Better Buy: Union Pacific vs. CSX

The two largest listed U.S. Class 1 railroads make for an interesting comparison for investors. CSX (NASDAQ: CSX) and Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) are effective oligopolies within their geographies, and their long-term security of earnings and cash flows can be used to reward investors seeking dividend income. That said, let's take a strategic overview of three key parameters that investors use to compare investing in the two.

The key development in the railroad sector in the last few years has been the widescale adoption of precision scheduled railroading (PSR) management techniques and how it's improving profitability. In a nutshell, PSR is a set of initiatives based on running engines on fixed times between fixed points on a network. This is opposed to the traditional hub-and-spoke model.

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Source Fool.com