From the editor: 'Live' from New York – RailTrends sound bites

— By Pat Foran, Editor

RailTrends^® 2016, held Nov. 17-18 in New York City, featured a star-powered speaker lineup and a whole lot of post-election, big-picture dialogue, as Tony Hatch writes. Thanks to the presenters, attendees and sponsors who made this year's event so dynamic — and, ultimately, a complement to our 2017 outlook coverage. We did some "live" tweeting at RailTrends; I've included a few sound bites here, along with other sentiments expressed from the lectern that exceeded Twitter's 140-character limit:

AAR President and CEO Ed Hamberger: "Given the policy shift on Election Day, it’d be prudent for the STB to hit the pause button on regulation."

STB Chairman Dan Elliott: "'Midnight regulation' … is not something I plan on doing. I want to make the transition as seamless as possible."

RAC President and CEO Michael Bourque: "We are seeing a lot more regulation in Canada, and you guys are headed for a lot less."

ASLRRA President Linda Bauer Darr: "We think we play very well into
President-elect Trump's plan for tax reform and infrastructure investment."

NRC President Chuck Baker: "Some of the excitement about [Trump’s] infrastructure [plan] has been perhaps a little overblown."

Oliver Wyman Global Rail Practice Head Rodney Case: "What got us here, post-Staggers, isn't what's going to get us there…. The rail industry has to recover its mojo on the technology [roadmap]."

Amtrak President and CEO Wick Moorman, who graces this issue’s cover: "My first job is to work with the board and help find the right long-term person to do this job. … The good news is there’s work to be done, but it can be done. Amtrak’s not broken."

KCS President and CEO Pat Ottensmeyer: "I've gotten used to saying there are more questions than answers about NAFTA … [but] I'm confident the proper people will be at the table to ensure the discussion is fact based."

UP Vice President Planning and Analysis – Finance Jon Panzer: "There has been a resurgence in the chemical industry and it's been driven by shale energy. There's going to be a huge increase in U.S. production."

Chevron Phillips GM of Global Supply Chain John Barrett: "The shale gas play has taken the U.S. from being one of the world's least competitive ethylene and polytethylene producers to one of the most competitive…. Intermodal will be a big piece of how we move our product."

NS Vice President – Industrial Products Mike McClellan: "We're in the process of redefining 'industrial products' — that's kind of my job."

CN CEO Luc Jobin on Claude Mongeau, who received our 2016 Railroad Innovator Award at RailTrends: "Claude would have been 'Innovator of the Year' in whatever field he went into…. His supply chain approach is such an elegant idea that others think, 'why didn't we think of this before?'"