From the Virginian Pilot:

Norfolk Southern “showed me revenue growth numbers that in 20 years as a rail analyst I thought I was never going to see,â€

Too bad the idiot ax-men who previously ran the railroads did not believe enough in their industry to avoid destroying half the infrastructure they managed. Until recent years, RR officials received their rewards not for finding customers or improving service, but mostly for saving money. The easiest way to do this was to get rid of trackage, structures and mainly, people. Though they are finally disappearing, some still have the attitude that the only good railroad is a dead one. To get a good golden handshake, you simply sold off a branch, yard or second track for scrap, temporarily improving the bottom line until you retired shortly after.

The result is today we have a shortage of track capacity and experienced workers. Trains routinely die for lack of crews and can't get over the road, because most of the sidings have been torn up and track speed has been downgraded. Mechanical forces have been so reduced that engines routinely fail enroute, with no one to fix them properly when they arrive at the terminal. For those of us in road service, it means some great paychecks, but doesn't do much to please shippers.

Despite being the oldest form of mechanized transport, railroads are still the most efficient on several fronts, but when did you last see a railroad on TV telling the public that? About the only time management comes out of the woodwork is when they have to answer the press about derailments.

Sadly, much of the railroads' recent gain in business is haulage of cheap Asian imports, which have all but killed American factory jobs. And we can't blame Asian workers for that, as most work for American companies that have abandoned their native shores.

I've seen image advertising by both UP and Norfolk Southern on TV within the past year. UP's campaign is "Building America," NS's is a series of distinct spots on specific themes. NS's spots won several advertising industry awards.

Despite being the oldest form of mechanized transport, railroads are still the most efficient on several fronts, but when did you last see a railroad on TV telling the public that? About the only time management comes out of the woodwork is when they have to answer the press about derailments.
UP used to have an ad on every Sunday morning on Meet The Press which in the last few weeks has been missing.................................Wooly

I might add that the NS spots were previewed for members of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania "friends" organization at their banquet last October - by Norfolk Southern's David Goode himself, who gave a very interesting speech and opened the floor to questions afterwards.

Alan Maples

I haven't seen any of these ads lately, so cannot comment. I did see the "We're a Great Big Rollin' Railroad" ads UP put out some years ago, but that's about all.

What few ads I have seen over the years are basically just "rah, rah, we're the railroad", without any substance on the many efficiencies and benefits rail transportation provides. I believe such limited contact with the general public is why most Americans still think railroads are a dying business, without much relevance to modern society.

And now that NS has the second chemical train in a thirty day period on the ground, or perhaps to be more accurate, the water, they may want to lay a bit low for a while until the heat dies down.

Ed

All right, there are two RRs who want to spend TV money to promote themselves to the "average" citizen, presuming those who watch "Meet the Press" are average. Where is the AAR in all of this? It seems they should be promoting THE RAILROAD, much as the Army or Navy promotes itself to gain recruits. The reach of railroads goes beyond two companies; connecting every city in the US. Safety and efficiency should be promoted for all RRs, including the 10 mile shortline, that also is gaining from this rush of traffic.

Actually, my guess is that these spots have two primary audiences: investors and fiancial analysts, and Congressmen/regulators/legislative staffers. As best I recall, the railroads, like the defense contractors, concentrate their media buys in markets where these types can be reached--CNN, Meet the Press, etc.



Well, they are running this small campaign, and I hear the radio spots on NPR--but I live in DC, so the points above apply all the more.

http://www.tomorrowsrailroads.org/

http://www.tomorrowsrailroads.com/media/ads.cfm