Survey says: Rails still plan to spend on MOW upkeep (Pat Foran, Context, April 2009)

Railroads may be cutting back on capacity-related spending, but they really can’t afford to scale back too much on infrastructure upkeep. And, however intense the recessionary pressure may be to tighten the MOW purse strings this year, they’re not — at least not yet — as the results from our eighth annual maintenance-of-way survey suggest (see article). And in the rail transit realm, federal stimulus dollars will pump up agencies’ state-of-good repair programs this year and for the foreseeable future.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has prompted transit agencies to compile lists of ready-to-go projects that could qualify for stimulus dollars.

Next month, Associate Editor Angela Cotey will investigate the ins and outs of the economic stimulus legislation as it relates to passenger railroads. What projects are agencies hoping to use stimulus funds for? To what extent are agencies competing for funds? What are the federal guidelines and how are the feds working to address oversight and accountability of stimulus-dollar use? Could this set the stage for additional rail funding in the next surface transportation reauthorization bill? Cotey will share what she’s learned in our May cover story.

Inside India, courtesy of The McIntire Group

In February, globetrotter Bob McIntire visited with officials from the India Ministry of Railways. The 64,000-kilometer Indian Railways is just beginning what McIntire termed a “huge” dedicated freight corridor project — plans call for doubling, and perhaps tripling, highly congested lines. In all, the railway will add more than 10,000 rail kilometers in five years, said McIntire, president of The McIntire Group, which conducts market-entry studies, and helps clients develop foreign custom/agent contacts. Here are a few trip takeaways:

• The Indian Railways are “highly profitable,” hauling such commodities as iron ore, coal, steel, oil, grain, fertilizer and cement, he noted. For 2008, officials estimated freight revenue would be up 13 percent year over year and that the operating ratio would be 81.4.
• India’s economy is still on track to be the world’s third largest, in terms of gross domestic product, by 2010 (behind the United States and China) — and the demand for rail transport will grow accordingly. To keep pace, the railway plans to invest “between $45 billion to $50 billion” during the next five years, he wrote.
• The 210,000-wagon inventory is aging, so the railway’s 2009 budget calls for procuring between 10,000 to 20,000 new ones with “more sophisticated” bogies, he wrote. The India Ministry of Railways’ R&D standards organization has developed 25-ton axle load wagons, and the railway is encouraging private builders to come up with new designs, he added.
• The Indian Railways, which owns 150 diesel, 120 electric and 1,400 switching locomotives, has “decided to throw open the manufacture of locomotives to the private sector,” McIntire wrote, adding that GE and Electro-Motive Diesel are among those competing to build 1,000 diesel engines over an eight-year period.

Applicants sought for AARS’ Richter scholarships

The American Association of Railroad Superintendents (AARS) would like to help a few students who deserve a college tuition break. Under its annual Frank J. Richter Scholarship program, AARS awards $1,000 and $500 scholarships to promising full-time undergraduate or graduate students. Co-founder of Progressive Railroading, Richter is a quintessential student of rail and, for that matter, transportation as a whole. Last year, AARS awarded scholarships to four students — two received $1,000 scholarships and two won the $500 variety.

The association currently is seeking applications for the 2009-10 academic year. To be eligible for consideration, applicants must:

• be enrolled at the time of application as a full-time student at an accredited college or university (preference will be given to applicants enrolled in the transportation field, but all applicants will be considered);
• demonstrate successful completion of the previous year’s study by maintaining at least a 2.75 accumulated grade-point average; and
• accumulate enough credits from accredited school(s) in time for the fall semester to have obtained at least sophomore standing at the college or university of enrollment.

Applications, which must be postmarked no later than July 1, are available via the AARS Web site or via mail: AARS, P.O. Box 200, La Fox, IL 60147. Winners will be notified by Sept. 1. For more information, call 331-643-3369.

Pat Foran, Editor