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The STB hearings have been streamed live on YouTube. I watched some of the proceedings. The STB and shippers have focused on staff cuts by railroads as causing delays in shipments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgRuZGqYOys

This news is obviously a few days old, I wanna see what you guys think...

I don't understand PSR much other than using less engines/crew to haul longer trains, but it seems like there's more to it, can someone explain? and could this be related to PSR?


Also, My best guesses that the 4 railroads mentioned are:

NS
CSX
BNSF
CP

As railroads looked at capital utilization they found assets being under utilized (not making money). Covered hoppers that made 12 revenue trips a year, locomotives that were only needed to cover surges in traffic and freight cars spending more time in terminals waiting to move that they did moving. The idea with PSR was to get the shippers and the railroad into a schedule that would reduce equipment and transit times. When CN launched it the would for example give every car a trip plan of every connection it was to make. Shippers were given fixed days they could release cars. Versus old scheme of shippers and yards just sending cars down the line to the next terminal to deal with it showed success in reducing cost. The downside is it discouraged railroads from working with smaller loose cars shippers and shippers who had varied destinations vs. repeatable traffic lanes. Any process be it moving freight cars or manufacturing a product runs best when they are repeatable. Things turned for the worse when Wall Street caught PSR fever and began driving railroad management to implement PSR to cut cost and decrease their operating ratios.

Hunter Harrison is credited with PSR. He picked the idea up when he was a Train Master (I think) on the KCS. A superintendent pointed to a yard full of cars and asked him what he saw. Harrison said he saw a lot of good business. The superintendent told Harrision no it was a yard full of cars not moving and making money. This was in the 1960's when railroad thinking and government regulations made PSR impossible.

Excellent explanation Pat

As of just a few years ago the average revenue trips for a plastic pellet covered hopper was 3-4 per year and chemical tank car 5-6. It is possible that they still earn money when in enroute being used as storage containers for product. It’s also possible turns per year have increased since the article was written.

PatAzo wrote: ↑

Tue May 10, 2022 10:03 am

Covered hoppers that made 12 revenue trips a year…..

In simple terms PSR is about keeping cars moving and having just enough equipment and crews to meet the demand. It's most easily achieved with repeatable and predictable traffic. Problems with PSR.

1) If your shipment doesn't fit into the model...well to bad.
2) Wall Street always wants more. At some point PSR stops working and as managers try to wring a few more dollars in saving before the next quartely report they cut too far.
3) Something you will learn when you get into the work force is how inept business managers can be. The phenomena is pretty well explained here. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/pe ... ompetence. Not to tar every railroad manger with the same brush but these are the folks responsible for making PSR work.