Blanchard Company - Resources for Railroaders

Railroad Resources

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Railway Age "Best Practices" columns" | Selected Web Links

"If you can’t measure it, you can’t fix it." The old adage evokes two challenges – why measure at all and if it ain’t broke why fix it? A railroad is a business and as such must generate profits and a positive cash flow if it is to be sustainable. It’s a service business, and as such depends on a steady flow of new and improved services. As far as being "broke" is concerned, the surest signs are loss of current customers and inability to attract new ones. Measuring service quality as seen by the customer is essential to remaining in business. The alternative is to become the next Fallen Flag.

To help keep new customers and attract new ones, business owners need resources. Please feel free to use these tools to manage your business. The only cost to you is a note to Week in Review telling what works and what doesn’t work.

Best Practices. Formerly called "The Marketing Advocate," this column has been running in Railway Age magazine since 1991. [MORE]
Benchmarks. The best way to know whether your company is living up to its potential is to compare yourself to your peers. Benchmarks accomplish at the very least two very important tasks. First, they provide a complete financial checkup to be sure your financial house is strong enough to support the goals. Second, they can compare your railroad’s performance with other properties like yours. The online Railroad Rulemaker Spreadsheet gives you averages for large class 1s, small class 1s, regionals, and shortlines. Plug in your own variables and see how you measure up! [MORE]
Setting Goals. Benchmarks tell you where you need work, and as a rule performance shortcomings can be traced to four customer value drivers. [from the Railway Age archives]
Some Railroading Facts of Life. Pay attention to these, and improve your chances of winning (back) your business. [MORE]
Library. Papers and presentations that have sparked reader comment over the years, plus some new entries.
- Railroads and E-commerce: A Tool to Drive Shareholder Value (Tony Hatch)
- Proposed Accounting Changes Affecting Leasing (Rick Rockford)
- How Being a Stock Watcher Puts Money in Your Railroad's Till (Roy Blanchard)
- Changing Railroad Realities for the Philadelphia Area Implications for Planners, Shippers and Shortlines -- the overheads from a July 2001 presentation to the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. (Roy Blanchard) Adobe Acrobat | Power Point
- Pete Kleifgen, President, StatesRail at the 2001 Cooperstown Conference

THE BLANCHARD COMPANY
2041 Christian Street - Philadelphia PA 19146-1338 (215) 985-1110 voice - (215) 985-1446 fax
Roy Blanchard, rblanchard@rblanchard.com
Laura Blanchard, lblanchard@rblanchard.com