Bridge collapses on flood-damaged Norfolk Southern line

Bridge collapses on flood-damaged Norfolk Southern line

By Trains Staff | October 24, 2024

| Last updated on August 6, 2025


Wednesday incident is latest blow to AS Line, hit hard by Hurricane Helene

Bridge over river, bent in middle of span
This collapsed bridge over the Pigeon River is the latest blow to Norfolk Southern’s line between Newport, Tenn., and Asheville, N.C. Newport Police Department

NEWPORT, Tenn. — A trestle on Norfolk Southern’s storm-closed AS Line in Tennessee collapsed Wednesday, leading to a series of road closures, Newport police reported.

Three roads are closed until further notice as a result of the collapse of the bridge over the Pigeon River, the police said in a Facebook post.

The NS line is already out of service between Newport and Asheville, N.C., until at least the end of January because of September flood damage in the wake of Hurricane Helene, the railroad said earlier this month [see “Norfolk Southern line into Asheville …,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 10, 2024]. Newport is 64 rail miles northwest (timetable west) of Asheville.

— Updated Oct. 29 at 4:40 p.m. to correct timetable direction in final sentence.

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