The Freedom to Tell it Like it is
Written by David C. Lester, Editor-in-Chief
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TROY, Mich. –– Experience, hindsight, and limited, if any, accountability. EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK, JUNE 2026 RAILWAY TRACK AND STRUCTURES.
In May 2026, Michigan State University’s Eli Broad College of Business, Center for Railway Research and Education (CRRE) at its Troy, Mich. campus, presented the first edition of a conference entitled Rails to the Future: 200 Years of Progress, Building What’s Next. The media sponsor of the conference was our sister magazine, Railway Age, and featured retired senior Class I rail executives (retired CSX President Clarence Gooden, retired Union Pacific Senior Vice President D. Lynn Kelley, retired Norfolk Southern CEO Wick Moorman, and retired Union Pacific President Beth Whited), analysts, journalists, short line presidents, and others.
The remarks of the four retired senior Class I executives, in a fireside chat led by independent rail analyst Rick Paterson, were eye-opening. The “shareholder value” environment in which Class I railroads operate today limits and reduces the candor of what current senior Class I execs can say. The retired members of this panel had few, if any limits on what they could say. However, please don’t interpret this or my sub-headline above as my thinking that they’re sitting on easy street because of limited accountability for what they say. These men and women held tremendous responsibilities in the glaring light of world media before they retired. They’ve paid their dues.
Today, with public statements that must be run through a sifter to extract any meaningful information, the views of this panel were extremely refreshing. Collectively, these remarks summarize what many believe are the major challenges facing the industry now. Moreover, the comments stand on their own. Here are a few quotes from the session:
Clarence Gooden, retired president of CSX: “The biggest peril facing us today is growth.”
Wick Moorman, retired CEO of Norfolk Southern: “I think the whole issue [troubling the industry] is around growth and the whole growth issue is tied with service.” “But we are also capable –– and prove it over and over –– of tying ourselves up in knots from a service standpoint.” Regarding service, Moorman added that “[Premium customers] only have so much patience because they know their customers only have so much patience.”
Beth Whited, retired president of Union Pacific: “. . . I think a short-term focus on earnings can really inhibit your long-term ability to make sure you bring those [technology] innovations to life.”
Echoing Whited’s sentiment and adding a note about resource constraints because Wall Street wants the lowest operating ratio possible, Moorman said “I don’t know what the solution is.” Moorman should not be criticized for saying that. No one knows the solution. Think you do? Then tee it up.
Moorman also referenced the practical reality facing rail chiefs today: “If you’re a CEO of a company these days, or a senior manager, one of your primary objectives is to keep your job.”
It’s fair to say that execs currently running the railroads feel the same way, but they can’t say much about it for fear of being unemployed, as Moorman intimated in his “keep your job” remark above.
As I’ve written before, in the “old days,” companies had four stakeholders: customers, employees, communities, and shareholders. Today, of course, the shareholder reigns supreme. However, shareholders only interested in short-term profits are not the kind we need. It’s been demonstrated repeatedly that investing in long-term growth is the wiser choice.
If there had been today’s “shareholder value” focus during the significant economic growth period our country had in the twentieth century, it’s likely that this economic growth would not have occurred and our economy would be in shambles. What is it going to take to convince investors that the short-term focus could kill our railroads, if not our entire corporate structure?
