CSX updates service metrics as part of ‘precision scheduled railroading’ transition

The Jacksonville, Fla.-based Class I railway has reevaluated and revised three key metrics – train velocity, terminal dwell and cars online – in an effort to “better reflect end-to-end railroad performance,” CSX CEO E. Hunter Harrison said in a statement.    Jacksonville, Fla.-based Class I railroad CSX is revising the way it calculates three key service metrics in order to more accurately reflect the company’s operational performance.
   “These new measures better reflect end-to-end railroad performance,” CSX President and CEO E. Hunter Harrison explained in a statement. “These revised service metrics give us a more accurate understanding of how we are performing and where there are additional opportunities for improvement.”
   The key metrics being reevaluated are “train velocity,” “terminal dwell” and “cars online.” CSX’s new train velocity definition includes a train’s end-to-end time and speed. The previous definition only counted time on line of road, and not intermediate dwell time for crew changes, freight car pick-up or set-off, or other work events at an intermediate yard.
   “The updated definition includes intermediate dwell, reflecting the true speed of a train from origin to destination, and will help identify all opportunities to move trains faster and more reliably from origin to destination,” the company said in a statement, adding that the inclusion of additional time in train velocity has the effect of reducing speed when compared to the prior methodology.
   CSX also said its new terminal dwell definition includes all car dwell time during an end-to-end trip, unlike the previous definition, which excluded the amount of time a car spent at a terminal during an intermediate work event — if it came and left on the same train.
   The updated definition includes intermediate car dwell for terminal work events when a car arrives and departs on the same train.
   “This change more accurately reflects all time that a car dwells, and will help identify opportunities to improve asset utilization,” CSX explained. “The inclusion of these additional dwell events has the effect of reducing terminal dwell when compared to the prior methodology, as intermediate dwell on the same train is often less than dwell events on cars that change trains, which reduces overall average dwell time.”
   The new definition of cars online measures the number of active freight rail cars on rail lines operated by CSX.
   The previous definition included all cars that were last reported on a line operated by CSX, which counted several categories of inactive freight rail cars, including cars that are being repaired, are in storage, have been sold, or are private cars dwelling at a customer location for more than one day.
   “The exclusion of these inactive car categories enables focus on movement and utilization of active cars on the system,” CSX explained. “As inactive cars become active again, they will be included in the active cars online count. The exclusion of inactive cars has the effect of reducing the number of cars online when compared to the prior methodology.”
   CSX’s 2016 and 2017 train velocity and terminal dwell performance data has been restated using the new definitions and is available, along with 2017 cars online data, at www.csx.com/servicemetrics.