Railroad News

5/3/2017    

Rail News: Norfolk Southern Railway

Rail News Home Norfolk Southern Railway 5/3/2017 Rail News: Norfolk Southern Railway
Norfolk Southern Corp. and software company PS Technology are developing a new train crew management and payroll system that is expected to improve efficiency, costs and productivity.NS and the firm have agreed to develop the automated system that would be deployed across the Class I's network, according to an NS press release."Incorporating PS Technology's CrewPro software with our operating and data platforms will save costs and streamline Norfolk Southern's train crew management and payroll processes," said Fred Ehlers, NS vice president information technology. "When deployed, the system will expand Norfolk Southern's digital capabilities to enhance interactions with our train crews.The "CrewPro" software will optimize train crew assignments by factoring in employees' work schedules and geographical operating credentials, federal regulations and labor contract requirements, Ehlers said."In effect, the software analyzes data to come up with the best, most efficient match of crew and train," he added.In addition to crew assignments, CrewPro will manage payroll, taxi and lodging services, and vacation scheduling for 11,700 NS transportation employees in train and engine service."The system leverages technology to reduce costs of managing train and engine service crews," said PS Technology President Seenu Chundru. "Optimization tools enable automated decision-making support and efficiency improvements.”Implementation of the new management system will help support the strategic plan to improve corporate performance, NS officials said. Contact Progressive Railroading editorial staff. More News from 5/3/2017

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has extended the implementation dates of Part 243 Minimum Training Standards by one year according to a notice in the May 3 edition of the Federal Register.

Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 243, Training, Qualifications, and Oversight for Safety-Related Railroad Employees requires each railroad or contractor that employs one or more safety-related railroad employees to develop and submit a training program to FRA for approval and to designate the minimum training qualifications for each occupational category of employee. The rule also requires most employers to conduct periodic oversight of their employees and develop annual written reviews of their training programs to close performance gaps.

A federal budget deal reached by Congress on April 30 includes approximately $150 million for two transit projects in California.

 

5/2/2017    

Rail News: Supplier Spotlight

5/2/2017    

Rail News: Passenger Rail

5/2/2017    

Rail News: MOW

5/2/2017    

Rail News: Short Lines & Regionals

5/2/2017    

Rail News: Passenger Rail

Canadian Pacific joined K+S Potash Canada (KSPC) to celebrate the opening of the Legacy Project mine on May 2.

CP says the mine is the first of its kind built in Saskatchewan in more than 40 years, and the rail infrastructure built to serve it is the most significant engineering project undertaken by railroad since the mid-1980s.

5/2/2017    

Rail News: Short Lines & Regionals

5/2/2017    

Rail News: Union Pacific Railroad

5/2/2017    

Rail News: Union Pacific Railroad

Rail News Home Union Pacific Railroad 5/2/2017 Rail News: Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad has received the 2016 Toyota Logistics Excellence Award in Customer Service for the ninth consecutive year and, for the first time, the Kaizen Excellence Award recognizing excellence in continuous improvement, the Class I announced yesterday.This year is the first time Toyota honored a railroad with the Kaizen award, which commends UP's use of Toyota's problem-solving process to ensure damage-free loading at the auto ramp in Benicia, Calif., according to a UP press release."We're honored to receive the inaugural Kaizen award, demonstrating our dedication to continuous improvement, efficiency and shipment quality," said Jennifer Hamann, UP's vice president and general manager-automotive. "It is also a privilege to receive Toyota's Logistics Excellence Award in Customer Service year after year, as it reflects our unwavering commitment to provide an excellent customer experience."UP ships Toyota vehicles and auto parts throughout North America. Contact Progressive Railroading editorial staff. More News from 5/2/2017

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) awarded Tutor Perini a $291.5-million contract for the Mid-Day Storage Yard portion of the East Side Access Project.

The facility encompasses approximately 33 acres and spans 1.5 miles from west to east within the Harold Interlocking in Queens, N.Y. The project will include demolition and removal of existing structures, railroad buildings and the Montauk Cutoff Bridge and ramp, and the construction of the Mid-Day Storage Yard, including excavation and grading of the yard, construction of retaining walls, duct banks, signal troughs and various structures, utilities, track work, pedestrian bridge and electrical substations.

Prepatory work on New York City Transit's (NYCT) L Line Canarsie Tunnel will begin this month to ensure the tunnel remains useable until larger repairs can be made.

 

5/2/2017    

Rail News: Federal Legislation & Regulation

Rail News Home Kansas City Southern May 2017 Rail News: Kansas City Southern

Kansas City Southern de Mexico has implemented a customized crew call system.Photo – KCS By Kansas City SouthernIn 2016, Kansas City Southern’s Information Technology (IT) team deployed CPM-Mexico Crew Call — transforming time-consuming manual processes and a legacy server into an efficient, cloud-based automated crew management solution for Kansas City Southern de Mexico S.A. de C.V. (KCSM).Since 1998, KCSM — which serves northeastern and central Mexico, including the ports in Lázaro Cárdenas, Tampico and Veracruz — had been using a self-developed crew management application on a legacy client server. Manual processes were used for train scheduling, union rules for crew pool order, crew assignments and exceptions, calling crews via a LAN line and confirming via text, taxi service, operational reporting and payroll.“In all areas of the company, KCSM is progressively seeking innovative solutions,” said Mike Naatz, KCS’ senior vice president of operations support and chief information officer. “From an IT standpoint, we want solutions that speed fact-based decision-making, automate activities and simplify management, enabling people to grow from task managers to strategic thinkers.”When KCSM’s application no longer worked well with newer company technologies, the railroad began evaluating its options for moving forward. While other crew management technology solutions were available in the industry, KCSM sought a more customizable and cost-effective solution.“In many ways, KCSM is not like other railroads, so a one-size-fits-all industry solution doesn’t always make sense for us,” said Wayne Godlewski, KCS’ vice president of information technology. “We teamed up with CloudMoyo, hosted extensive requirements sessions with IT, transportation, labor relations and payroll to identify where we can improve, and customized the CloudMoyo Public Transport Management System [CPM] into the CPM-Mexico Crew Call.”The new CPM-Mexico Crew Call is transforming the way KCSM operates by automating tasks and providing real-time data to more effectively manage the business. Newly-automated functions include:
• Crew availability tracking;
• Crew pool order management;
• Interactive Voice Response (IVR) crew assignment acceptance and tie-up;
• Employee incident management (e.g. on rest, vacation, medical leave);
• Improved compliance with union agreements;
• Real-time notifications to the crew office; and
• Integration with the KCS Management Control System (MCS), Track Warrant System (TMDS), SAP, Sirius and other operating systems.CPM-Mexico Crew Call effectively schedules crews for trains by managing crew availability, allocation order and attendance, as well as train schedule compliance with an IVR notification and acceptance system. The system uses the Microsoft Azure cloud and advances in mobile technology to balance crew and equipment needs in a manner that is cost-effective and enables quicker time to deployment and higher return on investment. And, workforce and logistics management, delivered via a state-of-the-art user experience, leads to an improved work experience for crews, a reduction in overtime (cost savings) and a stricter adherence to labor laws.

All this automation is displayed on dashboards providing predictive analytics and actionable data. Now that KCSM has visibility of real-time data to monitor and react to train delays in a timely manner, the company can improve its forecasting of crew supply and demand to promote safety and operational efficiencies, thus improving service times for customers and value for shareholders. With real-time data brought to life, managers can make fact-based decisions and take action to keep the organization on track.“We are very pleased with our progress to date in terms of technology solutions and operating process improvements. We’ve already been able to decommission some related legacy systems and upgrade others,” said Godlewski.  The data speaks volumes about where the company has been and where it’s headed now, he added.“With more predictive analytics, we’ll also be able to forecast where we’re going, which is truly where the innovation lies,” said Godlewski.
Keywords Browse articles on Kansas City Southern Kansas City Southern de Mexico CPM-Mexico Crew Call CloudMoyo Contact Progressive Railroading editorial staff.

Rail News Home Kansas City Southern May 2017 Rail News: Kansas City Southern

Kansas City Southern de Mexico has implemented a customized crew call system.Photo – KCS By Kansas City SouthernIn 2016, Kansas City Southern’s Information Technology (IT) team deployed CPM-Mexico Crew Call — transforming time-consuming manual processes and a legacy server into an efficient, cloud-based automated crew management solution for Kansas City Southern de Mexico S.A. de C.V. (KCSM).Since 1998, KCSM — which serves northeastern and central Mexico, including the ports in Lázaro Cárdenas, Tampico and Veracruz — had been using a self-developed crew management application on a legacy client server. Manual processes were used for train scheduling, union rules for crew pool order, crew assignments and exceptions, calling crews via a LAN line and confirming via text, taxi service, operational reporting and payroll.“In all areas of the company, KCSM is progressively seeking innovative solutions,” said Mike Naatz, KCS’ senior vice president of operations support and chief information officer. “From an IT standpoint, we want solutions that speed fact-based decision-making, automate activities and simplify management, enabling people to grow from task managers to strategic thinkers.”When KCSM’s application no longer worked well with newer company technologies, the railroad began evaluating its options for moving forward. While other crew management technology solutions were available in the industry, KCSM sought a more customizable and cost-effective solution.“In many ways, KCSM is not like other railroads, so a one-size-fits-all industry solution doesn’t always make sense for us,” said Wayne Godlewski, KCS’ vice president of information technology. “We teamed up with CloudMoyo, hosted extensive requirements sessions with IT, transportation, labor relations and payroll to identify where we can improve, and customized the CloudMoyo Public Transport Management System [CPM] into the CPM-Mexico Crew Call.”The new CPM-Mexico Crew Call is transforming the way KCSM operates by automating tasks and providing real-time data to more effectively manage the business. Newly-automated functions include:
• Crew availability tracking;
• Crew pool order management;
• Interactive Voice Response (IVR) crew assignment acceptance and tie-up;
• Employee incident management (e.g. on rest, vacation, medical leave);
• Improved compliance with union agreements;
• Real-time notifications to the crew office; and
• Integration with the KCS Management Control System (MCS), Track Warrant System (TMDS), SAP, Sirius and other operating systems.CPM-Mexico Crew Call effectively schedules crews for trains by managing crew availability, allocation order and attendance, as well as train schedule compliance with an IVR notification and acceptance system. The system uses the Microsoft Azure cloud and advances in mobile technology to balance crew and equipment needs in a manner that is cost-effective and enables quicker time to deployment and higher return on investment. And, workforce and logistics management, delivered via a state-of-the-art user experience, leads to an improved work experience for crews, a reduction in overtime (cost savings) and a stricter adherence to labor laws.

All this automation is displayed on dashboards providing predictive analytics and actionable data. Now that KCSM has visibility of real-time data to monitor and react to train delays in a timely manner, the company can improve its forecasting of crew supply and demand to promote safety and operational efficiencies, thus improving service times for customers and value for shareholders. With real-time data brought to life, managers can make fact-based decisions and take action to keep the organization on track.“We are very pleased with our progress to date in terms of technology solutions and operating process improvements. We’ve already been able to decommission some related legacy systems and upgrade others,” said Godlewski.  The data speaks volumes about where the company has been and where it’s headed now, he added.“With more predictive analytics, we’ll also be able to forecast where we’re going, which is truly where the innovation lies,” said Godlewski.
Keywords Browse articles on Kansas City Southern Kansas City Southern de Mexico CPM-Mexico Crew Call CloudMoyo Contact Progressive Railroading editorial staff.

5/1/2017    

Rail News: Sustainability