Change Management: Class Is Try to Navigate a Changing of the Guard, as well as a Sea Change in Operating Tactics and Business Paradigms

This article addresses the types of changes that the author predicts will occur after major changes in 2005 in the railway industry due to the new top management of five major Class I railroads: BNSF, CSX, Canadian National Railway, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific. The author contends that it will be the new management in conjunction with other factors such as increases in traffic volume, capacity needs, short line relationships, shipper demands, and fuel costs that will ultimately determine how successful these companies are in this time period. The article covers each of these topics in summary, and concludes that new CEOs must innovate rather than rely on traditional means of service improvement. The article suggests the possibility of co-production, track sharing, and improved communications between Class Is to improve service.