Rail Group On Air

Federal funding is available for rail improvement and expansion projects through the CRISI (Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements)Program, a $1.43 billion FRA-administered initiative for capital projects that will improve passenger and freight rail transportation systems in terms of safety, efficiency and reliability. CRISI grants, however, are not directly available to commuter railroads, as “passenger” rail only includes intercity services like Amtrak. The Commuter Rail Coalition is working to correct this. In the meantime, how can commuter railroads leverage CRISI funding? Is there a “back door” way, if the “front door” is closed? CRC Government Relations DirectorJohn Cline and CEO KellyAnne Gallagher discuss the opportunities with Railway Age Editor-In-Chief William C. Vantuono.

IRJ Editor-in-Chief Kevin Smith speaks with John Santamaria of Clever Devices and Alex Pacquet of Alstom on the rise of alternative traction in the rail industry as well as the latest trends in passenger experience and the shift toward predictive maintenance for rail vehicles. John Santamaria, Senior Vice President of Rail, Clever Devices, is responsible for developing and executing short-term and long-term business plans to increase Clever’s market share in the rail industry. John also leads and manages rail industry activities and personnel engaged in Business Development, Project Management & System Deployment, Product Management, and Quality Management sectors within the company. Prior to joining Clever, John worked for New York City Transit for 24 years, most recently as Vice President and Chief Mechanical Officer of the Car Equipment Division within the Department of Subways. John also spent four years as Assistant CMO of NYCT’s Car Equipment Engineering Department and as Assistant Chief Officer of NYCT’s Central Electronics Shop for more than 10 years. John is a licensed professional engineer in three states and is currently Vice Chair of the APTA Rolling Stock Technical Committee. He is an active participant within the UITP Rolling Stock Sub Committee and is also a member of the IEEE Vehicular Technology Society and Metropolitan Railway Club. Alex Paquet, Customer Director, Midwest United States, Alstom, since August 2022, is also responsible for Business Development for the Rolling and Component division for Alstom in North America. Alex prides himself on attaining customer satisfaction and has led several customer experience enhancement initiatives over the last several years to achieve that goal. Kevin Smith, Editor-in-Chief, International Railway Journal, joined IRJ in November 2009, becoming chief editor in February 2020. During his time with IRJ, Smith has traveled the world, interviewing leading figures and professionals from the global railway industry and has tracked the sector’s transition into an increasingly digitalized and connected industry. (Introductory music: “Tired Traveler on the Way to Home” by Andrew Codeman – CC BY 3.0)

Join RT&S Managing Editor David Lester as he talks with 2022 RT&S Engineer of the Year John Cech from BNSF about challenging projects, the technological movement, what it takes to work in the rail industry, and recruiting the younger generation.

RT&S Editor in Chief Bill Wilson talks to Railroad Construction Company, Inc., about the Way Interlocking and Subway Structure Rehabilitation.

Other industries have been where railroading is today: going through technology transformations. And those other industries are not only surviving, but thriving. PS Technology Senior Vice President Abhi Bhan, who comes from those successful industries, discusses lessons-learned, proven approaches and common-sense ROI qualifiers from which the railroad industry can benefit with Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono. What are common mistakes businesses make when seeking to modernize technology solutions? How can railroads identify key process functions and plan for continuous enhancement over time? What rail data sources are candidates for dashboards and process improvements? How can efficiencies in tech for compliance management and cost avoidance be leveraged? How can railroads clearly understand information and process silos? This podcast is a preview of a Sept. 13 webinar, Lessons Rail Tech Teams Can Learn from Other Industries.

Norfolk Southern’s TOP|SPG operating plan—which stands for Thoroughbred Operating Plan | Service Productivity Growth—has evolved from NS’s previous plans, TOP 21 among them. Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Cindy Sanborn and Vice President Network Planning and Operations Paul Duncan join Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono to talk about how TOP | SPG “isn’t a radical change in how we work with our customers, but a shift in how we execute our operations to move their shipments more directly and consistently.” The biggest changes affect intermodal markets, NS’s most time-sensitive business. TOP | SPG modifies about 90% of scheduled intermodal and merchandise trains “to reduce terminal congestion, improve network fluidity and create capacity for growth, ultimately simplifying the network through an operating plan with a high level of executability that will drive greater consistency and service improvements for customers.” Podcast sponsored by The Greenbrier Companies

Railway Age’s 2011 Railroader of the Year Charles W. “Wick” Moorman IV retired as chairman, president and CEO of Norfolk Southern in 2015, then spent a year as president of Amtrak. Since then, he’s been active in historic preservation, among other ventures, taking the lead, with colleagues Bennett Levin and Henry Posner, in the second restoration of Pennsylvania Railroad K4 Pacific steam locomotive 1361 and work with reorganizing the Railroaders Memorial Museum of Altoona. He’s also involved in resurrecting Pennsylvania’s East Broad Top as a tourist attraction and driver of regional economic activity. In this wide-ranging interview with Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono, Wick talks about his historic preservation initiatives and tenure as Amtrak president—and offers his very candid, eye-opening observations on the current state of the U.S. rail industry: Precision Scheduled Railroading, customer service, capital investment, the Surface Transportation Board and regulation, and Amtrak’s relationship with its host freight railroads. This is one podcast well-worth a listen!

Passenger Trains on Freight Railroads: Gene Skoropowski and Tom Mulligan by RT&S, Railway Age, IRJ

RT&S Media Editor-in-Chief Bill Wilson talks to the builder behind the Mid-Coast Corridor Projects in San Diego, Calif., which earned a spot on the 2022 RT&S Top Projects list.

Ahead of next week’s IAF International Exhibition on Track Technology in Münster, Germany, Plasser & Theurer speaks with IRJ Editor-in-Chief Kevin Smith in our latest Rail Group on Air podcast. Fabian Hansmann, Deputy Director for Marketing, looks ahead to IAF and the supplier’s key exhibits; Alexander Lehner, Director for Global Customer Services, reflects on Plasser & Theurer’s changing approach to customer service, including new rental services and second-hand machine supply; and Florian Auer, Director of Technologies and Innovation, looks at the future of railway infrastructure maintenance and the adoption of new technologies. (Introductory music: “Tired Traveler on the Way to Home” by Andrew Codeman – CC BY 3.0)