42 | Business World Magazine |
April 2014
BUSINESS WORLD: Some specific
short-line operators have been able to capi-
talize when larger railroads no longer had
interest in certain lines, by going in and
cultivating business. Is that a fairly pretty
common theme among short lines?
DAVID MEARS:
It is. Because of the fact
that short lines are local, often have greater
flexibility than the larger railroads in terms
of responsiveness to customer needs and also
because they have lesser overhead, they can
be quite competitive in providing rail ser-
vice, whereas a larger railroad may not have
been quite so capable.
BW: Is the industry sustaining itself for
reasons of customer satisfaction, too?
MEARS:
That is correct.That’s exactly right.
It’s there as a viable business entity, a viable
business model. Short lines are providing a
vital need in terms of getting goods to and
from market.
BW: Is there a great deal of variance in
short lines between large and small, or are
they fairly uniform in size?
MEARS:
Some of the largest are several
hundred miles in length, and the smallest
may be one or two miles in length.
BW: As far as the membership goes, are
you mainly some of the bigger ones? Or are
you a little bit of all?
