using that for over 30-40 years.
But if recent stories are too be believed, PSR is starting to show results at CSX.
Making the corporate folx work with the conductor would be a quick way to find out the reason for that decision. Especially if they’re out on one of those long trains in the dead of a northern winter.
The Precision derailment in North Carolina is proof!
I watched the town hall video for employees. On the face of it, they talk about doing PSR, but not exactly the way EHH did. Reading between the lines, the goal appears to be about the same. Reduce the need for assets, although maybe not to the point of dismembering the physical plant to sell off land, and crews. They hope not to lose any customers over the implementation, and feel that any they do lose will be won back (except those that they won’t want back because they don’t fit the “plan”.) because we will be so much better. They are going to tell some customers that they may need to modify how they do business with UP. Possibly move some unit train business to the manifest network. What was mentioned kind of made sense, but some of the “changes” mentioned were more under the control of the railroad than the cus
Trouble is at the door! Slowing everything down increases car hire expenses as well as increasing the number of cars needed to sustain the same level of product movement between shipper and consignee.
FIgures don’t lie but Liars do figure.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Time will tell. It seems that the MBA’s don’t know what they don’t know. And the beatings will commence to convince those that can’t make it happen that the plan will succeed if only they would do their job as they were expected to do, impossible or not.
Interesting quote from a Railway Age news story on Unified Plan 2020 (https://www.railwayage.com/freight/up-more-like-csx/):
We believe the market reaction should be somewhat positive as long as it appears UP is fully implementing PSR and not doing “Precision Railroading Lite.” Indeed the company has the opportunity to boost investor confidence in the attainability of its OR goals and unlocks the possibility of the company exceeding them.”
Other analysts have differing opinions. Said Wolfe Research, “PSR has never been implemented without Hunter Harrison, and UP hasn’t announced any management changes to bring on executives with a long history of PSR at CN, CP, or now CSX. And we’re not sure it can be implemented in phases as UP plans to do. So it seems fair to [lessen] the likelihood of complete success for UP and certainly the pace of change relative to CSX over the past year.”
Another observer noted that UP’s OR “has plateaued even though its stock price is doing well. But absent operating ratio improvements at least equal to other properties, indicating that current management is weak on achieving operating/efficiency goals, somebody else—think an activist hedge fund—could show up for a proxy fight, and we know how that goes.”
We know how that goes indeed. Jim Squires and the folks at NS are next on the chopping block.
Now I really don’t have any operational experience with a railroad, other than railfanning it and what I have been able to gleen from reading etc. With that said though, its no secret that UP has been having a lot of operating problems recently. Its a pretty common sight for me on my daily commute as I pass the UP mainline to find three or four trains, dead on the line and waiting to proceed. I don’t know all of what cause’s it, but its pretty strange when returning a full 8-10 hours later on that part of the commute, and passing the same trains still parked in the same location. If that isn’t a service delay, I don’t know what is! Do I think PSR has had issues in the past? Yes. But there is a small possibility that UP, more-so than any other system in the nation needs it right now. I just hope these changes improve actual train performance and not just a show of force to appease just the investors.
If you don’t eat or drink for a week, you will also begin to show “results”.
[quote user=“ns145”]
Interesting quote from a Railway Age news story on Unified Plan 2020 (https://www.railwayage.com/freight/up-more-like-csx/):
We believe the market reaction should be somewhat positive as long as it appears UP is fully implementing PSR and not doing “Precision Railroading Lite.” Indeed the company has the opportunity to boost investor confidence in the attainability of its OR goals and unlocks the possibility of the company exceeding them.”
Other analysts have differing opinions. Said Wolfe Research, “PSR has never been implemented without Hunter Harrison, and UP hasn’t announced any management changes to bring on executives with a long history of PSR at CN, CP, or now CSX. And we’re not sure it can be implemented in phases as UP plans to do. So it seems fair to [lessen] the likelihood of complete success for UP and certainly the pace of change relative to CSX over the past year.”
Another observer noted that UP’s OR “has plateaued even though its stock price is doing well. But absent operating ratio improvements at least equal to other properties, indicating that current management is weak on achieving operating/efficiency goals, somebody else—think an activist hedge fund—could show up for a proxy fight, and we know how that goes.”
We know how that goes indeed. Jim Squires and the folks at NS are next on the choppi
[quote user=“jeffhergert”]
ns145
Interesting quote from a Railway Age news story on Unified Plan 2020 (https://www.railwayage.com/freight/up-more-like-csx/):
We believe the market reaction should be somewhat positive as long as it appears UP is fully implementing PSR and not doing “Precision Railroading Lite.” Indeed the company has the opportunity to boost investor confidence in the attainability of its OR goals and unlocks the possibility of the company exceeding them.”
Other analysts have differing opinions. Said Wolfe Research, “PSR has never been implemented without Hunter Harrison, and UP hasn’t announced any management changes to bring on executives with a long history of PSR at CN, CP, or now CSX. And we’re not sure it can be implemented in phases as UP plans to do. So it seems fair to [lessen] the likelihood of complete success for UP and certainly the pace of change relative to CSX over the past year.”
Another observer noted that UP’s OR “has plateaued even though its stock price is doing well. But absent operating ratio improvements at least equal to other properties, indicating that current management is weak on achieving operating/efficiency goals, somebody else—think an activist hedge fund—could show up for a proxy fight, and we know how that goes.”
Anytime I hear a railroad say PSR anymore my gut goes brace for impact. Why my boss is still digging CSX customers out of service holes that the railroad imposed over 1 year ago with our drivers and their starting to get worn out from the extra miles we need them to run for the last year. Yes that’s right while dealing with our own industries capacity crunch due to ELD imposed regulations in December we still are doing what’s almost impossible.
In the world of Electronic Log’s in trucking - what constitutes ‘proper rest’ for a driver of a sleeper cab rig?
Per the Federal regulations 10 hours in the sleeper berth or off duty combined. Most of my drivers around here are getting around 8 hours a night the other 2 are used for eating showering and relaxing before going to sleep and then waking up in the morning and having breakfast. But then again my boys are spoiled when it comes to how we treat them aka do what ever it takes so they can get the rest they need. I think last week alone we paid out over 3 grand in parking alone so our drivers had a spot to park. They are told if they hit the 13th hour in the clock find the closest truck stop and park it for the night. That is the company rule and if you break it when you get back to the yard first I chew your butt out then the Safety manager tears you a new one then you have to go see the Owner of the company and he proceeds to ream you out so badly you feel like your going to need depends for a month. The only time we do not apply as we call it the reaming is if your held at a shipper an accident or weather forces your hand. We had a few drivers get caught in that Ice storm that hit Arkansas a few years back. That was not fun for us or them. Even the DOT officers knew why they where over the clocks and over everything.
That seems unprofessional and borderline harrassment.
Reason I was asking - saw a video of a driver that went HOS just outside of the shipper/consignee (I don’t know) plant. A tow truck was called to move the rig from where it was to the lot of a truck stop several miles away.
Makes me wonder what the value of the fine is vs. the cost of having a tow truck come to move the rig to a truck stop? I am certain the cost of the tow was not insignificant.
The fine for violation of the 14 hour rule to the carrier aka my boss is 25 grand for each time it happens. Why do we hate that 14 hour clock shippers and recievers that delay our drivers for hours then refuse to have parking for them when they have run out their clocks for the day. With Elogs the drivers are stuck sitting on On Duty not driving waiting to get loaded or unloaded. That is why at least here we have hammered detention time so hard on our customers. The idiots at the FMCSA that decided that all trucks be forced into this situation needs to be drawn and quarted or better yet sat in a truck have his clock run out in Needles CA at noon in a truck he can not idle in and be told you have to sleep in this 150 degree metal box for the next 10 hours before you can move again. Or now that winter is coming throw him in Upstate NY say around Syracuse and NYS does not allow trucks to idle in any weather either. So throw him in a truck in below zero weather and say stay warm in this thing. Then tell us why a clock we can not stop is such a great idea for this industry. We have APU’s on all our equipment so our drivers can stay warm or cool as needed. However the main issue with our HOS is a clock that can not be restarted until 10 hours of sleeper time or off duty time has happened.
Zugman when it costs us aka the carrier 25 grand for each time they break 14 hours the butt chewing they get is worth it. That is why we pay for reserved parking for our drivers so we can avoid the fines from the FMCSA. 25 grand per occurance is what the fine is and they can ramp it up if your a repeat offender to 250 grand per occurance. How long do you think a company can stay in business with fines that large.
From a railroad perspective in dealing with HOS. Sometimes you have to see reality for what it is and not try to get the last minutes work from the train crew - if you do you end up with a dead train on the Main waiting for their relief crew. Put the train in a ‘hiding place’ out of the way until a relief crew can be obtained and transported to the train. If you are running your railroad efficiently, you may end up from time to time with a recrew on duty for a train that actually completes its run and the recrew was your insurance policy.
While I doubt drivers have any clout when dealing with the shipper/consignee plants they deal with - perhaps they should be fully rested before showing up at the plant even if it mean delaying their arrival 14 hours. The trucking industry needs to get together where all carriers have the same kind of responses to the same kind of HOS situations. I know full well the shipper/consignees will try to whiplash the carriers by trying to find one that doesn’t care about HOS to the same extent as the others and offer them the business. Railroads are subject to the same kinds of customer warfare so it is nothing new, just a diffent place for the battlefield. As long as customers can drive wedges between the carriers they will.