General Discussion

 it looks like buffalo frontier yard is going to closing. csx might close for good and could this mean other ex-conrail yards are in trouble or closing??????

Frontier was always on the bubble.  Conrail had plans to expand Selkirk and close the hump at Frontier.  Maybe CSX is now implementing those 15 year old plans.

From a NY regional forum

In a word, yes, but who knows when?

This morning, as we were going from the hotel (used by CSX in Albany) to the station in Rensselaer,, we heard two CSX men discussing this. They were of the opinion that the news media did not know much about railroad operation, and may well have misunderstood what they were told.

Johnny

Haven't we heard this all before ?

"The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." - Mark Twain.

 Just my own opinion, but a lot of traffic through Frontier really doesn't need the "traditional hump." CSXT should break the yard into two pieces, with track groups 1 to 3 being made into a flat yard for auto racks, spine cars, stack cars, and other "do not hump" traffic and the remaining groups made onto a 2 or 3 foot high mini-hump to handle carload traffic.  Mini-humps give cars extra momentum and use hundreds of tie-size retarders to slow things down.The retarders are mechanical and automatic, requiring no human or computer intervention.

Union Pacific invested $20 million to expand capacity at its Livonia, La., mini-hump (27 inches high) classification yard in 1998. Previously handling 18 trains and classifying about 1,500 cars daily, Livonia is now capable of handling up to 24 trains and classifying 2,000 cars a day. The expanded yard has seven receiving, eight departure, and 35 classification tracks.  This is just a bit more than the northern half of Frontier and about the same traffic level of its carload freight classification. Oh, yes, the east end of Frontier would get two leads, and perhaps, two yard drills when traffic picks up.

Maybe NY Sen. Chuck Schumer could redirect some stimulus money to such a project.

Rich

Here's some discussion on a regional forum

Thought I'd bump this back up - it does appear that Frontier is on a downward slide - possibly even to being completely closed.

Local Forum Discussion, recently updated with some news clips.

Traditionally when railroad economics  get tough, the first response has been to eliminate all but emergency investment track  and engineering projects thus creating deffered maintenance issues that come back and haunt carriers when traffic picks up as now the maintenance must be done when higher volumes of traffic are moving over  the very structures that need repair.

CSX has decided to continue working on the physical plant so that when the traffic does return, and it will, the plant is ready to handle the increased loads.  Not decreasing Maintenance of Way spending means, however, that cost reductions must come from other areas of the company.  CSX is trying to tighten the expenditures of the Transportation side of the cost equation and is reducing Operating management,T&E manpower and terminal facilities to make up for what is continuing to be spent on M of W.

There are many stories confirming that CSX is going to slim operations considerably at Frontier.  Just do a search on CSX Frontier. 

Yesterday Buffalo's Channel 4 reported a layoff of 200 local CSX employees. They said that is 25% of the area's CSX work force. Apparently Frontier will still operate for the time being, but no improvements will be made. As for the future, I wouldn't bet on Frontier's long term viability.