Jason Seidl and the TD Cowen team published an article in Railway Age about a lot of the issues railroads face going forward. From the article,
“While PSR gains are not completely in the rear-view mirror, rails are likely to need another story to maintain the investor interest the group has enjoyed over the last two decades. Management teams steer investors towards a return to carloadings growth, despite LT trends of declines and loss of share to truck. This focus arises because the Class I railroads have underpenetrated their TAM for more than a decade, with carload growth lagging GDP. At the root of share loss has been an inconsistent service offering, rectifying which is intended to drive growth.