Progressive Railroading May 2019

Cover Story:

CN at 100 and Counting — a Technological Contributor

June 6 is CN's 100th anniversary. But the Class I plans to start commemorating the occasion well before that.

On April 29, CN will launch "A Moving Celebration" tour in Montreal. Continuing in both Canadian and U.S. cities through 2019 and a large part of 2020, the traveling train tour will include historical exhibits, video shows, activities workshops, music and food. The aim: to engage the public in CN's golden anniversary and its contribution to the rail industry. Those contributions include technological advances that have helped transform the industry over the past century. And they expect CN to continue innovating and developing technologies that hold promise for railroading.

To chronicle CN's contributions since 1919 and decipher today's and tomorrow's advances at the Class I, Managing Editor Jeff Stagl holds court with President and CEO JJ Ruest, EVP of Corporate Services and Chief Legal Officer Sean Finn, CIO and Chief Technology Officer Michael Foster, and other key execs.

Passenger Rail Focus:

Chicago Metra

Declining ridership, an aging fleet, PTC implementation, the challenge of adapting new technology and a lack of state funding — all are issues that landed on Jim Derwinski's desk when he took over as Metra's chief executive two years ago. This month, Senior Associate Editor Julie Sneider takes a look at some of the creative ways Derwinski and his Metra team have tried to tackle those issues and more at the Chicago commuter railroad.

Special:

Secure Rail 2019 Conference Recap

The "state of security" in the rail realm. Benchmarking with other industries. Cybersecurity. Rail passenger screening. Technology trends. These presentation topics (and others) will drive the discussions at Secure Rail 2019 — held May 1-2 at the Hyatt Regency Orlando, in Orlando, Florida. The May issue will include our exclusive Secure Rail conference recap.

C&S:

Communication & Signaling 2019 Spending Snapshot

A number of freight and passenger railroads have boosted their maintenance-of-way budgets this year this year, as illustrated in the 2019 MOW Spending Report in our April issue. Many also have ratcheted up their communications and signaling (C&S) expenditures. In a C&S Spending Snapshot, we'll report on the dollars that a number of freight and passenger roads are allocating for that sector in 2019 — with comparison 2018 figures — and chronicle some of the major C&S projects on their agendas.

Mechanical:

IoT & Predictive Maintenance

The Internet of Things (IoT) represents a world of opportunity for railroads and the technology providers that serve them. It's a world strategists in all railroad departments (including the mechanical department) are tapping into — particularly when it comes to employing real-time monitoring technology for predictive maintenance purposes. What types of products and systems can they turn to these days? A sampling of technology providers share information on their wares.

MOW Product Update:

Special Trackwork

We'll check in with suppliers of special trackwork components. They'll share information on their latest (or tried and true) offerings, ranging from from rail braces to lift switches and lift frogs to bonded insulated rail joints to guard rail assemblies to switch points and crossing diamonds.

Mike Singler

Regional Sales Manager
815-302-7055
mike.singler@tradepress.com