BaltACD EHH spewing https://finance.yahoo.com/news/csxs-hunter-harrison-bashes-u-160343587.html
EHH spewing
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/csxs-hunter-harrison-bashes-u-160343587.html
Last month he blames the employees, this month he is dillusional enough to blame customers but of course, he is not to blame for any of this. He already has customers pulling away and I hear 2 MAJOR shippers have elected to not bother with CSX in 2018 and take the business elsewhere. I guess blaming he customers is a good way to deal with it....let see how pouringsalt into an open wound works out for him.
CSX is the USS Caine and Harrison is Captain Queeg
How infantile is Mr. Harrison going to be? He refuses to accept responsibility for the result of his actions.
Johnny
DeggestyHow infantile is Mr. Harrison going to be? He refuses to accept responsibility for the result of his actions.
Infantilism seems to be in vogue in many responsible positions these days.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Don't you guys get it? After enough customers have left, his railroad will run smoothly.
_____________
"A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner
First, EHH has begun to reinstate operations at the hump in Avon, and I'm hearing Boyle's may be soon if not already returning to service already.
I think that as usual in this day and age, the media, or in this case the railfans, are quick to form a singluar narrative about this huge complex of issues. There is no doubt that CSX is in the greatest Class I meltdown since the Conrail Breakup, but it isn't just Harrison telling customers off.
Primarily, at least in the last two days, EHH has been tossing potshots at a railroad shipper's union, whose stated goal is reciprocal switching. Shocker to nobody, they're not going to let a good crisis go to waste. So yes EHH "blamed the shippers" in a way, but the true story involves much more than just his too-quick run at running CSX over the last few months.
Nothing happens in a vacuum. Shippers have been charging the railroads over service and pricing for years. While service isn't always great, pricing seems to be a major gripe lately. While still far below pre-Staggers Act rates and with much better service then back in the day, prices have climbed over the last several years, as railroads, much like other industries, look to widening their margins in order to grow, instead of organic traffic growth.
Note also that for the railroads, growing traffic is not necessarily a good thing. Maury Kline pointed out Union Pacific's struggles with pricing between 1950-2000, as the railroad looked to balance profits, and eventually capacity.
Our world runs on supply and demand, and today the major trunk lines are operating near capacity. Not all traffic is created equal. So, railroads have been raising rates to widen their margins and keep their railroads moving, forcing the customers looking for cheaper rates to look elsewhere. This is a natural consequence of any business which doesn't have the capacity to serve every potential customer.
Not all business is good business!
I didn't believe it for a good long time, but once you figure it out, you'll know why many banks don't want to hear about your risky startup idea!
Saturnalia Note also that for the railroads, growing traffic is not necessarily a good thing. Maury Kline pointed out Union Pacific's struggles with pricing between 1950-2000, as the railroad looked to balance profits, and eventually capacity. Our world runs on supply and demand, and today the major trunk lines are operating near capacity. Not all traffic is created equal. So, railroads have been raising rates to widen their margins and keep their railroads moving, forcing the customers looking for cheaper rates to look elsewhere. This is a natural consequence of any business which doesn't have the capacity to serve every potential customer. Not all business is good business! I didn't believe it for a good long time, but once you figure it out, you'll know why many banks don't want to hear about your risky startup idea!
I wish we were near capacity on the Overland Route. At least they cut the pools down a bit. We have 40 trainmen borrowed out right now to two other seniority districts. Gives those hired and then furloughed (at least those who answered the recall) chance to work a few weeks before they get cut off again.
Jeff
jeffhergert Saturnalia Note also that for the railroads, growing traffic is not necessarily a good thing. Maury Kline pointed out Union Pacific's struggles with pricing between 1950-2000, as the railroad looked to balance profits, and eventually capacity. Our world runs on supply and demand, and today the major trunk lines are operating near capacity. Not all traffic is created equal. So, railroads have been raising rates to widen their margins and keep their railroads moving, forcing the customers looking for cheaper rates to look elsewhere. This is a natural consequence of any business which doesn't have the capacity to serve every potential customer. Not all business is good business! I didn't believe it for a good long time, but once you figure it out, you'll know why many banks don't want to hear about your risky startup idea! I wish we were near capacity on the Overland Route. At least they cut the pools down a bit. We have 40 trainmen borrowed out right now to two other seniority districts. Gives those hired and then furloughed (at least those who answered the recall) chance to work a few weeks before they get cut off again. Jeff
Before EHH, CSX was a scheduled railroad. Car schedules and train schedules. With EHH at the controls, all schedules have been trashed.
PaulofCovington
Isn't all this turmoil just going according to plan?
Runaway derailment from early last month in Indianapolis
http://www.wthr.com/article/csx-employee-accuses-company-of-hurried-culture-leading-to-recent-accidents
Article includes a 20 minute clip of the Train Dispatchers wire during the incident.
No Injuries - only equipement and track damage.
This weeks numbers: CSX is still in the ditch, but inched upward a bit. Looking at the EP-724 reports since CSX has decided to take it's marbles home from the AAR site,
Trains speed: Flat.
Dwell: System dwell dropped over an hour. This is good. Avon much better, but still not healthy. Waycross and Queensgate have caught a cold, though.
Cars on line: Down 1000. Nearly all covered hoppers.
Cars sitting 48 hours: dropped about 10%, but still an order of magnitude worse than NS.
Shipments: carload up about 1700, intermodal down 300.
Conclusion: A little bit better. CSX is hanging it's hat on Labor Day slack period to get everything sorted. We'll know in a couple weeks if that worked, and then about a month later, if it stuck. If you are under-resourced, these "resets" work for a bit, but then things slide back down hill.
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
Of course IM dropped 300 shipments. That would be the close to 900 trailers and containers that UPS shipped a week between Boston and Chicago alone a week. CSX better get its crap together or their excutives are going to be going where did all our High paying customers go and then going how did we end up bankrupt in a hurry.
From outside looking in, CSX is in BIG trouble.
NS and CSX have parallel routes from Cleveland to Buffalo, near me. CSX usually has 3-4 trains per NS train on a normal day.
Last time I was trackside, NS ran 4 trains per 1 on CSX.
The 1 CSX train? Normal length. NS trains? Normal length, save for the trailer/container train. It was a bit longer than most had been on NS for a while.
Next group was again 3-4 NS and 1 CSX. This CSX train was shorter than most. (~45 intermodal cars.)
I did not see another CSX train that day.
The time before that? 3 NS, 0 CSX. The NS trains were long. (22K {intermodal} needed 3 loco's, 310 {manifest freight} had 3 as well, but was very long, with 100+ freight cars.) (I lost count....)
So, from my area anyways, CSX is in one big mess.
Not to mention the "runaway" issues they have had of late...
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
Thanks to all that replied. I am writting this at 7:25pm on labor day. EHH said there would be "noticeable" improvement by labor day. So, how about it? Has anyone "noticed" improvement in CSX service? I would really like to hear from anyone that ships/recieves from CSX.
Despite early optimism over Hunter Harrison’s turnaround plan, CSX complaints gather steam
The Globe and Mail (Online) (Toronto, ON) By Eric Atkins September 3, 2017 Investors in Florida-based railway CSX Corp. have enjoyed 37-per-cent returns since news broke in January that noted turnaround man Hunter Harrison was seeking the top job. Since he became CEO in March, it's been a different story for some CSX customers. They complain about missed shipments, lost sales and trains that arrive late or not at all – problems that began with Mr. Harrison's efforts to change the railway's operating model. Mr. Harrison says service will improve as the railway completes the switch to what he calls precision scheduled railroading, a lean operating model he used when he led Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. and Canadian National Railway Co. But the U.S. regulator, the Surface Transportation Board, has taken note of the complaints from dozens of industry groups and has demanded that CSX provide it with weekly reports on how well its network is moving, including data on congestion at key gateways and interchange traffic with other railways. The STB has called CSX executives to a public hearing on Sept. 12 in Washington, D.C., to explain how the company is fixing the service problems. Rail customers are also expected to present their complaints to the STB, which is an independent government agency charged by Congress to resolve railway rate and service disputes. "The board has received a number of informal complaints from CSX customers regarding increased transit times, unreliable switching operations, inefficient car routings, poor communications and co-ordination with CSX customer service, and acute disruption to customers' business operations," the agency said in a statement. Forty-six U.S. industry groups in the Rail Customer Coalition complained to U.S. lawmakers about "chronic service failures" in the CSX rail network. The railway has "repeatedly" failed to pick up and deliver rail cars, jeopardizing the future of some businesses and the health of the U.S. economy, the group said in a letter. "Major service changes have been imposed with little advance notice, and CSX's response to customer complaints has been woefully inadequate," said the letter, signed by the American Petroleum Institute, the Corn Refiners Association and other groups. Mr. Harrison fired back at the coalition with a letter that called the complaints "unfounded and grossly exaggerated" but said CSX is "aggressively" tackling "some unfortunate disruptions to our service." Executives at Arch Coal Inc. said on a recent conference call with analysts that CSX's rail service deteriorated in the second quarter. The company is experiencing delays moving coal domestically and to ports for export, said John Eaves, CEO of the second-largest U.S. coal producer. "We need and we expect the railroad to perform in the back half of the year," Mr. Eaves said. "We've had a long-term relationship with those guys. It's been a partnership, and we've held up our end of the bargain. We expect those guys to hold up their end of the bargain in the back half of this year." U.S. passenger service Amtrak, which runs on parts of CSX's network, says the freight railroad is not living up to its agreements by delaying passenger trains and inconveniencing its customers, according to a news report last week. "The [on-time performance] and reliability of our service are major components of customer satisfaction and of critical importance to passengers in communities large and small," Amtrak spokeswoman Vernae Graham said in an e-mail, declining an interview on CSX's service. Mr. Harrison was not available for an interview last week, a CSX spokesman said. Under Mr. Harrison's leadership, CSX has cut hundreds of jobs, sidelined 900 locomotives and closed or revamped rail yards. It's a strategy he employed at CP, the railroad he left in January to seek the chief executive job at CSX, with the backing of investor Paul Hilal. News of Mr. Harrison's move sent CSX's share price to a new high, but since he was named CEO the share price has changed little. More than 80 per cent of rail shippers surveyed by U.S. investment bank Cowen Inc. said they have had service problems since Mr. Harrison arrived at CSX. Almost 40 per cent said they switched some shipments to CSX rival Norfolk Southern Corp., and 67 per cent said they moved freight to a trucking company. Jason Seidl, an equities analyst at Cowen, said CSX's problems could boost Norfolk Southern's profit in the second half of 2017. But he said he thinks CSX's problems are "transitory" and that the company will regain the business. "While it is painful for many shippers today, we expect that over the next 12 to 18 months CSX customers will be more pleased with the … service quality." In a letter to the STB, Mr. Harrison called the changes he was implementing at CSX "profound, transformational," adding that "changes of this magnitude tend to give rise to temporary challenges." He said the company's response to congestion and service problems includes adding staff at "challenged" parts of the network to improve communications with customers and restoring operations at one rail yard. "I remain confident that as CSX implements its [precision scheduled railroading] model, customers will receive a markedly superior product," he wrote.
By Eric Atkins
September 3, 2017
Investors in Florida-based railway CSX Corp. have enjoyed 37-per-cent returns since news broke in January that noted turnaround man Hunter Harrison was seeking the top job.
Since he became CEO in March, it's been a different story for some CSX customers. They complain about missed shipments, lost sales and trains that arrive late or not at all – problems that began with Mr. Harrison's efforts to change the railway's operating model.
Mr. Harrison says service will improve as the railway completes the switch to what he calls precision scheduled railroading, a lean operating model he used when he led Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. and Canadian National Railway Co.
But the U.S. regulator, the Surface Transportation Board, has taken note of the complaints from dozens of industry groups and has demanded that CSX provide it with weekly reports on how well its network is moving, including data on congestion at key gateways and interchange traffic with other railways.
The STB has called CSX executives to a public hearing on Sept. 12 in Washington, D.C., to explain how the company is fixing the service problems. Rail customers are also expected to present their complaints to the STB, which is an independent government agency charged by Congress to resolve railway rate and service disputes.
"The board has received a number of informal complaints from CSX customers regarding increased transit times, unreliable switching operations, inefficient car routings, poor communications and co-ordination with CSX customer service, and acute disruption to customers' business operations," the agency said in a statement.
Forty-six U.S. industry groups in the Rail Customer Coalition complained to U.S. lawmakers about "chronic service failures" in the CSX rail network. The railway has "repeatedly" failed to pick up and deliver rail cars, jeopardizing the future of some businesses and the health of the U.S. economy, the group said in a letter. "Major service changes have been imposed with little advance notice, and CSX's response to customer complaints has been woefully inadequate," said the letter, signed by the American Petroleum Institute, the Corn Refiners Association and other groups.
Mr. Harrison fired back at the coalition with a letter that called the complaints "unfounded and grossly exaggerated" but said CSX is "aggressively" tackling "some unfortunate disruptions to our service."
Executives at Arch Coal Inc. said on a recent conference call with analysts that CSX's rail service deteriorated in the second quarter. The company is experiencing delays moving coal domestically and to ports for export, said John Eaves, CEO of the second-largest U.S. coal producer.
"We need and we expect the railroad to perform in the back half of the year," Mr. Eaves said. "We've had a long-term relationship with those guys. It's been a partnership, and we've held up our end of the bargain. We expect those guys to hold up their end of the bargain in the back half of this year."
U.S. passenger service Amtrak, which runs on parts of CSX's network, says the freight railroad is not living up to its agreements by delaying passenger trains and inconveniencing its customers, according to a news report last week. "The [on-time performance] and reliability of our service are major components of customer satisfaction and of critical importance to passengers in communities large and small," Amtrak spokeswoman Vernae Graham said in an e-mail, declining an interview on CSX's service.
Mr. Harrison was not available for an interview last week, a CSX spokesman said.
Under Mr. Harrison's leadership, CSX has cut hundreds of jobs, sidelined 900 locomotives and closed or revamped rail yards. It's a strategy he employed at CP, the railroad he left in January to seek the chief executive job at CSX, with the backing of investor Paul Hilal. News of Mr. Harrison's move sent CSX's share price to a new high, but since he was named CEO the share price has changed little.
More than 80 per cent of rail shippers surveyed by U.S. investment bank Cowen Inc. said they have had service problems since Mr. Harrison arrived at CSX. Almost 40 per cent said they switched some shipments to CSX rival Norfolk Southern Corp., and 67 per cent said they moved freight to a trucking company.
Jason Seidl, an equities analyst at Cowen, said CSX's problems could boost Norfolk Southern's profit in the second half of 2017. But he said he thinks CSX's problems are "transitory" and that the company will regain the business. "While it is painful for many shippers today, we expect that over the next 12 to 18 months CSX customers will be more pleased with the … service quality."
In a letter to the STB, Mr. Harrison called the changes he was implementing at CSX "profound, transformational," adding that "changes of this magnitude tend to give rise to temporary challenges."
He said the company's response to congestion and service problems includes adding staff at "challenged" parts of the network to improve communications with customers and restoring operations at one rail yard. "I remain confident that as CSX implements its [precision scheduled railroading] model, customers will receive a markedly superior product," he wrote.
Murphy's Law:
Drive a train over a cliff and into a deep canyon, it will fall until it hits bottom....
At some point, even Superman cannot save it.
overall Thanks to all that replied. I am writting this at 7:25pm on labor day. EHH said there would be "noticeable" improvement by labor day. So, how about it? Has anyone "noticed" improvement in CSX service? I would really like to hear from anyone that ships/recieves from CSX.
We're gonna have to wait until next Wednesday to see the numbers...
Made an appearance at my former dispatching office - to say goodbye, before they leave for Jacksonville.
EHH when he closed the Cumberland Hump, decreed that the remaining Flat Switching had to take place in the 8 tracks of what had been the Recieving Yard. Virtually nothing got switched as there was no room to switch anything to. After a month of gridlock, they were authorized to use the 'trim' end of the Hump Yard to do flat switching. Hump computer and retarders are still in place but haven't been maintained since the hump was 'closed'.
Throughout my career, I have seen one operating regime close a yard (flat or hump makes no difference) and then claim $X millions in savings. The next regime comes along and reopens the closed yard and also claim's $X millions in savings. This has happened more times than I care to count. Figure lie and liars figure.
oltmannd overall Thanks to all that replied. I am writting this at 7:25pm on labor day. EHH said there would be "noticeable" improvement by labor day. So, how about it? Has anyone "noticed" improvement in CSX service? I would really like to hear from anyone that ships/recieves from CSX. We're gonna have to wait until next Wednesday to see the numbers...
I would expect there would be improvement. Especially since CSX changed out they calculate their metrics.
jeffhergert oltmannd overall Thanks to all that replied. I am writting this at 7:25pm on labor day. EHH said there would be "noticeable" improvement by labor day. So, how about it? Has anyone "noticed" improvement in CSX service? I would really like to hear from anyone that ships/recieves from CSX. We're gonna have to wait until next Wednesday to see the numbers... I would expect there would be improvement. Especially since CSX changed out they calculate their metrics. Jeff
A Fraudster's standard tactic. Publish numbers that have no historical basis for comparison.
BaltACDThroughout my career, I have seen one operating regime close a yard (flat or hump makes no difference) and then claim $X millions in savings. The next regime comes along and reopens the closed yard and also claim's $X millions in savings. This has happened more times than I care to count.
Yeah. Me, too! It's almost comical.
Numbers for the week ending just before Labor Day:
Using the standard numbers published on the STB site...
Cars on line: Down 1500. About a thousand tank cars. The rest covered hoppers and open top hoppers. I suspect the tank cars are down due to Harvey. CSX has the chemical coast to chemical coast traffic - not NS.
Dwell: System dwell down almost an hour. This is good, but 27 hours is still way to high. All the humps are ill. Most are over 30 hours and Avon still over 40. Should be in the 22-24 hour range. Was 23 hours in mid May.
Train speed: Up 0.6. Also good. Driven by Merchandise up 0.7 mph. Overall, still not good. About 5 mph lower than mid-May when CSX was trumpeting "improvements"
Cars sitting 24 hours. Empties about the same but loads down about 1400. Still 50% higher than mid-May.
Conclusion: Still in the ditch. Inching upward. CSX's STB weekly report has considerable "happy talk" about improving operations. I'd say, they're still in the ditch with a long way to go.
BaltACDThroughout my career, I have seen one operating regime close a yard (flat or hump makes no difference) and then claim $X millions in savings. The next regime comes along and reopens the closed yard and also claim's $X millions in savings. This has happened more times than I care to count. Figure lie and liars figure.
How can there be such controversy over whether closing a hump yard saves money or costs more? In a complex industrial system, I can see how there can be fine points that might be changed to save money, and some controversy over whether they actually will save money. But how in the world can a grand gesture like closing a hump yard leave you with ambiguous results?
That seems to show that the efficiency of hump yards is not at all that clear cut. Operationally, the principle should be much more efficient than flat switching, but maybe the staffing overhead just eats up the mechanical efficiency.
Euclid BaltACD Throughout my career, I have seen one operating regime close a yard (flat or hump makes no difference) and then claim $X millions in savings. The next regime comes along and reopens the closed yard and also claim's $X millions in savings. This has happened more times than I care to count. Figure lie and liars figure. How can there be such controversy over whether closing a hump yard saves money or costs more? In a complex industrial system, I can see how there can be fine points that might be changed to save money, and some controversy over whether they actually will save money. But how in the world can a grand gesture like closing a hump yard leave you with ambiguous results? That seems to show that the efficiency of hump yards is not at all that clear cut. Operationally, the principle should be much more efficient than flat switching, but maybe the staffing overhead just eats up the mechanical efficiency.
BaltACD Throughout my career, I have seen one operating regime close a yard (flat or hump makes no difference) and then claim $X millions in savings. The next regime comes along and reopens the closed yard and also claim's $X millions in savings. This has happened more times than I care to count. Figure lie and liars figure.
Because you aren't a part of the industry, you can't see how the costs remain. They get shifted to other areas, but they remain nevertheless. Shuffleing deck chairs.
BaltACDBecause you aren't a part of the industry, you can't see how the costs remain. They get shifted to other areas, but they remain nevertheless. Shuffleing deck chairs.
I understand your point that anyone who closes a hump yard to save money will not save any money because the costs are shifted elsewhere. All I am asking is that if it is such a slam-dunk conclusion that hump yards are cost effective, how can anybody argue otherwise? I have not heard Harrison's case for this.
Shadow the Cats ownerEuclid the overall physical costs of humping are higher yes however the total overall costs when you reach a certain point of cars IIRC it is somewhere in the 1000 cars a day range becomes cheaper than flat switching. Why does it become cheaper than flat 1 crew pushing a cut up the hill 1 car man uncouples the cars they roll unless prohibited down the hill on their own to their new track and into their new train. Then once there they are made up into a new train and prepared to leave for a new crew to take out of the yard. With flat switching you have multiple crews under EHH running all over the place throwing switches trying to make up new trains. It is harder on the crews and locomotives and cars. There already has been one serious injury due to his cutbacks in Nashville how many more do we need.
Maybe EHH is just eliminating excess capacity in hump yards and in the process, he has to do a little flat switching until things settle down. Regarding your comment on the Nashville accident, I will wait for the investigation to tell me what caused it and whether it was Harrison's fault.
Euclid, I will wait for the investigation to tell me what caused it and whether it was Harrison's fault.
Who are you, and what have you done with Euclid?
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
zugmannWho are you, and what have you done with Euclid?
Norm
zugmann Euclid , I will wait for the investigation to tell me what caused it and whether it was Harrison's fault. Who are you, and what have you done with Euclid?
Euclid , I will wait for the investigation to tell me what caused it and whether it was Harrison's fault.
Are you saying you would expect me to speculate on the switching accident rather than wait for the results of the investigation? I don’t see anything wrong with speculation as long as you acknowledge what you don’t know. But in this case, there is nothing to speculate on because nobody has reported what happened during the accident.
It seems to me that what the union did was go beyond speculation to positive assertion that working conditions caused the accident, and yet they offered no explanation for how that actually occurred. Based on the letter from the union, I will speculate that they want us to believe the accident was caused by Harrison.
EuclidAre you saying you would expect me to speculate on the switching accident rather than wait for the results of the investigation? I don’t see anything wrong with speculation as long as you acknowledge what you don’t know. But in this case, there is nothing to speculate on because nobody has reported what happened during the accident. It seems to me that what the union did was go beyond speculation to positive assertion that working conditions caused the accident, and yet they offered no explanation for how that actually occurred. Based on the letter from the union, I will speculate that they want us to believe the accident was caused by Harrison.
Bucky,
Please, just once, give us a break. You switch directions faster than a rabbit being chased by a hungry coyote. Do you remember the speculation you offered when the Lac Megantic disaster went down? You had all kinds of theoritical speculation back then. Now you are saying you will wait to see the final NTSB report. Why the sudden change in perspective? Is it just to feed your ego and your claim of having 'experience' that you are loathe to and will never divulge?
You have been asked many times to show your qualifications to post your opinion as fact yet you are reluctant to do so. Consider it a 'personal attack' if you wish but in spite of many requests you have artfully dodged the questions other forum participants have asked of you either by denieing them answers to their query or totally ignoring them and changing the subject to fit your personal needs.
You reminds me of Lucy in the comic strip Peanuts. I will, for what it's worth, offer psychatric help for five cents. You appear to need it.
Wake up and smell the brewing coffee. Get a reality check. We are here to discuss railroads not for entertainment of your trolling.
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