CSX, NS to roll into peak season with service improvements

By Staff -- Logistics Management, 10/1/2000

CSX Corp. and Norfolk Southern Corp. say they are implementing improvements that will smooth operations during this year's peak shipping season.

The rail freight season peaks at this time of year as utility companies stockpile coal for the winter, manufacturers ship Christmas goods, new cars are delivered to distributors, and farmers send grain to market.

Last year at this time, the two railroads were hit with a double whammy-service disruptions stemming from the integration of former Conrail lines into their own networks and then the natural disaster Hurricane Floyd.

To avoid a repeat of last year's problems, both railroads have been working to find ways to smooth their operations. For example, CSX engaged a new management team this spring to address service issues, beginning with reducing the number of cars on line, cutting the time railcars spend in terminals, and improving boxcar turnover times, says spokeswoman Kathy Burns. CSX also has leased 175 more locomotives and equipped 1,000 locomotives with global positioning systems (GPSs), added 400 crew members, and implemented new operating procedures to improve service at terminals in the Midwest.

NS, meanwhile, has leased 100 additional locomotives, made capital improvements to rail yards in the Northeast and Midwest, and corrected information-technology problems, says Norfolk Southern CEO David Goode. The improvements are expensive but worth it, he reports. "In the short run, it's tough," he says. "In the long run, it's going to be favorable to us."