Rail Group On Air

Sebastian Blum, head of mobility, and Jens-Oliver Schünzel, head of land based transportation for EMEA, at KFW-IPEX Bank, discuss the merits of Engineering, Procurement, Construction + Financing, offering expert insight on possible use cases for rail projects with International Railway Journal Editor-in-Chief Kevin Smith. (Intro music: Tired Traveller on the Way to Home by Andrew R Codeman)

This edition of Rail Group On Air features Trinity Industries Inc. Chief Financial Officer Eric Marchetto, Railroad Financial Corporation President and Railway Age Financial Editor David Nahass, and Railroad Financial Corporation Senior Vice President Will Geiger. It’s a companion to Nahass’s “Financial Edge” column in the March issue of Railway Age. “The abundance of capital chasing investment op...

Farrukh Bezar and Railway Age Editor-In-Chief William C. Vantuono discuss the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk merger to create the first east-west transcontinental Class I railroad in the U.S. Bezar offers his views on market conditions and the regulatory environment, truck-to-rail conversion, rail-to-rail competition and how the merger could impact the North American rail industry, among other top...

Despite headlines signaling a sustainability pullback, the reality is more nuanced: Many companies are quietly doubling down, investing more strategically than ever before. Norfolk Southern Chief Sustainability Officer Josh Raglin has been closely watching how the sustainability shift has been playing out. In this Rail Group On Air podcast, he and Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono di...

Rob Russell, Managing Partner, Russell-Kroese Partners, joins Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono for a wide-ranging discussion on the railroad industry and its future, with particular emphasis on the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger. Among the topics are the health of the rail industry from 2002 to present; the service and rate environment, the outlook for intermodal bus...

As Norfolk Southern Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, John Orr holds ultimate responsibility for every train on the Class I’s vast network, freight and passenger. Relationships between passenger carriers and their host freight railroads aren’t always harmonious, but NS has been working on improvements benefiting both. “For several months now, we've been a top performer among Cl...

This podcast, taken from Railway Age’s 2025 Rail Insights Conference, features Kate Suprenuk, President of Leasing and Manufacturing, Union Tank Car Company & Procor | Marmon, in conversation with David Nahass, President, Railroad Financial Corp. and Financial Editor, Railway Age. Conference sponsored by BNSF Railway, The Greenbrier Companies, Amsted Rail, Loram, Trinity Rail and Union Pacific.

Without volume and market share growth, the Class I’s may be at risk—or be forced to look at merging. Investors continue to await the next leg of Class I railroad earnings growth. While margin gains from current levels are expected, PSR (Precision Scheduled Railroading) is no longer the investor story it once was, and the railroads must prove they can grow to maintain their premium multiples. In t...

Drawn from our 2025 Rail Insights conference, this edition of Railway Age’s podcast series features Surface Transportation Board Chair Patrick Fuchs in conversation with Editor-in Chief William C. Vantuono. Now in his second five-year term expiring Jan. 14, 2029, Fuchs was first Senate-confirmed in 2019. Fuchs earned second-term support from dozens of rail shipper groups who citied his expertise a...

Railway Age’s 2025 Railroader of the Year is CSX President and Chief Executive Officer Joe Hinrichs, who joined the railroad industry in September 2022 and in a little more than two years has made immediate and long-term positive impacts. His collaborative approach to labor relations—for example, CSX being the first Class I to offer paid sick leave and forge preliminary agreements with its unions...

In 2021, the U.S. Congress directed the Secretary of Transportation to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine – Transportation Research Board (TRB) “to conduct a study on the operation of freight trains that are longer than 7,500 feet.” Railway Age reported on the 105-page study, “Long Freight Trains: Ensuring Safe Operations, Mitigating Adverse...

The Indiana Rail Road (INRD) named Joe Gioe President and CEO in mid-August 2024. A career railroader with 20 years of industry experience, he has held leadership positions at two Class I railroads, with most of his tenure at BNSF, where he was twice named Employee of the Year for intermodal train execution and delivery of major infrastructure projects in Transportation and Service Design. He also...

Speaking with IRJ Editor-in-Chief Kevin Smith on this episode is Martin Howell, Transport Markets Director for the UK and Ireland at Worldline, a payment service provider, which also operates a number of operational systems for the railway in Britain. The discussion focuses on possible changes to ticketing in Britain and what Worldline is hoping to see from the new Labour government as it sets abo...

New Jersey Transit President and CEO and Northeast Corridor (NEC) Commission Co-Chair Kevin Corbett and Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono discuss key issues involved with the 453-mile Washington D.C.-New York-Boston NEC, the nation’s busiest passenger rail system. The NEC—its main line and connecting corridors to Harrisburg, Pa.; Spuyten Duyvil, N.Y.; and Springfield, Mass.—support m...

In its inaugural podcast, we hear from Walter Kastinger, head of sales at Linsinger’s mobile rail milling division. Kastinger presents the rail milling solutions that visitors to this year’s InnoTrans can expect to see at Linsinger’s exhibit at the outside display area. This includes a new rail milling train called Railmaster®; a new innovative rail surface treatment technology, Linsinger Smart Su...

Norfolk Southern Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer joined Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono at the 2024 Rail Insights Conference for this discussion on the changes that have been under way at the Class I railroad. Much has been accomplished, and much more work needs to be done.

How can Class I scheduled railroad operations translate into volume growth? What are the opportunities for industrial development? Why are short line and regional partnerships key to overall rail industry success? Is more culture change needed at the Class I’s? Farrukh A. Bezar offers his perspectives during this discussion with Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono. Bezar has more than...

Norfolk Southern on June 17 released its 2024 Midyear Report on Safety Accomplishments, which summarizes the railroad’s organizational actions, safety improvements and partnerships enacted in the past 16 months. “When we make a promise, we deliver on that promise,” NS President and CEO Alan Shaw noted. “That started with our Six-Point Safety Plan announced last spring. While the initiatives in the...

Danielle Smith, Premier of Canada’s Alberta Province, discusses freight and passenger rail in the Province from economic, social and environmental standpoints with Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono. CN and Canadian Pacific Kansas City are essential to Canada’s economy and the nation’s growing role as an exporter, as well as Alberta’s overall prosperity, Smith believes. A former colum...

Norfolk Southern Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Ed Elkins began his railroad career at Norfolk Southern in 1988 as a Road Brakeman after serving in the United States Marine Corps. Appointed CMO in 2021, he leads the company’s Intermodal, Automotive and Industrial Products business divisions, and also manages the Real Estate, Industrial Development, Short Line Marketing, Field...

As Norfolk Southern Vice President Transportation, Joe Gioe is responsible for leading a culture of safe, predictable and consistent service by empowering transportation team members to meet the needs of NS customers. He also leads the Performance Excellence (PE) group, which is responsible for establishing operating processes and measuring performance. The group partners closely with Operations l...

In Part 2 of this two-part series on railroad safety and technology, Steven R. Ditmeyer takes a deep dive into ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems), specifically, highway/rail grade crossing warning devices that interface with motor vehicles, with Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono. Ditmeyer has had an extensive career in railroading that started in 1960 on the St. Louis Terminal...

Railway Age’s 2024 Railroader of the Year Award, the 61st annual, goes to an experienced and highly respected North American rail industry leader: CN President and Chief Executive Officer Tracy Robinson. She “continues the sweeping leadership evolution the railroad industry has been undergoing for the past few years,” said Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono. “She continues to break ne...

In Part 1 of this two-part series on railroad safety and technology, Steven R. Ditmeyer discusses the fundamentals of signaling and train control and takes a deep dive into PTC (Positive Train Control) and its potential for evolving beyond a safety overlay system with Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono. Ditmeyer has had an extensive career in railroading that started in 1960 on the St...

Norfolk Southern is justifiably proud of the partnership it has forged with its craft unions. Executive Vice President and Chief Operatiing Officer Paul Duncan discusses the improvements and special programs that have been instituted at Norfolk Southern with Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono. Among these are START (System Teamwork and Responsibility Training), and a training and ment...