ALTOONA, Pa. – Norfolk Southern has laid off about 50 workers at its former Conrail locomotive shop in Altoona, the Altoona Mirror reports. The employees will be offered positions elsewhere in the company.
An unnamed employee at the facility, known as the Juniata Shops, attributes to the reduction to Norfolk Southern’s implementation of Precision Scheduled Railroading.
The facility, which dates back to the Pennsylvania Railroad, has a history of new locomotive construction along with overhauls. Even into the 1990s, locomotive builder EMD contracted with Conrail to assemble some locomotives at Juniata during periods of steady business.
