Transportation Board highlights ‘serious issues' with CSX service

Concerns continue to pile up for Jacksonville-based CSX.

The Surface Transportation Board in Washington, D.C., is now telling the railway to fix service issues.

The letter sent yesterday to CSX CEO Hunter Harrison mentions slow transit times, delays and even empty rail cars that sit in yards for days.

CSX has undergone a transformation during the last few months, with Harrison taking over as CEO and the implementation of a precision-railroad strategy to increase efficiency.

However, the letter notes that disruptions in service have forced a number of rail shippers and their customers to curtail production, temporarily halt operations or even use other transportation options.

The letter was written after the board said it received several informal complaints from shippers.

The board will now require CSX to make weekly service calls to update it on operations.

In a statement, CSX told us it will work with the board, but declined to comment on the specifics of the letter.

This is the latest setback for the rail company, which has received complaints from employees, people in the community and now its customers.

In the last two months, we’ve interviewed neighbors all over Jacksonville who say the company’s increasingly long trains are blocking them out of their homes.

CSX recently decided to consolidate certain trains to make up for the loss of manpower after job cuts. Some are now longer than 12,000 feet.

Railroad employees and attorneys also tell us the recent changes to safety rules are making workers’ jobs more unsafe.

Cox Media Group