PITTSBURGH, PA
The New York, Susquehanna & Western officially took over CSX in a buyout this past summer. The Surface Transportation Board approved of the buyout and assets are being turned over to the NYSW/AWVR.
Motive power from CSX is now arriving on the property of subsidiary carrier Allegheny & West Virginia (including re-acquired C40-8 units) for modifications to the new owner’s standards. These include radiator modifications to the Dash 8 series engines if necessary, PTC installation, and other modifications. Much of CSX’s four-axle EMD fleet has already been upgraded and are now in local service across the NYSW/AWVR system.
The NYS&W’s CEO stated in a press conference this Monday, “We are proud to be a part of a new era of the company, building off of a struggling railroad, and turning it back to the way it was meant to be. Unnecessary locomotive and railcar storage, increased car dwell times, shutdowns of important hump yards, and layoffs of thousands of employees are just a few of the complaints many customers, employees, and railroad fans alike had for CSX this past summer. It’s about time we moved on with a true improvement era, as we focus more on infrastructure and improving our working environment.”
The CEO continued to criticize CSX’s former CEO, E. Hunter Harrison, and his beliefs in the “precision railroading” style, stating that Harrison was “asking for catastrophe” with this style of railroading.
In the end, the Susquehanna was the big winner and a new, and hopefully more prosperous, era for the railroad awaits them.