Renaissance in Rail

At the office: a post from 2003

Railroads have been operating in the United States for 200 years, and their demise has been predicted since the advent of the Interstate Highway System. Decaying infrastructure, very unreliable schedules, inflexible union work rules, costly maintenance---the list of problems seemed endless a few decades ago.

Now,

Welcome to the revival of the Railroad Age. North America's major freight railroads are in the midst of a building boom unlike anything since the industry's Gilded Age heyday in the 19th century—this year pouring $14 billion into rail yards, refueling stations, additional track. With enhanced speed and efficiency, rail is fast becoming a dominant player in the nation's commercial transport system and a vital cog in its economic recovery.

To industry veterans "speed" and "efficiency" are not adjectives often associated with railroads. But economics (cost versus other modes of transportation) and technological innovation (not only in equipment, but probably more so in communications and information processing and analytics) have led to a renaissance in rail.

It doesn't happen all the time, but second chances do occur in business. The hopeful lesson: if one can manage to just hang on long enough (e.g., Apple, Mattel, Wells Fargo, Ford), it is possible to recapture a place in the sun. © 2013 Stephen Yuen