Freight railroads have hit a rough patch. While PSR improved performance, COVID has dealt a severe blow. Carloads fell 28% and intermodal dropped 13% in May from 2019. Autos and coal were the most heavily impacted, but declines were severe across the whole industrial sector.
Damage is deep. Rails face a severe drop in demand due to industrial production cuts and supply chain disruptions. Port traffic, which drives intermodal, has been hit hard due to the virus and U.S.-China trade concerns. Re-shoring of supply chains could hurt railways in the long-term.
Railroads have made many changes. New train plans have fewer train/crew starts. Staff is down. Equipment is in storage. More work is done remotely. Shift times and breaks are staggered. Face-to-face meetings are avoided when possible. And more.
All processes are changing – operations, facilities, work areas, shops, crew transportation, dining, hotels, training and more. This is the perfect time for dynamic modeling and railway simulation to review options and optimize results. In every rail operation, there are lots of moving parts. MOSIMTEC can help improve the parts, but also help you take the holistic view and optimize network performance. Technology lights the way and MOSIMTEC is here to help.
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