NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk Southern has confirmed that it has idled the hump at Moorman Yard in Bellevue, Ohio, and is converting the largest classification yard in the East to a flat-switching facility.
“Due to declining car volumes, NS will idle the yard’s hump and begin flat switching rail cars. This alteration will allow for greater efficiencies and customer service that achieves the goals set forth in the company’s strategic plan,” railroad spokesman Jeff DeGraff says. “While NS has been implementing strategic changes system-wide since November 2018, the business disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the need for this transition to compensate for lower car volumes.”
The railroad’s merchandise traffic volume is down 32% in the second quarter to date.
NS did not specify how many jobs will be lost at Bellevue.
“NS appreciates the hard work and commitment of all of the men and women on the Thoroughbred Team, which makes these decisions particularly difficult,” DeGraff says. “Furloughed employees may have the opportunity to apply for positions, as available, elsewhere on the NS system.”
Earlier this month, Chief Marketing Officer Alan Shaw told customers that the railroad would be modifying operations at Bellevue. [See “Changes coming to NS yard in Bellevue, Ohio,” Trains News Wire, June 6, 2020.]
Bellevue is the second-largest classification yard in North America, trailing only Union Pacific’s Bailey Yard in North Platte, Neb.
The yard, opened by Norfolk & Western in 1967 following its acquisition of the Nickel Plate and Wabash three years earlier, in 2014 underwent a $160 million expansion that doubled its capacity. The project involved adding a second hump track and a classification bowl with 38 tracks, boosting its maximum daily classification to 3,600 cars from 1,800.
Bellevue becomes the fourth hump NS has idled as part of its shift to Precision Scheduled Railroading. The others are Linwood, N.C., Sheffield, Ala., and Allentown, Pa.
