November 2000
Amtrak Acela Express to Begin December 11
Amtrak has announced the introduction of revenue service of its long-awaited Acela Express for December 11. Tickets will go on sale November 29. There will be a ceremonial launching of the service on November 16 with day long activities running from Washington north to New York and Boston. Amtrak will use the interval between the ceremonial launch of service and the start of regularly scheduled service to run special preview trains and to run charter service for professional sports teams. The first revenue service will involve a single round trip serving 11 intermediate stops between Washington and Boston. Additional service will be offered as equipment becomes available, and the second revenue offering will include a "Super Express" running non-stop between Washington and New York. By the time all 20 trainsets are delivered next summer, Amtrak will be running 19 round trips daily between Washington and New York, and 10 round trips between New York and Boston. Each train will consist of a locomotive on each end with six passenger cars in between, including a first-class car, four business-class cars, and a cafe car. Seating capacity will be for 304 customers.
Lee Sargrad to Head Amtrak Mail & Express Unit
Amtrak has announced the consolidation of its mail and express business under the leadership of Lee H. Sargrad, 46, who will serve as the unit's president. His career has spanned 15 years in the rail freight industry, most recently as vice president of sales and marketing for Triple Crown Services.
Management Jobs to be Cut, Bonuses Eliminated, CSX Says
CSX has instructed each department to assess the work its people do and "to identify work that is unnecessary or redundant," over the next several weeks. In a letter to employees on October 4 from Bill Ryan, senior vice president-human resources, it was explained that the company's cost structure continues to be too high and a significant barrier to generating the financial performance of which the company is capable. "As that process goes forward, some non-union jobs will be eliminated." The departmental reviews will be conducted at CSX Corporation, as well as its three business units - CSX Transportation, CSX Intermodal, and CSX Technology. "It is anticipated that these reductions will be involuntary," the letter added. It was also explained that bonuses will not be paid to non-union employees for this year, beyond a special payment made earlier in 2000. Most of the staffing adjustments will occur in headquarters functions, according to the letter, with minimal impact in field operations. Affected employees will be offered transition benefits.
CSXT Customers May Now Trace Cars Via Wireless Internet
CSXT now offers customers the convenience and innovation of tracing rail cars via the wireless internet. "CSXT was the first railroad to offer an internet-based customer service solution with TWSNet, and now we are leading the industry's expansion of electronic commerce to the wireless internet," said Chuck Wodehouse, president of CSX Technology, in a press release.
Railroad Retirement Bill Fails to Reach Senate Vote
The Railroad Retirement and Survivors' Improvement Act of 2000 (H.R. 4844), the so-called 60/30 Bill, failed to reach a vote in the U.S. Senate. The bill had passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 391 to 25 on September 7, and it later passed on a voice vote by the Senate Finance Committee. The legislation would have allowed unreduced retirement benefits to railroaders retiring at age 60 with 30 years of service, five-year vesting instead of the current ten, and increased benefits for widows and widowers.
STB Issues Proposed Merger Rules
[From CSXT Midweek Report, October 5, 2000] . . . The Surface Transportation Board has proposed rules that are likely to make railroad mergers more difficult. If implemented, the rules would require railroads to make specific proposals to increase competition by other railroads after a merger. And the board said it would require more evidence than in past cases that proposed mergers are in the public interest. "The proposed new rules would substantially increase the burden on applicants to demonstrate that a proposed transaction is in the public interest, requiring them, among other things, to demonstrate that the transaction would enhance competition as an offset to negative impacts resulting from service disruptions and competitive harms likely to be caused by the merger," the STB said. The board imposed a 15-month moratorium on all rail mergers earlier this year, blocking the proposed CN-BNSF merger. CSX will participate fully in the period for public comments over the next three months. Final rules will be imposed by June 11, 2001, when the moratorium ends.
Pooch Earns Her Keep on CSXT Police Force
[From CSXT Midweek Report, October 12, 2000] . . . CSXT police have a new agent - Leska. A German shepherd, Leska is the first member of CSXT's K-9 police unit, responsible for security of shipments in Chicago. Leska's partner is special agent Paul Forsyth. Together, Leska and Forsyth made their first arrests of suspected burglars on August 10, just a few days after the two-year-old dog joined the CSXT police. "The first time I took her on foot patrol of CSX Intermodal's 59th Street ramp, she was very excited," Forsyth says. "She remembered her training in the rail yards and knew it was time to work. Employees are glad to see us." Forsyth has familiarized Leska with CSXI ramps at 59th and 63rd streets and Bedford Park, and tracks south of Park Manor, and on the Union Pacific hill between 115th and 130th streets. When not working, Leska likes to relax, listening to her favorite song, "Who Let the Dogs Out?"
Williston Depot Refurbished for CSXT Engineering Offices
[From CSXT Midweek Report, October 19, 2000] . . . Williston Depot, south of Gainesville, Florida, has been transformed from a dilapidated eyesore into a modern office building with a restored historic exterior. The work was completed almost entirely with CSXT employees. "The plumbers, electricians and carpenters all did an excellent job of pulling together to create a building that our people can be proud of," said John Morbitzer, supervisor-facilities. "The regional office played a major role by giving the craftsmen the time to do the job." A plaque listing the names of who worked on the project was attached to the building at a dedication ceremony last Monday (October 16). The small former freight depot is thought to have been constructed in the 1930's and was used to load various commodities, including, at one time, 72 carloads of pickles. Eventually, it became the roadmaster's office and section engineering and signal headquarters. The building deteriorated badly over the years and required a complete interior renovation. Outside, employees saved the cypress exterior and most of the original architectural features. "We've had a lot of favorable comments from the people of Williston, and the work environment for our employees is much improved," said Jimmy Neece, regional manager-facilities.
'Star Wars" Test Impresses FRA Officials
[From CSXT Midweek Report, October 19, 2000] . . . A test of Communications Based Train Management - also known as Star Wars - took place over the Augusta, Georgia-Spartanburg, South Carolina, corridor last week. That 125-mile single-track corridor uses Direct Traffic Control - verbal authorities from the Operations Center in Jacksonville granting access to each block, or segment, rather than wayside signals. The test was designed to demonstrate the system to top officials of the Federal Railroad Administration, other railroads, labor organizations and suppliers. "Star Wars" is what train crews on the Augusta-Spartanburg corridor call CBTM, which is a form of Positive Train Control that incorporates global positioning satellite technology. The locomotive engineer must respond to warnings or acknowledge prompts on a cab monitor concerning a range of safety issues - switches aligned properly, permission to proceed through track work zones and adherence to speed limits, for example. If the engineer doesn't take action to slow the train or acknowledge the prompts, the train is automatically brought to a safe stop... "This system has the capability of future applications and enhancements," said Tom Schmidt, vice president-engineering. "But more than that, it's another guarantee that our train crews will go home safely." Schmidt is leading the more than three-year-old effort to develop Star Wars along with Denise Lyle, director-advance train control projects, and a team from Wabtec Railway Electronics. The FRA's George Gavalla, associate administrator of safety, rode on a recent demonstration trip and congratulated CSXT. "We think that whole field of computer based train control technologies holds a lot of promise for the industry," Gavalla says. "It promises to dramatically improve safety and improve efficiency of operations. We applaud CSXT for taking the initiative to help develop computer based train control, and we want to work with you to make it the best system that it can be."
It's on to Hancock
[By Allen Brougham] . . .
Here is a look at my new (for now) railroad home...
With the closing of Miller Tower on September 24, I gave deep thought to where I should go - however short a duration that may be - and (after taking a week and a half of vacation) I exercised seniority by taking the second-shift position at the tower at Hancock, West Virginia.
Hancock (HO) Tower is located about eight miles west of the former Miller Tower, just across the Potomac River from the town of Hancock, Maryland. Constructed very similarly, and about the same time as Miller, it (Hancock) has a mechanical interlocking (with switches thrown using levers, as had Miller).
My first day on the job was October 5.
As it was a new duty station for me (having never worked there before), I was assisted for the first couple of days by another operator (Paul Swain the first day, George Speis the second) in order that I could become familiar with the characteristics of the assignment.
Hancock boasts two mainline tracks (to the east, the same two which pass former Miller), a two-mile passing siding (which rejoins the mainline west of Hancock at the control point Grasshopper), the junction to a five-mile branch (called an industrial track) to the U.S. Silica sand plant at Berkeley Springs, a scale track (for weighing cars from the sand plant), and two small yards (East and West yards respectively).
A local switcher (D774), complete with a caboose, comes to Hancock from Martinsburg's Pearson Yard five days a week with cars to be picked up, then goes to the sand plant with empties, returning with loads, and finally returning to Pearson Yard with cars that had been set off at Hancock earlier. At least two mainline freights (Q450 and Q451), plus sometimes Q400, Q296, and others, make setoffs and/or pickups at Hancock. Things can be rather exciting at times.
And speaking of excitement... On my second day on the job, a Friday, we had a visit by about 80 members of the B&O Railroad Historical Society, attending a bus tour of facilities as part of their annual convention. Things were rather busy (Q450 was working there at the time), but thanks to the fortuitous presence of two operators on duty (I and George), we were collectively able to get the job done and be hospitable to the guests (who came up into the office in groups of ten at a time), all within a period of just over half an hour. It doesn't get much better than that!
I had been at Miller just shy of eight years. My tenure at Hancock will be much shorter than that. The place is slated to close in July of next year, or thereabouts, but it is highly unlikely that I will be on duty there to see it... By then I will probably have been displaced... and/or... be retired... All good things must come to an end.
Stay tuned!