Railroad News

Norfolk Southern Corp. yesterday reported on projects funded by $500 million in green bonds the company issued in 2021.

NS was the first Class I to issue green bonds. The company allocated $496 million in net proceeds from its green bonds to fund eligible projects as defined under the NS Green Financing Framework.

Alan Shaw yesterday began his first day as Norfolk Southern Railway’s new president and CEO.

Today, Shaw sent to NS employees an open letter that outlines the Class I’s priorities under his leadership, starting with restoring service to meet customers' expected level of service quality. The railroad is "taking the right steps" toward that goal by accelerating its new TOP|SPG operating plan and hiring the conductors the railroad needs to execute the plan reliably, he wrote.

Norfolk Southern Railway announced its new corporate headquarters in Atlanta has achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The certification is considered the most widely-used green building rating system in the world. Gold certification was obtained for the building’s design and construction, including sustainable site development, water conservation, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality, NS officials said in a press release.

Norfolk Southern Railway yesterday announced plans to permanently protect 1,105 acres of wetlands along South Carolina’s coastal plain through a conservation easement.

The "ecologically significant land" is home to the Coldwater Branch Stream and Wetland Mitigation Bank at Brosnan Forest, NS' 14,400-acre timber and wildlife preserve northwest of Charleston, NS officials said in a press release.

Norfolk Southern Corp. today reported first-quarter 2022 financial results that included first-quarter records for railway operating revenue, income from railway operations, net income and diluted earnings per share.

NS posted Q1 2022 operating revenue of $2.9 billion, up 10% compared with last year's results, driven by a 16% increase in revenue per unit.

Norfolk Southern Railway is expanding its conductor trainee incentive program to Bellevue, Ohio; Elkhart, Indiana; and Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The program includes starting bonuses of $5,000.

Norfolk Southern Railway yesterday announced a partnership with Commtrex to increase access to and visibility of transload facilities on the Class I’s network.

Shippers using the network will be able to use Commtrex’s database to search among the 32 rail-served transload facilities by location, commodities handled and other parameters, NS officials said in a press release. That will help shippers connect to every major container port in the eastern United States, they added.

Norfolk Southern Corp. has donated the complete collection of historical documents and archives from predecessor company Norfolk and Western Railway to the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, the company announced today.

The collection dates back to the 1840s and includes thousands of photographs and glass plate negatives, as well as business records, annual reports, blueprints, plans, bridge drawings, advertisements, portraits and three-dimensional artifacts from predecessor railroads that together provide a look into the growth of rail transportation across the eastern United States.

Norfolk Southern Railway recently received the Responsible Care Energy Efficiency Award for Locomotive Fuel Efficiency from the American Chemistry Council (ACC) and the 2022 Green Bond of the Year Award from Environmental Finance for a number of sustainability achievements.

The ACC award recognizes member companies for initiatives that improve energy usage. The council honored NS’ locomotive fuel efficiency program with an exceptional merit designation.

Norfolk Southern Railway today announced the launch of a next-generation carbon calculator for customers to measure carbon emissions in their supply chain decisions.

The calculator enhances the accuracy of carbon estimates by capturing the entire cycle of fuel usage, NS officials said in a press release. Direct fuel consumption from locomotives is applied to every rail car based on weight and distance traveled, and additional fuel accounted for includes yard and local operations, equipment repositioning and fuel expended while handling containers in intermodal operations. The tool generates a rail fuel efficiency factor for 18 rail-car types and 30 commodities.

The federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) has helped paved the way for Norfolk Southern Railway and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to collaborate on an operating agreement and finalize the improvements required to increase passenger-rail service between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, state and NS officials announced last week.

Passenger-rail funds included in the IIJA will enable improvements on the NS-owned rail corridor west of Harrisburg. The engineering and construction will stem from an NS operational feasibility study identifying the improvements required to eliminate eight chokepoints and to allow freight and passenger trains to operate without conflicting with each other.

Norfolk Southern Corp. yesterday announced it's offering starting bonuses of up to $5,000 for conductor trainees staffed in priority locations and $2,500 for those stationed in other locations.

Priority locations include Binghamton and Buffalo, New York; Cincinnati, Ohio; Louisville, Kentucky; Manassas and Roanoke, Virginia; Harrisburg and Conway, Pennsylvania; Birmingham and Sheffield, Alabama; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Linwood, North Carolina.