ATLANTA – Operational improvements helped Norfolk Southern win back service-sensitive intermodal and automotive traffic while driving down costs and boosting the railroad’s profitability in the second quarter. “While our work continues, our second-quarter results represent an encouraging inflection point in our operating performance,” CEO Alan Shaw said on the railroad’s earnings call on Thursday afternoon. […]
Saturday is your chance to explore Norfolk Southern’s Natural Tunnel in Duffield, Va. Norfolk Southern and the Virginia State Parks are hosting Railroad Day July 20 at Natural Tunnel State Park. The event will touch upon local history and promote railroad safety. The park’s chairlift, which provides access to the tunnel area from above, will […]
Throughout their history, railroads have been under the spell of the Not Invented Here Syndrome. If a rival railroad — or, worse still, an industry outsider — found a better way to do something, railroads would heap scorn on the idea. “Why, fill-in-the-blank would never work on our railroad!” Actually, it probably would. And examples […]
ATLANTA — National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy had harsh words for Norfolk Southern at the conclusion of last month’s hearing on the 2023 East Palestine, Ohio, hazardous materials derailment. But today, after a visit to the railroad’s headquarters, Homendy praised CEO Alan Shaw for pledging to exceed the safety recommendations that the NTSB […]
Class I railroads’ volume trends in the second quarter varied considerably, with Norfolk Southern traffic up 5.1% and Canadian Pacific Kansas City down 4.2%, according to the railroads’ Association of American Railroads carload reports. Norfolk Southern’s volume was boosted by 8.2% year-over-year growth in intermodal traffic. Its carload volume, less coal, was up 1.7%. Coal […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern’s Lamberts Point Coal Terminal in Norfolk, Va., set a two-month tonnage record after the collapse of the Key Bridge shut down an export facility at the Port of Baltimore. NS diverted coal trains to Norfolk for CONSOL Energy, whose Baltimore terminal was blocked on March 26 after a container ship struck […]
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy sharply criticized Norfolk Southern today for the way it responded to the board’s investigation of the Feb. 3, 2023, hazardous materials derailment in East Palestine. NS stonewalled board requests for information, ran its own probe on the side in violation of NTSB rules, and […]
WASHINGTON – Virginia and Charlotte, N.C., have notified federal regulators that they intend to acquire portions of Norfolk Southern main lines in order to expand passenger and commuter service. In a filing with the Surface Transportation Board this week, the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority said its acquisition of the NS Manassas Line, as well as […]
ALTOONA, Pa. — Norfolk Southern introduced a new specially painted locomotive saluting its railroaders at an NS Family Day event at the Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona on Saturday, June 8. NS CEO Alan Shaw was on hand and spoke, and the railroad’s Southern and Virginian heritage units were also on display. The front of […]
ATLANTA — After the turmoil of Norfolk Southern’s proxy fight against an activist investor last month, the railroad’s Stefan Loeb says the shareholders’ vote showed confidence in management’s strategy. While board chair Amy Miles lost her position, Norfolk Southern’s management mainly prevailed in the vote to retain control of the Class 1 railroad, with Ancora […]
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The city of Charlotte and Norfolk Southern have reached agreement for Charlotte to acquire NS’ O-Line route north of the city for use as a commuter rail line, WSOC-TV reports. An email from City Manager Marcus Jones informed officials in Mecklenburg County of the non-binding agreement on May 15; that email was […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern and 40 of its shortline connections have produced outsized growth in carload traffic this year through a program that aims to improve interchange consistency and reliability. The Short Line Performance Project, which began as a pilot with a handful of railroads last July, has seen interchange volume grow 9% since March […]
