Steady as she goes doesn’t cut it any more
The railroads better speed up. And fast.
Our competitors at Argenia were Siemens, GE and Bombardier. How can a start-up compete with a 60,000 employee company? Because we aren’t lumbering like they are. And I don’t mean Microsoft lumbering — I mean like clearing forests with that big saw that takes two guys.

“Cross cut saws quickly replaced old fashioned axes. Improvement in efficiency was too compelling for them not to. It’s interesting that the mythic character Paul Bunyan is never depicted with one. Is his ubiquitous ax a sign that saws contributed in part to a shameful demeaning of the noble labor of the lumberjack?” — DLDEPREZ
Railroads today in most of the world are busy replacing axes with cross cut saws. And even then, the old school think they’re crazy. “The axe is a proven technology” they say. “So what if the heads fly off every once in a while. Or maybe you get a nasty splinter if you’re not careful. We know how to handle those things! The axe works DAMMIT!!”
Granted technologies that are heavily subsidized by the government are sure to be a little sloth. It’s government. But that’s no excuse. Why do we just accept that governments work slowly? WE PAY THEM.
Not only do we pay the employees of the government, we pay for the products and services that they buy. From the lumbering giants. At exorbitant prices. Because lumbering is EXPENSIVE!
What did you do the last time one of your employees signed a check for $100,000,000? You’d think that someone who’s authorized to write a check of that size would be pretty darn efficient and great at managing efficient processes.
Granted technologies that are key to public safety are bound to have stringent rules and regulations. And that I agree with 100%. But the process of getting through a certification is as lumbering as the giants and equally as expensive. Easy for a giant to afford, hard for a new player to enter. Hmm… sounds a little anti-competitive to me.
But there is a mindset there that transcends government sloth and safety concerns. A genuine belief that new is bad and should be avoided at all costs.
Now, I’m not saying this is ubiquitous. I was happy to see a lot of young faces at Railway Interchange who were extremely interested in what new technologies were out there. Like the guys at BNSF for example (A Warren Buffet portfolio company).
Tesla is the perfect example of how a company in a traditional industry running the “Silicon Valley Operation System” as Elon Musk calls it can be disruptive to an entrenched industry.
Come on railroaders. We’re entering the era of flying cars and quantum computing. Do you really think that people are going to be using rail transport in 50 or 100 years? Certainly not if you don’t turn up the crank and fast.
Steady as she goes doesn’t cut it any more.
