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Net Earnings: Up 37 percent, to $1.1 billion
Revenue: $5.6 billion, an increase of 8 percent
Operating Income: $1.74 billion, up from $1.58 billion a year ago
Operating Ratio: Increased to 68.5 percent, but down from 69.2 percent a year ago
Click here to read BNSF’s full earnings report. (PDF)
 

Net Earnings: Increased 16 percent to C$741 million from C$884 million; diluted earnings per share decreased by 14 percent to C$1.00 from C$1.16
Revenue: Decreased C$12 million to C$3,194 million from C$3,206 million
Operating Income: Decreased 16 percent to C$1,030 million from C$1,224 million
Operating Ratio: Increased 6.0 points to 67.8 percent from 61.8 percent
Click here to read CN’s full earnings report.
 

Net Earnings: Decreased 19 percent from C$431 million to C$348 million; diluted earnings per share decreased 18 percent to C$2.41 from C$2.93
Revenue: Increased 4 percent to C$1.66 billion from C$1.60 billion
Operating Income: Decreased 11 percent to C$540 million from C$604 million
Operating Ratio: Increased 510 basis points to 67.5 percent
Click here to read CP’s full earnings report.
 

Net Earnings: A record $695 million or $0.78 per share as compared to 2017’s $362 million or $0.39 per share
Revenue: Remained flat at $2.88 billion
Operating Income: Increased 36 percent to $1.04 billion from $769 million from the same quarter in 2017
Operating Ratio: Improved 950 basis points to 63.7 percent from 73.2 percent in 2017
Click here to read CSX’s full earnings report.
 

Net Earnings: Decreased to $145 million or $1.40 diluted earnings per share from $147 million or $1.38 per share
Revenue: Increased 5 percent to a record $639 million, up from $610 million
Operating Income: Increased 4 percent to a record $219 million from $211 million
Operating Ratio: Increased to 65.8 percent from 65.4 percent
Click here to read KCS’ full earnings report.
 

Net Earnings: Increased 27 percent to a record $552 million from $757 million; diluted earnings per share increased 30 percent to a record $1.93 from $1.48
Revenue: Increased 6 percent to $2.7 billion from $2.6 billion
Operating Income: Increased 10 percent to a record $835 million from $757 million
Operating Ratio: A record 69.3 percent down from 70.6 percent
Click here to read NS’ full earnings report.
 

Net Earnings: Increased to $1.3 billion from $1.1 billion; diluted earnings per share increased 27 percent to a record $1.68 from $1.32 per share.
Revenue: Increased 7 percent to $5.5 billion, up from $5.1 billion
Operating Income: Increased 8 percent to $1.9 billion from $1.8 billion
Operating Ratio: Improved 0.6 points to 64.6 percent from 65.2
Click here to read UP’s full earnings report.
 

Notes:

  • Operating ratio is a railroad’s operating expenses expressed as a percentage of operating revenue, and is considered by economists to be the basic measure of carrier profitability. The lower the operating ratio, the more efficient the railroad.
  • All comparisons are made to 2017’s first quarter financial results for each railroad.

The Trump administration’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has declined a request made by SMART Transportation Division to address the safety concerns of excessively long trains.
In an April 25, 2017, letter from National Legislative Director John Risch to Robert Lauby, FRA’s associate administrator for safety, Risch referenced a pair of trains – one CSX train consisting of 234 cars and exceeding 2 ½ miles in length and a BNSF train that had 246 cars that also exceeded 2 ½ miles.
Risch said in the letter that such “incredibly long” trains pose challenges to crew radio communications and maintaining brake pipe pressure, block more rail crossings and that crews are not adequately trained to handle these dangerously long trains.
But those concerns were simply brushed aside by Lauby.
“FRA does not have sufficient data or evidence to justify an Emergency Order limiting the length of trains,” he wrote in his March 7, 2018, response, saying also that the carriers were lengthening trains in an attempt “to enhance service delivery and operational efficiencies.”
Here is the link to Risch’s original letter and the pro-industry response received nearly a year later.
“The letter signed by Lauby looked like it was written by some railroad lobbyist,” Risch said. “Anyone who has ever dealt with a 2-mile-plus-long train knows they are anything but efficient. They tie up the railroad because sidings and rail yards can’t handle them.”
Risch testified last October in a Surface Transportation Board listening session centered on CSX’s service problems about the numerous dangers posed by longer trains.
This testimony plus derailments and other safety concerns, such as blocked crossings, did cause members of the House Transportation Committee to take notice.
A letter from U.S. Reps. Peter DeFazio and Michael Capuano, Democratic members of the committee, spurred the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to begin an investigation last month into the effects of excessively long trains and the safety hazards that they pose.
That investigation is ongoing.

On February 4, 2018, southbound Amtrak train 91, operating on a track warrant, diverted from the main track through a hand-thrown switch into a siding and collided head-on with stationary CSX Transportation local freight train F777 03 on the CSX Columbia Subdivision in Cayce, S.C.

The engineer and conductor of the Amtrak train died as a result of the collision and at least 92 passengers and crewmembers on the Amtrak train were transported to medical facilities. The engineer of the stopped CSX train had exited the lead locomotive before the Amtrak train entered the siding, ran to safety, and was not injured. The conductor of the CSX lead locomotive saw the Amtrak train approaching in the siding and ran to the back of locomotive. The conductor was thrown off the locomotive and sustained minor injuries.

The normal method of train operation on the subdivision was a traffic control system with wayside signals. Signal indications authorize movement in either direction. On the day before the accident, CSX signal personnel suspended the traffic control signal system to install updated traffic control system components for implementing positive train control (PTC) on the subdivision. During the suspension, scheduled to last through February 4, 2018, dispatchers would use track warrants to move trains through absolute blocks in the work territory.

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators inspected the track structure, signal system and mechanical equipment; collected and are examining records for operations, signal systems, mechanical equipment, and track and engineering; and interviewed train crewmembers, train dispatchers and other personnel from CSX and Amtrak. In addition, investigators are reviewing the emergency response to the accident. Members of the NTSB investigative team traveled to Jacksonville, Fla., to investigate the dispatching aspects of the accident, to test the CSX signal system and to conduct additional interviews.

While on-scene, NTSB investigators located and removed the undamaged event data recorder from the destroyed Amtrak locomotive. The event data recorder was successfully downloaded and an initial review of the data revealed the following information:

  • From the train’s last stop, the maximum speed reached 57 mph, which was below the 59 mph limit allowed under signal suspension rules.
  • About 7 seconds before the end of the recording, the train was moving at 56 mph and the train’s horn was activated for 3 seconds.
  • The brake pipe pressure began decreasing 2 seconds later.
  • The following second, the throttle transitioned from full throttle to idle, while the train was moving at 54 mph.
  • The engineer induced emergency braking one second later, while the train was moving at a speed of 53 mph.
  • The recording ended 2 seconds later, as the train’s air braking system was approaching maximum braking effort and the train’s speed was 50 mph.

The Amtrak locomotive’s forward-facing video recorder hard drive was recovered and downloaded. The initial review of the recording indicated that it ended prior to the collision. NTSB engineers are attempting additional forensic efforts to determine if additional information can be recovered. Other investigative efforts included the download of information from the forward-facing video recorder and the extraction of the event recorder from the CSX lead locomotive.

Parties to the investigation include the Federal Railroad Administration, CSX, Amtrak, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen; International Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division; Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, and the State of South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff.

In response to this accident, the NTSB issued an urgent recommendation requesting that the Federal Railroad Administration issue an emergency order providing instructions for railroads to follow when signal suspensions are in effect and a switch has been reported relined for a main track.

***
These are the preliminary findings of the NTSB and will be either supplemented or corrected during the course of the investigation.
 

NTSB Figure – A view of the accident scene

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued three urgent safety recommendations to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), acting upon the agency’s findings in two ongoing railroad accident investigations.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) received one urgent safety recommendation based on NTSB findings in the agency’s investigation of the Feb. 4, 2018, collision of an Amtrak train and a CSX train near Cayce, S.C. The conductor and engineer of the Amtrak train died as a result of the collision. The NTSB issued two urgent safety recommendations to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) based on findings from its investigation of the June 10, 2017, Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) accident in which a roadway worker died near Queens Village, N.Y.

In the investigation of the train collision in Cayce, South Carolina, investigators found that on the day before the accident, CSX personnel suspended the traffic control signal system to install updated traffic control system components for the implementation of positive train control (PTC). The lack of signals required dispatchers to use track warrants to move trains through the work territory.

In this accident, and in a similar March 14, 2016, accident in Granger, Wyo., safe movement of the trains, through the signal suspension, depended upon proper switch alignment. That switch alignment relied on error-free manual work, which was not safeguarded by either technology or supervision, creating a single point of failure.

The NTSB concludes additional measures are needed to ensure safe operations during signal suspension and so issued an urgent safety recommendation to the FRA seeking an emergency order directing restricted speed for trains or locomotives passing through signal suspensions when a switch has been reported relined for a main track.

“The installation of the life-saving positive train control technology on the CSX tracks is not the cause of the Cayce, S.C. train collision,” said NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt.

“While the collision remains under investigation, we know that signal suspensions are an unusual operating condition, used for signal maintenance, repair and installation, that have the potential to increase the risk of train collisions. That risk was not mitigated in the Cayce collision. Our recommendation, if implemented, works to mitigate that increased risk.” said Sumwalt.

During the investigation of the LIRR accident, the NTSB identified an improper practice by LIRR roadway workers who were working on or near the tracks. LIRR employees were using “train approach warning” as their method of on-track safety, but they did not clear the track, as required, when trains approached and their “predetermined place of safety” did not comply with LIRR rules and procedures.

The NTSB is concerned LIRR management is overlooking and therefore normalizing noncompliance with safety rules and regulations for proper clearing of tracks while using “train approach warning” for worker protection. The two urgent safety recommendations to the MTA call for MTA to audit LIRR’s use of “train approach warning” for worker protection, and, to implement corrective action for deficiencies found through the audit.

The full safety recommendation reports for these urgent safety recommendations are available online at https://goo.gl/z87Dpz and https://goo.gl/LVVef3.

Sumwalt

Robert Sumwalt, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), reported some preliminary findings Monday afternoon of his agency’s investigation into the Amtrak-CSX train collision that occurred Feb. 4 near Cayce, S.C.
The train had 139 passengers and eight crewmembers on board. The engineer and conductor in the cab of the locomotive were killed and six passengers remain hospitalized, two in critical condition. SMART TD conductor Michael Cella of Local 30 in Florida was one of two Amtrak crewmembers killed in the accident.
Based upon the event data recorders located within the Amtrak locomotive, Sumwalt said, Amtrak Train 91 was not speeding at the time of the collision.
He said Amtrak’s data recorder had the following information:

  • The train horn was sounded for three seconds at the seven second mark before the collision.
  • The train was traveling at a maximum speed of 57 mph in a 59-mph zone.
  • The engineer moved the throttle to idle and had applied the emergency brakes before the collision.
  • At the time of the collision, the train had reduced its speed to 50 mph.

Sumwalt stated that the reason for the 59-mph speed limit in the area was attributable to track signals being inoperable due to CSX performing upgrades to their track signal system to switch over to positive train control (PTC). He said a track warrant system was in place, and Amtrak had been given clearance to operate in the area.
As previously reported by Sumwalt, a switch had been thrown to allow a CSX train to back into a side track. The switch had never been released back to its original position, and the Amtrak train entered the track where the CSX freight train was parked instead of continuing on the main track.
Sumwalt said that the CSX dispatcher had been notified that the siding operation had been completed and so gave Amtrak clearance to proceed through.
Typically, when the dispatcher is given notification that such a proceeding has been completed, it means that the switch has been moved back into position. The NTSB is investigating as to why the switch had been locked into position for the siding.
Sumwalt reported that interviews with CSX’s engineer, conductor, trainmaster and dispatcher had been conducted Monday along with some of Amtrak’s crew.
Additional interviews are planned for Tuesday. No information about the content of the interviews was released.
The information provided in Monday’s press conference is considered preliminary, and no conclusions should or can be drawn until the NTSB’s investigation is complete and official causes are released by the agency.

The office of Designated Legal Counsel Willard J. Moody, Esq., based in Portsmouth, Va., has extended an offer of service to SMART Transportation Division members who may have been unjustly fired for alleged Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) violations.
Television station WNYT NewsChannel 13 out of Albany, N.Y., reported in early January that CSX was investigating more than 30 SMART TD members after they took FMLA days over the Christmas holiday.
FMLA, passed in 1993, protects workers’ jobs and allows for unpaid leave from work for medical or family reasons.
Moody said in an email that about 150 CSX employees were taken out of service and targeted for investigation for the alleged violations. Pending the results of the investigation, those workers could lose their jobs.
“We believe that CSX’s handling of these employees may violate federal law. Accordingly, we are contemplating legal action on behalf of these individuals,” Moody said.
Moody said his office is available for a free consultation for workers who have been pulled out of service and are being subjected to adverse action by CSX for alleged abuse of FMLA leave.
“There are limitations on how railroads may treat employees who they believe may have misused FMLA leave, and we believe CSX may have overstepped its legal rights in doing what it has done to employees who are currently out of service,” Moody said.
To contact Moody or Nick Thompson, an attorney with Moody’s firm with experience in FELA and FMLA cases, call 800-368-1033.

4th Quarter 2017

Net Earnings: $552 million or $5.33 per diluted share, compared with 2016’s $130 million or $1.21 per diluted share
Revenue: 4th quarter record of $660 million, a 10 percent increase
Operating Income: 4th quarter record of $238 million, a 13 percent increase
Operating Ratio: 64.0 percent, 0.8 point improvement over fourth quarter 2016

2017 Annual Earnings

Net Earnings: $964 million or $9.16 per diluted share, as compared to 2016’s $480 million or $4.43 per diluted share
Revenue: A record $2.6 billion, up 11 percent from 2016
Operating Income: A record $922 million, a 13 percent increase
Operating Ratio: A record 64.3 percent, a 0.6 improvement
Click here to read KCS’s full earnings report

4th Quarter 2017

Net Earnings: Increased by 156 percent to C$2,611 million and diluted earnings per share increased by 164 percent to C$3.48
Revenue: Increased 2 percent to C$3,285 million
Operating Income: Decreased by 7 percent to C$1,301 million
Operating Ratio: 60.4 percent, an increase of 3.8 points

2017 Annual Earnings

Net Earnings: Increased 51 percent to C$5,484 million and diluted earnings per share increased 55 percent to C$7.24
Revenue: Increased 8 percent to C$13,041 million
Operating Income: Increased 5 percent to C$5,558 million
Operating Ratio: 57.4 percent, an increase of 1.5 points
Click here to read CN’s full earnings report

4th Quarter 2017

Net Earnings: Increased 156 percent to a record C$984 million from C$384 million and diluted earnings per share increased by 159 percent to C$6.77 from C$2.61
Revenue: A record 4th quarter with an increase of 5 percent to C$1.71 billion, up from C$1.64 billion
Operating Income: Increased 5 percent to C$753 million
Operating Ratio: A record 56.1 percent, an improvement of 10 basis points

2017 Annual Earnings

Net Earnings: Increase of 50 percent to C$2.4 billion
Revenue: Increased 5 percent to C$6.55 billion from C$6.23 billion
Operating Income: Increased 8 percent to C$2.8 billion from C$2.6 billion
Operating Ratio: Improved 40 basis-points to a record 58.2 percent from 58.6 percent
Click here to read CP’s full earnings report

4th Quarter 2017

Net Earnings: $4.1 billion or $4.62 per share, up from $458 million or $0.49 per share
Revenue: Decreased 6 percent to $2,863 million from $3,037 million
Operating Income: Increased by 12 percent to $1.12 billion from $1.00 billion
Operating Ratio: Improved 6.1 basis points to 60.9 percent from 67.0 percent

2017 Annual Earnings

Net Earnings: Increased 219% to $2.3 billion from $1.02 billion
Revenue: Increased by 3 percent to $11.4 billion, up from $11.07 billion
Operating Income: $3.7 billion, up 8 percent from $3.4 billion
Operating Ratio: 67.9 percent, improvement from 69.4 percent
Click here to read CSX’s full earnings report

4th Quarter 2017

Net Earnings: Increased 17 percent to $3,968 million and diluted earnings per share (EPS) increased 19 percent to $13.79 (adjusted EPS is a record $1.69)
Revenue: Increased 7 percent to $2,669 million from $2,490 million
Operating Income: Increased 13 percent to $1,014 million from $761 million
Operating Ratio: 62.0 percent, improved over 67.7 percent

2017 Annual Earnings

Net Earnings: Increased 15 percent to $5,404 million and increased 18 percent to a record diluted earnings per share of $18.61 (or $6.61 adjusted EPS)
Revenue: Increased 7 percent to $10.6 billion from $9.89 billion
Operating Income: Increased 12 percent to $3,586 million from $3,074 million
Operating Ratio: Improved by 2 percent to a record 67.4 percent from 68.9 percent
Click here to read NS’s full earnings report

4th Quarter 2017

Net Earnings: Increased to $7.3 billion or $9.25 per diluted share as compared to $1.1 billion or $1.39 per diluted share
Revenue: Increased 5 percent to $5.5 billion from $5.2 billion
Operating Income: Increased 4 percent to $2,039 million from $1,965 million
Operating Ratio: Improved 0.6 points to 62.6 percent from 62.0 percent

2017 Annual Earnings

Net Earnings: $10.7 billion or $13.36 earnings per share, from $4.2 billion or $5.07 per diluted share
Revenue: Increased to $21.2 billion from $19.9 billion
Operating Income: $7.8 billion from $7.3 billion, an 8 percent increase
Operating Ratio: Improved 0.5 points to 63 percent from 63.5 percent
Click here to read UP’s full earnings report

Note: Operating ratio is a railroad’s operating expenses expressed as a percentage of operating revenue, and is considered by economists to be the basic measure of carrier profitability. The lower the operating ratio, the more efficient the railroad.

Harrison

CSX CEO E. Hunter Harrison, 73, has died just two days after CSX announced that he was going on medical leave due to complications from an illness.
CSX’s chairman of the board of directors, Edward J. Kelly III said on behalf of the board: “With the passing of Hunter Harrison, CSX has suffered a major loss. Notwithstanding that loss, the board is confident that Jim Foote, as acting chief executive officer, and the rest of the CSX team will capitalize on the changes that Hunter has made. The board will continue to consider in a deliberative way how best to maximize CSX’s performance over the long term.”

By a margin of nearly four to one, SMART Transportation Division members have voted to APPROVE the new National Rail Contract. The voting was conducted by BallotPoint Election Services, who certified the following results for each craft eligible to vote:

CRAFTACCEPTREJECT
Conductors79.89%20.11%
Brakemen78.98%21.02%
Engine Service76.58%23.42%
Yardmen79.97%20.03%
Yardmaster86.68%13.32%
Combined79.57%20.43%

The approved contract will have an effective date of December 1, 2017, with implementation of new pay rates and employee healthcare cost-sharing modifications planned for January 1, 2018. Employees’ monthly healthcare contributions will remain frozen at $228.89 for the life of the contract.
The term of the agreement is for five years, from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2019. In addition to a 3% increase previously negotiated and already implemented on January 1, 2015, the contract provides for full retroactive pay of 2% from July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017, and 4% from July 1, 2017, until implementation of the new rates. Thereafter, affected members will receive a boost in wage rates of 2.5% on July 1, 2018, and 3% on July 1, 2019.
The ratified contract will cover over 35,000 SMART TD members employed by BNSF, CSX, Norfolk Southern, Kansas City Southern, Union Pacific and numerous smaller carriers, all of whom were represented in this round of bargaining by the rail industry’s National Carriers’ Conference Committee.
The SMART TD negotiating team was led by President John Previsich, who was assisted in the negotiations by Vice Presidents David Wier, John Lesniewski, Troy Johnson, John England, Doyle Turner and Jeremy Ferguson, along with General Chairpersons Danny Young (BNSF), Mark Cook (NS), Brent Leonard (UP) and Steve Mavity (CSX), all four of whom are nationally elected TD officers in addition to serving as General Chairpersons.
For this round of bargaining, SMART TD joined forces with five other unions to form the Coordinated Bargaining Group. The other unions in the CBG are the American Train Dispatchers Association; the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (a Division of the Rail Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters); the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen; the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers, and Helpers and the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers/SEIU.
President Previsich commented: “I believe that our negotiating team, along with the teams from the other unions in the CBG, are to be commended for staying the course during a long and tedious round of negotiations. The easy thing for them to do when the going got tough was to declare defeat and walk away from the negotiating table, as others have done, but our team never wavered. By rejecting the carriers’ unreasonable demands while staying at the table and continuing to negotiate, the team was successful in obtaining an agreement that achieved an approval rate of 79.57%.”

###

The SMART Transportation Division, formerly the United Transportation Union, is the largest rail union in the United States representing members in all operating crafts, including engineers, conductors, trainmen, switchmen and yardmasters.

Follow this link to view this release in PDF form.

 

 
 
 
 
Net Earnings: $459 million or $0.51 per share, up from $455 million or $0.49 per share for the same period last year
Revenue: Increased 1 percent to $2,743 million
Operating Income: Improved 4 percent to $876 million
Operating Ratio: Improved 90 basis points to 68.1 percent
Click here to read CSX’s full earnings report.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net Earnings: Increased to $130 million or $1.23 per diluted share
Revenue: Increased 9 percent to $657 million
Operating Income: Increased 17 percent to $234 million, a third quarter record
Operating Ratio: Improved 2.5 points to 64.4 percent, a third quarter record
Click here to read KCS’s full earnings report.
 

 
 
 
 
Net Earnings: Increased 47 percent to C$510 million or 50 percent to C$3.50 diluted earnings per share
Revenue: Increased 3 percent to C$1.6 billion, up from C$1.55 billion
Operating Income: Increased 5 percent to C$690 million, up from C$657 million
Operating Ratio: Improved 100 basis points to 56.7 percent from 57.7 percent
Click here to read CP’s full earnings report.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net Earnings: Increased to $1.2 billion or $1.50 per diluted share
Revenue: Up 5 percent from $5.4 billion
Operating Income: Increased 3 percent to $2.0 billion
Operating Ratio: Increased 0.7 points to 62.8 percent
Click here to read UP’s full earnings report.
 

 
 
 
 
Net Earnings: Decreased 1 percent to C$958 million, while diluted earnings per share increased 2 percent to C$1.27
Revenue: Increased 7 percent to C$3,221 million
Operating Income: Increased 4 percent to C$1,459 million
Operating Ratio: Increased 1.4 points to 54.7 percent
Click here to read CN’s full earnings report.
 

 
 
 
Net Earnings: Up 10 percent to $506 million or diluted earnings per share up 13 percent to $1.75
Revenue: Increased 6 percent to $2.7 billion
Operating Income: Up 11 percent to $911 million
Operating Ratio: 65.9 percent, a quarterly record
Click here to read NS’s full earnings report.
 

Note: Operating ratio is a railroad’s operating expenses expressed as a percentage of operating revenue, and is considered by economists to be the basic measure of carrier profitability. The lower the operating ratio, the more efficient the railroad.