Rail Roundup: CSX, Norfolk Southern and RailState

March 20, 2023

CSX reconfigures network operations and service design teams, adds to site selection program

CSX has reconfigured its operations team while adding features to help prospective companies walk through its industrial development program.

First off, CSX (NASDAQ: CSX) is combining its network operations and service design teams into one new group, according to an announcement last week from Jamie Boychuk, senior vice president of operations.

That change means that leadership roles are also shifting, starting with who oversees the integration of the two teams. Casey Albright will now serve as senior vice president of network operations and service design, which is a promotion from his previous role as vice president of service design. In his new role, Albright will take over many of the network operations duties previously led by Brian Barr, who has joined Union Pacific, according to a UP (NYSE: UNP) news release last week.

Reporting to Albright will be Guy Sequin, who will serve as vice president of network operations after having served as general manager of dispatch; Chantel Goutcher, who will be head of service design after having most recently served as senior director of operations integration; and Wally Siergua, who will serve as general manager of the operations service group.

Those still reporting to Albright and retaining their current roles include Lauden DeAlexandris, head of car management; Daniel Deboer, senior director of coal and bulk operations; and Wendy Schroeder, senior director of business systems.

Boychuk also said CSX’s intermodal operations, which is led by General Manager Marcelo Estrada, will report to Ricky Johnson, senior vice president of operations.

Meanwhile, in an unrelated announcement, CSX said it has made enhancements to its industrial site selection program by developing criteria and a searchable system that enables prospective companies to see how different sites might align with their needs.

Select sites are those that are near CSX’s network and are able to be developed quickly for industrial needs. Each rail-served site has been categorized into one of four levels that vary in size and vetting. The four levels are platinum, gold, silver and bronze.

Thirteen sites have been designated as premium because of their size of 100-plus acres and the vetting that has already taken place, according to CSX and Austin Consulting, which has worked with CSX to develop the select site program.

CSX has also incorporated tools into the site selection program developed by Global Location Strategies (GLS) that provide prospective companies with a site’s characteristics, acreages and utility infrastructure as well as data pertaining to environmental, social and governance factors such as renewable energy, community projects and brownfield site reuse.

“Factors ranging from sustainability to shortening supply chains by bringing manufacturing capability back to the U.S. are driving companies’ growing interest in the economic and sustainability advantages of rail,” said Christina Bottomley, CSX vice president of real estate and industrial development, in a news release. “The Select Site program is another way CSX is partnering with companies to meet their business objectives.”

Norfolk Southern reaches sick leave agreement with another union

Norfolk Southern has reached a sick leave deal with the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers and Blacksmiths (IBBB).

Like other sick leave agreements that NS has reached recently with other unions, the agreement calls for four days of paid sick leave per year, plus the opportunity to use three additional days of existing paid time off as sick leave.

“We continue to make strides to improve the quality of life of our craft railroaders in partnership with our unions,” NS President and CEO Alan Shaw said in a news release last week. “Our railroaders help drive the American economy forward, and each of these new agreements helps ensure that they have even more time to manage their personal health and well-being.”

WIth this agreement, NS has agreements in place with nine of NS’ 12 unions, affecting approximately 6,000 workers.

Other groups that have reached deals include the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers; Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way – Employes Division; the mechanical department of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, Transportation Workers; and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

The American Association of Train Dispatchers and the Transportation Communications Union already have access to paid sick leave benefits from prior negotiations, according to NS.

RailState adds BNSF veteran to advisory board

Rail network visibility provider RailState has added Dean Wise, former vice president of network strategy at BNSF (NYSE: BRK.B), to its board of advisers.

Wise, who now leads an advisory firm serving the transportation, logistics, infrastructure and geospatial sectors, oversaw BNSF’s strategy process and transformational technology initiative, in addition to other responsibilities, according to a Wednesday news release from RailState. He also was involved in developing right-of-way for non-freight rail uses including fiber optics, cell towers and electric transmission lines.

Wise also has 32 years of consulting and industry experience, including serving as president and managing partner of Norbridge, a Concord, Massachusetts-based firm on freight transport and logistics.

RailState produces real-time, network visibility data using a sensor network that has developed 100 feet or more from a railroad track’s right-of-way. The sensor takes images of the rail cars passing by and processes those images. From the images, the sensors are able to collect data about individual trains, such as what kind of rail cars they’re hauling and how many.

“In my 45 years working in transportation and logistics, quality data for effective planning has always been limited,” Wise said in a news release. “RailState adds a new dimension to supply chain visibility, providing unique insights for multiple stakeholders.”

Said John Schmitter, RailState co-founder and chief commercial officer: “Dean is an innovative thinker and first-rate strategist. He understands the challenges our customers and stakeholders face and the transformational impact the right technology can have on their businesses.”