By Jeff Stagl, Managing Editor
The theme of CSX President and CEO Joe Hinrichs’ keynote address April 3 at the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association’s annual conference in New Orleans can be summed up in one word: partnerships.
He stressed how crucial it is for the Class I to be a strong partner with all stakeholders, including customers, employees, shareholders, communities and other railroads, especially short lines. CSX interchanges with 240 short lines, which touch one-third of the Class I’s traffic, Hinrichs said during the general session.
When he assumed CSX’s top post in September 2022, the railroad’s relationship with just about every stakeholder was fairly strained, Hinrichs admitted.
“We want to be a better partner. Since I got here six months ago, it’s been about focusing on how we can rebuild relationships,” he said. “We want to be part of the solution.”
Such rebuilding efforts were first concentrated on customers and employees. Service performance can’t be improved if workers’ morale is low and business growth can’t reach desired levels if the company doesn’t have a strong customer-first mindset, Hinrichs said.
ASLRRA President Chuck Baker (at left) listened as Hinrichs talked about forging better bonds with the railroad’s partners and attaining better service metrics. Jeff Stagl Since he became CEO, Hinrichs has tried to forge a better dialogue with employees by spending a lot of time in the field. He so far has visited 37 facilities and sites in the railroad’s network.
“You go unannounced, and then you can have a good talk about how we can do better,” said Hinrichs. “One thing we kept hearing is workers wanted sick leave, so we worked together to solve that.”
As for customers, it takes more listening to better understand their expectations. CSX needs to measure performance to the needs of a customer and determine what measures are most meaningful to a customer, said Hinrichs.
Efforts made to date have paid off. CSX’s service performance “has never been better,” Hinrichs claimed.
At the end of the first quarter, the railroad’s systemwide car velocity stood at 18.3 mph, cars online clocked in at 126,935 and system terminal dwell time reached 9 hours versus 16.4 mph, 127,647 and 14.9 hours, respectively, at 2022’s end.
“But it’s not perfect. There is more to do to make it even better,” Hinrichs said.
Since short lines feed some of CSX’s traffic, they can help the Class I perform better, he added. Hinrichs told attendees to feel free to provide any ideas and feedback.
“We need to work together,” he stressed to short liners.
Everyone in the rail industry also needs to jointly work through what’s become a difficult business environment given the growing illusions about poor rail safety and some ongoing pent-up labor issues, said Hinrichs. More conversations need to be had — particularly with those outside the industry — to ensure truths are shared.
“Let’s get the facts out. There’s been too much that’s been falsely reported or misrepresented,” said Hinrichs.
