07-24-2010, 10:44 AM
I guess if you were to look at a "plus" side of a (recent) merger (railroad, that is), it would be that transit times of freight cars has reduced. Cars move quicker now than they did before.
I can remember customers telling us that "we would like to ship it by rail, but, we can't wait 3 weeks for the car to arrive". After the CR - NS - CSX meger, customers here in the Northeast were now receiving cars in "days" not "weeks". Railcars were not "tied up" in numerous yards awaiting interchange. Route and train structures changed to allow trains to "run through" instead of terminate. When a car arrived in a yard, it sometimes sat for days. Now these cars are placed in "final terminal" trains, not "forwarding yard" trains.
That makes a HUGE difference - to the customer. Besides, the costs comes down as well because the number of railroads that "handle" that car is decreased. It used to be that as many as 5 or 6 different railroads handled 1 car from order point to destination. Now, in some cases, only 1 or 2 railroads handle the car from point A to point B. And shortlines add to the successful business end of this too. Because class 1's "spinoff" branches, after mergers, that are hard for them to "make profitable". Shortlines "eat these up" because this is their "bread and butter".
Furthermore, rail cars are returned to service too. After a rail car is emptied at a customer location, it's returned to the original owner faster. So the "turn around" time on a rail car is faster.
In the end, it's all about making the rail customer happy. A happy customer orders more product by rail. Without the customer, there is no railroad.
In my opinion, the CR split up was a "good" merger, in terms of customer satisfaction, here in the northeast.
I can remember customers telling us that "we would like to ship it by rail, but, we can't wait 3 weeks for the car to arrive". After the CR - NS - CSX meger, customers here in the Northeast were now receiving cars in "days" not "weeks". Railcars were not "tied up" in numerous yards awaiting interchange. Route and train structures changed to allow trains to "run through" instead of terminate. When a car arrived in a yard, it sometimes sat for days. Now these cars are placed in "final terminal" trains, not "forwarding yard" trains.
That makes a HUGE difference - to the customer. Besides, the costs comes down as well because the number of railroads that "handle" that car is decreased. It used to be that as many as 5 or 6 different railroads handled 1 car from order point to destination. Now, in some cases, only 1 or 2 railroads handle the car from point A to point B. And shortlines add to the successful business end of this too. Because class 1's "spinoff" branches, after mergers, that are hard for them to "make profitable". Shortlines "eat these up" because this is their "bread and butter".
Furthermore, rail cars are returned to service too. After a rail car is emptied at a customer location, it's returned to the original owner faster. So the "turn around" time on a rail car is faster.
In the end, it's all about making the rail customer happy. A happy customer orders more product by rail. Without the customer, there is no railroad.
In my opinion, the CR split up was a "good" merger, in terms of customer satisfaction, here in the northeast.
Doing my best to stay on track and to live each day to it's fullest, trying not to upset people along the way. I have no enemies.....just friends who don't understand my point of view.
Steve
Let's go Devils!
Steve
Let's go Devils!