Steven Ditmeyer of Transportation Technology and Economics

Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR), an operating concept adopted by most of the major railroads, is popular with investors (because of significant reductions in Operating Ratios) but not popular with customers, employees, suppliers, communities, and regulators (because of its focus on cost-cutting by less frequent service to customers, laying off of employees, tearing up of tracks, yards, and terminals, eliminating of service to some markets, mothballing of locomotives and cars, and running fewer, longer trains). Customers say that PSR is neither "precision" nor "scheduled" and that some have actually started shipping by trucks which, even though they are more expensive, provide much better, reliable service.

The presentation will address how the railroad industry's large investment in Positive Train Control (PTC) technology can provide continuous real-time information on train location and speed that can enable them to operate scheduled service with precision, which, in turn, can provide better service to customers (helping the railroads to retain and increase their freight traffic), improve the lives of their train crew members, and, if done right, increase the industry's profitability.

Biography:

Steven Ditmeyer received a BS degree in Industrial Management from MIT and an MA degree in Economics and The Certificate in Transportation from Yale University. He has had an extensive career in railroading. In the private sector, he worked for six railroads and a railroad equipment manufacturer. In the public sector, he served as an Army Transportation Corps officer, a federal civil servant, and an international civil servant. His career has cut across multiple disciplines, including freight and passenger transportation, engineering, economics, research and development, policy, marketing, management, operations, information technology, systems analysis, and education. Ditmeyer was involved in the creation of Amtrak, the establishment of the Transportation Technology Center, overseeing the preliminary engineering studies for the Northeast Corridor Project, the sale of the Alaska Railroad by the Federal Government to the State of Alaska, the deregulation of the freight railroad industry, the development and testing of the first PTC system (ARES), the development and testing of the first natural gas locomotives, and the development of the curriculum for MSU’s Certificate Course in Railway Management. He was involved in the development of network-centric systems (digital communications, positioning systems, computers, and sensors) on railroads to enhance their safety, security, capacity, efficiency, and profitability.

Address:Washington, District of Columbia, United States