Tackling a Tough Weekend and Looking Ahead

Sean Ireland

Good morning, team. I appreciate everyone for tuning in, especially after the weekend we just had — to be honest, it was a tough one for all of us. We had two mainline derailments — one up in Selkirk and another in Philadelphia — and, I mean, those didn’t just slow things down; they sent shockwaves through our network and terminals. Combine that with a couple more human factor train accidents, and you get one of those weekends nobody likes to see on the operations log.

Sean Ireland

Now, if you’ve been following along with these Sunday notes, you know none of this is new in terms of our resilience — we’ve talked about how setbacks test us, but also how they strengthen our resolve. It’s at times like these I keep coming back to the basics: tight ballast line engagement, diligent Job Safety Briefings, and, yeah, laser focus on those Shove moves and operating switches. Seems simple, but I swear every time we rush or get distracted, that’s when the risks creep in.

Sean Ireland

I'm thinking back to my very first year with CSX — and, man, I remember this clear as day, probably ‘cause it just rattled me. We had a derailment on a holiday weekend. I’d thought we’d checked all the boxes: did the walkarounds, ran the checklists, even double-checked a couple things. But what we didn’t do was open it up during our briefing — we just checked boxes, didn’t really talk about what could go wrong. After that, I promised myself to never look at those safety briefings as just paperwork. High-stress weekends? That’s when you gotta lean on solid processes the most.

Sean Ireland

And with the weather we’ve got coming — heavy rain and wind on the east side, colder nights that boost that broken rail risk — it’s just a reminder how important it is we stay sharp and secure things in the yards. The next few days are gonna test us, but if we’re doubling down on asking those open-ended questions in JSBs, and reminding each other about the right way to handle shove moves and riding equipment, we put ourselves in a better spot to handle it all.

Sean Ireland

On the subject of staying sharp, let’s dig a bit more into operational testing, ‘cause this week we’re ramping things up system-wide. We’ve got our Shove testing day coming up — Tuesday, all regions, every shift, the whole works from midnight to midnight. We’ve seen these kinds of blitzes before, but the reason for it… honestly, it’s not about filling out reports for the sake of paperwork; it’s about catching patterns before they become problems.

Sean Ireland

Specifically, falls from height, shoves, switches and securement — those are sticking points. If you look at trends, a lot of our exceptions lately are tied to riding, mounting, and dismounting equipment. I always tell folks, these exposures are predictable — we know where things can go sideways, so why not focus our energy there? That’s why the exposure reduction discussions are pointed, and we’re making sure everyone’s using our briefing sheet on proper shove practices.

Sean Ireland

And you know what’s really made a difference lately? Safety Leadership engagement — folks like Kenny Duane in the New England Zone, Leo Haines in the Northern Zone, Bobby King in the Selkirk Zone, DaShawn York in the Central East Zone, Michael Crocker in the Central West Zone, and Stuart Newsome in the Southern Zone. If you’re hearing this, guys, just know your effort’s noticed, not just by me, but the whole region.

Sean Ireland

I want to throw a prompt out there — just food for thought for anyone in a leadership spot or trying to make a difference: How does it change a team when you’ve got frequent, focused operational tests, and you pair those with real personal follow-ups? In my experience, people don’t see it as “gotcha” after a while — they start looking out for each other, calling out hazards before they become incidents, and that’s when you get a proactive team, not just a compliant one. That’s where the culture shift happens, even if it feels like a grind at first.

Sean Ireland

Sean Ireland

Pivoting for a moment, let’s talk cost and service. We’re continuing our focus on reducing overtime, especially in yards and local assignments, but now we’re also putting the microscope on road train overtime system-wide. Every hour of OT we can save, especially after a weekend full of disruptions, really helps us stay on track — no pun intended — with cost containment.

Sean Ireland

Now, good news on service: This week, we saw a slight bump in our 32-hour car dwell numbers — not a landslide victory, but a win’s a win, and we’ll take it. The big deal here is keeping that momentum going, especially after a rocky weekend. If we shorten dwell time and keep old cars moving, not only does it boost our trip plans, it raises the bar for everyone on local service performance. I mean, think about it — every car we move quickly is one less headache for someone down the line.

Sean Ireland

Looking ahead, a few things to keep on your radars. Tuesday is the big shove equipment testing blitz — don’t let that sneak up on you. Then on Wednesday, we’ve got our regional town hall. If you got that invite, grab the chance to submit any burning questions — we really do want to hear them. On top of that, we’re rolling out the electronic bid system for conductors starting this weekend, at least for phase one on the Nomad side of the region.

Sean Ireland

Also, quick heads-up for the planning folks: Next Saturday comes with a 36-hour work block on Conrail, so those trains running in and out of North Jersey are gonna need creative planning. We’ve got a call Tuesday to nail down the details, so don’t sweat it yet, just be aware it’s coming.

Sean Ireland

That’s about it for this week’s roundup. Remember, these weekends — tough as they are — are why we double down on fundamentals. Stay engaged, stay safe, and keep pushing that momentum on service and cost. Appreciate all you do, and we’ll catch up again soon. Have a great week, everyone.