NELS will be a sponsor of the fall session of the North East Association of Rail Shippers (NEARS), to be held in State College, PA between September 30th and October 2nd.  For more information on the event, visit http://www.nears.org/

Jenna Bernabe, Customer Solutions Manager for NELS will be attending as well as Dwight Price who has been a consultant to NELS on a recent customer engagement.  Both will be on hand and look forward to meeting with other attendees.

At NEARS spring conference, Richard Flynn, NELS founder and President addressed the gathering on the topic: "Meeting the Challenges of Growth" .  That presentation included eye-opening informaion on the deterioration of service within the merchandise rail network nationally, including specific examples and offering perspectives on the challenges the rail carriers face in remedying them.

If you would like to see a PDF version, click on the following link: View a PDF of Richard Flynn's NEARS Conference Presentation

Commenting on the recent Senate Hearings on freight-rail service conducted by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Richard Flynn commented that: "Clearly the railroads were not prepared for the increased volume on the rail network.  Much needs to be done, particularly with respect to the hand-offs between carriers." 

"While each Class I Railroad looks to optimize its individual network and assets, without coordination, the effect can be to sub-optimize the overall network, as reflected in the poor dock-to-dock performance metrics that we produce through our RAILS™ system."