Short Line rail executives sell. They use one on one relationship methods. Class I rail executives have over the past four decades changed to broad marketing techniques. Marketing uses templates. Marketing is too often “transactional” and volume negotiations. These differences are subtle, but important when you are trying to convince customers about rail freight being relevant and responsive.
Short line management needs to keep following this pattern in order to attract more shippers.
But at some point, the short lines need the Class I wide service area TRACK NETWORKS to improve their “selling” approach to better sync with the short line selling technique.