Railroad News

Norfolk Southern Railway yesterday broke ground on its new Atlanta headquarters and named three company officers to executive positions.

NS Chairman President and Chief Executive Officer James Squires was joined by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms at a groundbreaking ceremony held in Atlanta's Midtown area.

Norfolk Southern Railway has petitioned the Federal Railroad Administration for a waiver of compliance from certain provisions of federal rail safety regulations regarding refresher training for mechanical inspectors.

NS proposes to create a 3D simulation using web-based software to comply with the hands-on portion of required periodic refresher training. The railroad would use a simulator for refresher training on Class I air brake tests instead of hands-on training. The brake test simulator also would be used to enhance training for supervisors and employees in other crafts, including freight-car repair workers and conductors.

Norfolk Southern Corp. officials today will provide details of the Class I’s latest strategic plan, which includes targeting an operating ratio (OR) of 60 percent by 2021.

The details — which will be revealed at the railroad’s Investor and Financial Analyst Conference being held today in Atlanta — will cover ways to increase productivity, efficiency and growth.

Norfolk Southern Corp. yesterday reported record fourth-quarter income from operations of $1.1 billion, up 27 percent compared with fourth-quarter 2017 and up 9 percent on an adjusted basis.

Net income shot up 44 percent to $702 million, earnings per share jumped 52 percent to $2.57, revenue rose 9 percent to $2.9 billion, volume increased 3 percent to 1.98 million units, railway operating expenses climbed 9 percent to $1.8 billion and the operating ratio improved 5.5 points to 62.8.

Norfolk Southern Corp. has named Michael Cox vice president of taxation, effective March 1. He will succeed Robert Kesler, who is retiring.

Cox has held positions of increasing responsibility since he joined NS as assistant tax counsel in 2000. Prior to joining the company, he spent more than a decade in private industry and with the federal government, including serving as a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice's tax division.

Norfolk Southern Corp. has elected Thomas Kelleher as a board member, effective yesterday. He will serve as an independent director and join the board's finance and risk management committee.

Kelleher, 61, is president of global financial services and investment management firm Morgan Stanley. He also is chairman and chief executive officer of Morgan Stanley Bank N.A. Kelleher is responsible for Morgan Stanley's institutional securities business and wealth management.

Norfolk Southern Railway generated more than 60,000 carloads of new traffic last year through its industrial development efforts, the Class I announced today.

The 72 new and 18 expanded industrial plants in 17 states represented an investment of $1.5 billion by NS customers. The commercial development is expected to create nearly 3,000 new customer jobs and contribute to the economy in communities across the railroad's service area, NS officials said in a press release.

The announcement was expected for months, but yesterday Norfolk Southern Corp. made it official: The Class I will move its corporate headquarters from Norfolk, Virginia, to Atlanta.

NS is in advanced discussions to purchase a site from Cousins Properties at 650 W. Peachtree St. NW in Midtown Atlanta, where the railroad plans to build its new headquarters. Progress on the move has begun and will span the next several years as the facility is built, NS officials said in a press release.

Norfolk Southern Corp. yesterday released its latest Corporate Social Responsibility Report, which includes such details as the Class I's record locomotive fuel efficiency and reduced greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions.

NS improved locomotive fuel efficiency by 5 percent in 2017 over 2016, conserved 23 million gallons of diesel and avoided more than 233,750 metric tons of GHG emissions, according to the report.

Norfolk Southern Railway will provide service to a new inland port to be developed near Gainesville, Georgia, state and Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) officials announced yesterday.

Set to open in 2021, the Northeast Georgia Inland Port will be situated in the manufacturing and logistics corridor along Interstate 85 and operated by the GPA.

Norfolk Southern Corp. announced yesterday that Marque Ledoux will become vice president of government affairs on Jan. 1, 2019. He will succeed Bruno Maestri, who is retiring from the Class I.

Ledoux joined NS in 2003 as assistant VP of government affairs. Prior to joining the company, he worked for FedEx for 16 years in public relations and government relations positions. In his new role, he will continue to be based in Washington, D.C., and report to John Sheib, executive VP of law and administration.

Details of Norfolk Southern Corp.'s potential relocation of its headquarters from Norfolk, Virginia, to Atlanta emerged in documents released yesterday by Invest Atlanta, the city's economic development agency.

NS is proposing construction of a new headquarters in Midtown Atlanta that would feature 750,000 square feet of office space and a daycare center for employees' children, according to the documents.

Norfolk Southern Corp. has tapped Michael Farrell to serve as senior vice president of transportation.

Based in Atlanta, Farrell will report to Michael Wheeler, executive VP and chief operating officer. Farrell's duties will include all transportation operations, division mechanical and rail terminal management functions, NS officials said in a press release.

Norfolk Southern Corp. second-quarter 2017 net income rose 23 percent to $497 million, or $1.71 per diluted share, compared with the same quarter a year ago, the Class I reported this morning.

The profit growth was driven by a 15 percent increase in railway operations income, and an all-time record operating ratio of 66.3 percent, according to an NS press release.

10/3/2016    

Rail News: Norfolk Southern Railway

Norfolk Southern Railway rolled out new low-emission locomotives, reduced unnecessary locomotive idling and set a five-year goal to improve fuel efficiency as part of its sustainability program in 2015, the Class I announced today.

In its new online sustainability report, "What Efficiency Looks Like," NS details its efforts to achieve a "healthy balance between its business imperatives as a publicly traded company and its environmental and social commitments," NS officials said in a press release.

By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Managing Editor

The Crescent. The Heartland. The MidAmerica. The Patriot. Norfolk Southern Corp. has developed a number of corridors over the past few decades, either on its own or with other railroads. But the aptly named and recently introduced Premier Corridor might be its pre-eminent one.

Watco Transloading LLC has obtained a definitive licensed agreement with Norfolk Southern Corp. to operate a new NS Thoroughbred Bulk Terminal (TBT) in Sandusky, Ohio.

NS is leveraging existing infrastructure of the former Triple Crown Services facility to enable Watco and NS to drive new incremental transload business, Watco officials said in a press release issued yesterday.

Norfolk Southern Corp.'s second-quarter 2016 net income declined to $405 million, or $1.36 diluted earnings per share, from $433 million, or $1.41 earnings per share, a year ago, the Class I announced this morning.

Railway operating revenue fell 10 percent to $2.5 billion compared with Q2 2015's revenue as a result of reduced volumes and lower fuel surcharge revenue. Overall, volume dropped 7 percent to 1.8 million units for the quarter, NS officials said in a press release.