AAR recognizes CSX's Davis with Chaffee environmental award

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has named Corey Davis of CSX as the 2020 John H. Chafee Environmental Excellence Award recipient.

Davis is director of fuel strategy and utilization at the railroad, where he has overseen efforts that resulted in CSX driving down fuel usage by more than 8 percent between 2012 and 2018. The savings have reduced fuel utilization by 32 million gallons, cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 332,000 tons in just one year, AAR officials said in a press release.

Among his efforts, Davis has fully integrated Trip Optimizer technology with positive train control interfaces, which have allowed the systems to automatically adjust to real-time changes in the network to optimize fuel efficiency. This has resulted in about 6 percent fuel savings, AAR officials said.

Initiatives implemented under Davis' leadership have reduced the railroad's fuel usage by nearly 60,000 gallons per day. Davis also has been involved in developing CSX's greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals that have been approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative, the gold standard for greenhouse gas goal-setting, AAR officials said.

This is the third consecutive year that a CSX employee has won the Chaffee Award, CSX officials said in a press release.

The award is named in honor of the late senator from Rhode Island, who was a strong advocate of environmental causes and the eco-friendly benefits of rail transportation. The annual award recognizes a railroad employee who has demonstrated the highest level of environmental stewardship and sustainability in the previous year.

"The industry has long honored our employees for conservation and stewardship, but environmental challenges, such as climate change, continue to increase the urgency of this work," said AAR President and Chief Executive Officer Ian Jefferies. "The entire industry applauds this year's nominees and particularly our Chaffee Award winner, Corey Davis, whose leadership is advancing CSX's ambitious goals to reduce fuel usage and greenhouse gas emissions."

In addition to Davis, five other railroaders were nominated for the 2020 Chaffee Award. They are:
• Lynn Leibfried, assistant director of public projects at BNSF Railway Co. Part of her duties involve working with communities to ensure they understand the positive environmental benefits of rail;
• Derek Maier, senior manager of equipment engineering at Amtrak. As the railroad refreshed and retrofitted its fleet, Maier was instrumental in ensuring that upgrades advanced long-term environmental goals, such as moving to LED lighting in passenger cars and making sure old materials were disposed responsibly.
• Jefferey Nantkes, manager of mechanical maintenance at Union Pacific Railroad on the Texas Gulf Coast. Nantkes encourages compliance with proper protocols, including containing leaks immediately and addressing rail cars that could pose threats to marine wildlife.
• Daniel Plonk of Norfolk Southern Railway, where he helps improve operations by harnessing artificial intelligence and emerging technology. In 2018, Plonk and his team recognized that significant propane was being wasted at the railroad's 1,200 switch locations that use snow-melting machines to keep switches functioning. Plonk created a new procedure that would save 50 percent to 70 percent in propane usage by linking operations to GIS weather data. That resulted in the machines running only when necessary to maintain safety.
• Anthony Roberts, director of fuel consumption at Kansas City Southern, where he has implemented programs that have culminated in 14.5 million gallons of diesel fuel savings in 2019.