JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX CEO Joe Hinrichs has asked train crews to pitch in to help the railroad dig out of congestion.
“When I joined CSX, I said it clearly, our front-line railroaders are the ones who create the value our customers pay for,” Hinrichs wrote in a system notice sent to employees on Friday evening. “I also said we needed to improve the service we provide to our customers to help us grow the business. Both those comments have never been more true than right now.”
Hinrichs said “it is no secret” that the CSX network has slowed down after a string of harsh weather events and the impact of detouring trains around two major projects: The rebuilding of the Blue Ridge Subdivision and the Howard Street Tunnel clearance project in Baltimore.
“We are seeing an increase in customer orders in some sectors of our customer base. So we are adding service, running more trains, and putting more locomotives to work to meet that demand and get our yards cleared,” Hinrichs wrote.
CSX was already struggling to recover from a Jan. 21 winter storm that hit the Southeast and Gulf Coast when the Howard Street Tunnel was shut down on Feb. 1 for a planned clearance project that will last six to eight months.
After the tunnel was closed, terminal dwell rose and average train speed fell. Congestion spread to main lines as trains were held out of congested yards. The railroad’s velocity and dwell performance metrics were largely unchanged in the most recent data, but CSX was making progress on working down the backlog of cars that had not moved in 48 hours or more, Rick Paterson, an analyst with Loop Capital Markets, wrote in a note to clients on Friday.
“We have a real opportunity to show our customers what we are capable of as a ONE CSX team! It is also an opportunity for train and engine crews in particular to take on more work and earn more as we respond to our customers’ needs,” Hinrichs wrote.
“Together, working safely and efficiently, we are going to get this done! We all know what we are capable of. We have dramatically improved our Trip Plan Compliance before,” Hinrichs wrote. “Getting back to the high standards our customers deserve will take all of us, pulling together as ONE CSX team.”
Speaking for CSX yardmasters if we weren’t forced to control multiple yards. In a 10 to 12 hour shifts our brains are overworked and extremely stressed. If we were only running one yard at a time like we were originally hired to do. Our performance levels will most likely be greatly
improved. Performance truly starts with a good yardmaster. We are no longer great performers. We are average with the workload we are expected to accomplish in a shift. Don’t even mention the Union most of us believe they are in the company pocket.
Stop sending crews out fatigued and stop sending them 5 days away from home! The legacy of Hunter Harrison must not endure PSR and Boomer railroading is not how you run a railroad you are literally running a sweatshop and you are violating federal safety laws by doing that. You are not CN! CSX Transport should know better.
CSX is running our subdivision at full bore mostly. Only when there appears to be other problems downstream especially LaGrange Ga. The A&WP, Lineville, & Manchester subs meeting there on a 2 mile + 1 mile 2 main tracks can get congested.
Most trains come thru here at max track speed. A few heavy trains will have all locos at run 8.
Mr. Spindler, please read Mr. Shoemaker above. He makes a lot more sense than you do, and is/was a much better employee than you are/were. There’s nothing wrong with being a “company guy”.
Al, this isn’t the 1960s or 70s. I was a crew caller in the 70s and 80s and there were plenty of able and willing people to move trains. THERE WAS RESILIANCE. It no longer exists. For the PSR ghouls to get to ORs of 55, there simply are no longer the human resources to move trains after storms, derailments or other irregular operations. They fire people for calling in sick. How it has changed.
He’s probably doing nothing more than asking people to not mark off unless they absolutely have to or to be willing to work an off day, or, come out on short rest.
Long ago on a fourth of July morning I brought a train from Toledo to Lima and went up to see the yard master just to chat. He lamented he had conductors but no engineers for trains coming from Cincinnnati. I told him I’d be willing to take a four hour cut and go back out. He was completely surprised as was the very happy crew caller who called to see if, in fact, it was true!!! Four hours later I took a train to Willard. I’d been willing to take my rest at Willard but instead a van was waiting for us to take us home. Everyone was happy. Sometimes everyone has to step up a bit.
How exactly are the crews supposed to pitch in and help? Are there crews sitting at home watching television, that could come in to work? Maybe, could be, I can’t actually know, but somehow I doubt it.
Maybe this over-compensated whiner should hire more people, give them guaranteed days off, better away from home accommodations, better pay, more vacation, etc, etc.
This PR sensation CEO remains wed to PSR and OR. Just because he has a smiley face, doesn’t mean he’s not EHH deep down. All class 1 executives have more interest in stuffing their pockets than quality of work life forthe people that run trains.