Three letters that pushed railroads to record profits: PSR : The Indicator from Planet Money After a series of train derailments, the railroad industry is under scrutiny from politicians, the public and rail workers themselves. Many workers blame a relatively new management philosophy called precision-scheduled railroading (PSR). What is PSR and how has it changed the industry?

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

How three letters reinvented the railroad business

How three letters reinvented the railroad business

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1162333378/1162477908" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

A Canadian Pacific railway locomotive pulls train cars east along a rail line past Morant's Curve near Lake Louise in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada on November 26, 2021. Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

A Canadian Pacific railway locomotive pulls train cars east along a rail line past Morant's Curve near Lake Louise in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada on November 26, 2021. Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

The railroad industry is under a microscope after a series of train accidents in East Palestine, Springfield, and Cleveland, Ohio.

Meanwhile, rail workers claim that these sorts of accidents have become more likely in recent years, because of a relatively new management philosophy called precision-scheduled railroading, or PSR.. On today's episode: why PSR is one of the biggest changes to the railroad business in over a century, how it's sparked record profits for the companies but also changed how railroad workers do their jobs.

Music by Drop Electric. Find us: Twitter / Facebook / Newsletter.

Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts and NPR One.

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.