Self-Sufficiency Doubted!

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Performance Measures

Updated

Railroads to Become First Industry to Publish Weekly Performance Measures

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Freight railroads will become the nation's first industry to publish weekly performance measures beginning tomorrow (January 13). In addition to U.S. Class I railroads, the reports will also be filed by Canada's two major railroads.

"Railroad customers told us they wanted more information and they wanted it updated frequently," said Edward R. Hamberger, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Association of American Railroads (AAR). "During a series of regional meetings with our customers during the last half of 1998, we promised to provide that information. We will make this data available every week as part of our commitment to improve communications between ourselves and our customers."

The information will be provided through a series of four performance measures that will serve as indicators of how well traffic is moving through a railroad's system. Rail customers will have easy, convenient access to the data from the Internet.

The four measures being published by the railroads are:

* Total Cars On Line;

* Average Train Speed;

* Average Terminal Dwell Time;

* Freight cars received without a bill of lading;

"Although railroads have long had similar information available for their own internal uses, it is unprecedented for them to make it public," Mr. Hamberger said. "Rail customers will be able to use that data to determine what is happening on each railroad. However," he added, "it would be inappropriate and inaccurate to use the raw data for comparing one railroad's performance with another.

"Operating differences among railroads, traffic mix, weather and terrain affect average train speed, number of cars on line and terminal dwell time. In addition, these measurements are not uniformly calculated across the industry and are therefore inappropriate for comparison," said Mr. Hamberger.

Railroad customers will be able to access data through the Internet site of their primary carrier. Customers will initially see the data from their primary carrier's report and will also be able to access the data of all reporting railroads.

Railroads making the data available include all of the Class I railroads in the United States as well as Canada's two major railroads: Burlington Northern Santa Fe; Canadian National; Canadian Pacific; CSX Transportation; Illinois Central; Kansas City Southern; Norfolk Southern; and Union Pacific. Together they account for more than 90 percent of all freight rail traffic in the two countries.

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Last Updated 01/12/99 00:30 hrs. EST

INDEX OF RECENT UPDATES

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Week of 0701/98

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SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS

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