FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NYCS, SPSF ANNOUNCE HISTORY’S FIRST
OPERATIONALLY-INTEGRATED
TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD NETWORK
CHICAGO – For the first time in the history of the railroad industry, a transcontinental railroad network
has emerged and will be managed and overseen by two separate railroad companies intent on
streamlining the flow of goods and commerce from coast to coast to increase efficiency, profitability,
shareholder value, and customer service.
Over the course of the last two weeks, executives from both the New York Central System (NYCS) and
SPSF Railway (SPSF) held a series of strategic meetings and “power lunches” to coordinate the
operational integration of the two railroad networks to essentially function as one system, a unified
railroad network sharing common train symbols, a co-owned Intermodal division, common cab controls,
co-purchasing new equipment from both locomotive and railcar builders, and the elimination of costs
associated with one railroad hosting a freight car, locomotive, or other physical asset on the other
railroad’s system. The sharing of repair shops and maintenance facilities is also included in the plan,
allowing one railroad to leverage its competitive advantage to the benefit
of the other road. While virtually intertwined from an operations
standpoint, the railroads will remain separately owned by their respective
parent corporations (NYCS is owned by Central Holding Group; SPSF is
owned by Santa Fe Pacific Corporation). No merger between the Central
Holding Group and the Santa Fe Pacific Corporation was ever discussed,
or for their railroad units. The Chicago meetings were held at the Santa Fe
Pacific Corporation’s headquarters in downtown Chicago, and led by SPSF
Railway CEO Alex Cross and New York Central System CEO Allison Taylor.
Both Cross and Taylor, along with representatives from virtually all levels
of corporate management within each railroad, were on hand to discuss
general concepts as well as to delve into more technical aspects of the
operations integration plan, referred to as “OIP” within the meeting.
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Gary Chalmers, Superintendent of Operations for the NYCS, described the meeting as more of a
Convention rather than a typical business meeting. “There were so many people there, it was dizzying”,
stated Chalmers. “In addition to the OIP conceptual meetings during the first few days, various focus
groups and task forces were created to individually address virtually every aspect and technicality of the
implementation of the OIP. Quite frankly, I’m not sure how either railroad was able to function and
operate normally during this conference while so many of our upper and middle management
employees were meeting in Chicago”.
Representatives from the Association of American Railroads (AAR) and
the Surface Transportation Board (STB) were also on hand, including a
bevy of lawyers from both NYCS and SPSF, to ensure no legal
roadblocks would be encountered and to ascertain the level of
enthusiasm and advocacy while the OIP continued to evolve. An unnamed source from the STB stated that “the OIP proposed by the NYCS
and SPSF comes as close to the formation of a truly transcontinental
railroad without the two railroads or their parent corporations actually
merging into a single business unit. This allays our fears of a corporate
monopoly, and we are in full support of the OIP since it will streamline
the flow of goods from coast-to-coast to better serve the industrial
and consumer sectors of the American economy. The STB would
obviously not support this plan if the railroads or holding companies
planned to merge into a single corporate entity. Call it a ‘loophole’, but it is indeed a major step forward
for the industry. This will definitely improve rail’s reputation and increase our competitiveness”.
The conference wrapped up with SPSF CEO Alex Cross and NYCS CEO Allison Taylor on stage, holding and
raising their hands in victory almost as if they had won a political campaign, to the sound of raucous
applause from the audience composed of SPSF and NYCS management. Red balloons were released as
red confetti fell to the floor, a color common to both railroads. A system map showing the two railroad
networks served as a backdrop to remind the crowd what all of their hard efforts were working towards.
DETAILS OF THE OPERATIONS INTEGRATION PLAN (OIP)
1. The establishment and combination of both the SPSF and NYCS primary east-west mainlines into
a high-speed, high capacity corridor to be termed the “Transcon Raceway” by both railroads.
Upgrades will be made to the primary mainlines to allow train speeds of up to 70mph.
2. All SPSF and NYCS locomotives will be retrofitted with common cab controls to allow familiarity
with locomotive operation when NYCS crews operate SPSF locomotives and vice-versa, as runthrough trains will become extremely common under the OIP.
3. NYCS will adopt the naming convention SPSF employs to symbolize its own trains.
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4. Trains operating on each individual system will follow this same naming convention, and trains
operating across both systems will share the exact same train symbol from origin to final
destination, from coast to coast.
5. SPSF and NYCS will establish a jointly-owned Intermodal unit that will replace the existing
Intermodal services on each system. The new Intermodal unit, yet to be named, will handle both
domestic and international trailer and container moves.
6. The famous “Salad Bowl Express” perishables train will be re-launched, using all new equipment.
The 5-times weekly train will originate in central California destined to New York City’s Hunts
Point Market in the Bronx. The train will utilize SPSF locomotives for the entire course of its
journey.
7. Select SPSF locomotives will have their plows “notched” and undergo slight modifications to be
able to operate in third-rail territory on the NYCS, an obstacle encountered on the extreme
southeastern end of the “Transcon Raceway” which is a shared electrified commuter rail
corridor with Metro-North just north of New York City.
8. The OIP will create a new corridor for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and
each railroad will respond in-kind. The NYCS will upgrade and enhance its lines to Toronto,
Montreal and Ottawa in order to gain a competitive advantage in capturing a higher marketshare of railcars originating in Canada and destined to Mexico. SPSF will also upgrade its lines in
south Texas, and interchange NAFTA traffic with Mexican railroad Ferromex at Eagle Pass, Texas
– the quickest route to Mexico City.
9. Shared Dispatch Centers in Chicago, St. Louis, New Orleans and Memphis will be established to
facilitate greater communication and coordination among respective railroad employees as SPSF
trains and NYCS trains enter onto the other system. Crew changes will still occur as normal, as
the OIP strictly outlaws employees from one railroad operating equipment on the other road.
10. Illinois Central, a business unit of the Central Holding Group and a “sister railroad” to the NYCS,
will be fully integrated into the OIP as well, but under the guidance and requirements set forth
by the New York Central System.
The SPSF and NYCS Operations Integration Plan is set to be launched on January 1, 2013 with an
exclusive coast-to-coast business excursion train operating from Vancouver, British Columbia, to
Washington, DC, and carrying executives of both companies.
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About the New York Central System (NYCS):
The New York Central System is the primary business unit of New York-based Central Holding Group,
and the primary Class I railroad serving the Northeastern United States and Midwest. One of the
densest and most compressed railroad networks, NYCS serves the highest-density population
corridors of the United States along the Eastern Seaboard and the industrialized Midwest. A 2012
acquisition by Central Holding Group appended the Illinois Central to the NYCS without technically
merging the railroads together. Including the Illinois Central, NYCS comprises 19,990 route miles and
is headed by long-time railroad veteran Allison Taylor.
The NYCS can be found at www.nycsystem.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nycsystem
About SPSF Railway (SPSF):
SPSF Railway is the primary business unit of Chicago-based Santa Fe Pacific Corporation. Created by
a merger of the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific in the late 1980s, SPSF has come to define modern
western railroading. One of the major Class 1 players in the western United States, SPSF boasts
23,335 route miles spread across the Midwest, Southwest, and West Coast. The railroad is headed
by CEO Alex Cross.
SPSF can be found on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/spsfrailway
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