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Short Line Data Systems ROCS Update – February 2009 Website: www.sdsrocs.com Greetings – Things have really been shaking here in New Jersey. Really, we had a 3.0 earthquake here last week, with an epicenter about five miles from my house. There was more noise than shaking, but it was a unique experience for this part of the country. Seismic activity aside, we have had another busy month here, with another ROCS changeover on February 1 and continued development of ROCS Version 12. We are also going to start offering a new service to all short lines and equipment owners, and we will go into the details below. New ROCS System in Service On February 1, we put the ROCS system in service at the Bay Colony Railroad (BCLR). The Bay Colony is the sister railroad of long-time ROCS user Seminole Gulf Railroad, and is located in Massachusetts. Thanks to the hard work of the staff of the Seminole Gulf and Railinc, we were able to make a smooth changeover, with no significant problems. ROCS Version 12 The development of Version 12 of the ROCS system is continuing, and we have added a couple of new features to the growing list of new features for this upcoming version. New to the Car Hire system is the ability to do an account 024 single line correction as a CHDX message. We will also be adding this feature to the Version 11 systems that may need to do one of these corrections. Another new feature is a revision to the car count report. The new report shows car counts for each customer for each month broken down by interchange railroad and STCC. We will also be offering a version of the report that is revenue based, but it will be an option, since many users restrict access to financial information from most employees. We are still on track for the release of Version 12 late in the second quarter of this year, and we will be previewing Version 12 at both the CSXT Short Line Conference and the ASLRRA Annual Meeting. Car Hire Receivable Service At the request of a couple of our customers, we plan to start offering car hire receivables processing. With the changes that took place in car hire processing concerning the use of the Railroad Clearing house for transferring funds, the need for the car hire processor to also be the bank has been essentially removed. Our plan is to develop the receivables service for the primary customer that made the request, complete the testing and then make the service available to other customers. Our first goal for this service is to make the service available to all, whether they are a ROCS user or not. The results of our initial investigations indicate this will be relatively easy. The second goal is trying to avoid being a banker for our customers. The last thing that we want to do is handle your money, and we think that this goal should also be obtainable. The third goal is to make the service affordable. Our initial investigations have led us to believe that we should be able to perform this service for much less than what is presently being charged by others. Stay tuned for updates on this new product offering. It is our intention to have our service offering available at the ASLRRA Annual Meeting. Service startup is planned for the second quarter of 2009. On The Road Again Our annual “winter tour” kicks off on February 25th, when we head to Washington DC for Railroad Day on the Hill, which takes place on February 26th. I can’t begin to explain the importance of this day of lobbying to the railroad industry, not to mention the amount of fun it is to roam the halls of congress. It doesn’t cost anything to attend, just your time. If you want to have a great opportunity to network with industry colleagues and legislators, attend the legislative reception and dinner that evening. Two weeks later we will be at the CSXT Short Line Conference at World Golf Village in Jacksonville. On March 9 we will have a booth at the Trade Show with all of our products and services on display, and we look forward to seeing everyone there. Mark your calendars for the ASLRRA Annual Meeting and Convention April 26 through 28 at the Red Rock Station resort and casino in Summerlin Nevada, which is 12 miles off of the Las Vegas strip. This is one event that really should not be missed. Between the exhibits, educational and networking opportunities you can’t beat the value this meeting give you. As always, we will have our booth in the exhibit hall, and we will be showing off all of our wares and we will have several of giveaways for all to enjoy.
Well, that is all for now. We will be back with all of the latest in March, most likely just after the CSXT meeting. Stay safe, Steven Friedland President
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