The implementation of the precision scheduled railroading model at CSX last year brought many changes to the carrier, including fewer trains and an aggressive cost-cutting campaign that has resulted in lopping off 2,000 employees and selling some routes.
In particular, management has claimed that the new operating model has enabled it to haul more freight with fewer locomotives and freight cars.
Much of this has been achieved by operating fewer and longer trains. This also resulted in fewer crew starts.
Managers also contend that the trains are operated faster, saying average train speed increased by 28 percent during the third quarter in comparison to the same quarter of 2017.
CSX CEO James Foote said the railroad needs 30 fewer locomotives for every 1-mph gain in average train velocity. The average velocity was 17.9 mph for the third quarter this year, versus 14 mph a year ago.
It should be noted that during the third quarter of 2017 CSX was still recovering from congestion prompted by the rapid launch of precision scheduled railroading under then CEO E. Hunter Harrison.
CSX Chief Financial Officer Frank Lonegro touted those gains again during the third quarter earnings call by saying that the railroad during the quarter handled a traffic increase with a locomotive fleet that is 12 percent smaller than it was when the model was implemented in spring 2017.
Lonegro said revenue ton-miles were up 7 percent and overall volume grew 4 percent compared to the third quarter of 2017.
Over the past year CSX has stored or retired more than 300 locomotives.
Lonegreo said the smaller motive power fleet enabled CSX to cut the number of maintenance workers in locomotive shops by 11 percent.
“We now have over 800 locomotives in storage, in addition to the hundreds of engines we’ve sold, scrapped, or returned since the beginning of last year,” Lonegro said.
CSX managers say the locomotives that are in the active fleet are newer and more reliable.
The carrier’s active motive power fleet numbered 2,821 units at the end of the third quarter compared with 3,381 locomotives at the end of 2017.
It had an average of 3,763 locomotives in service in the first quarter of 2017 before Harrison implemented precision scheduled railroading.
By the end of 2020, CSX management expects to cull its motive power fleet to 2,400 units.
“We’ll continue to take out locomotives, we’ll continue to take out railcars, we’ll continue to free up capacity across the railroad and in the terminals because we will drive more and more efficiency and fluidity in the network,” Foote said.