ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern has named Anil Bhatt to lead its technology endeavors. Bhatt will become executive vice president and chief information and digital officer, reporting to CEO Alan Shaw, when he joins the railroad on Aug. 19, NS announced today. “Anil has a successful track record and reputation for working across teams to deploy […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern and the American Train Dispatchers Association today agreed to join the Federal Railroad Administration’s Confidential Close Call Reporting System. Under the one-year C3RS pilot, NS dispatches can report safety concerns with the certainty that such reports will not result in discipline. Submitted safety concerns are made anonymous by NASA and provided […]
LAKE CITY, Fla. — Eastern railroads have marked the beginning of another hurricane season, as Hurricane Debby hit the made landfall between Tallahassee and Jacksonville, Fla., today (Monday, Aug. 5) and subsequently was downgraded to a strong tropical storm. The storm brought 70-mph winds and heavy rains across Pinsley Railroad Corp.’s Florida Gulf & Atlantic […]
ADRIAN, Mich. — A runaway freight car from a short line struck a Norfolk Southern train this morning in Adrian, derailing 10 cars of the NS train, the Class I railroad told a local TV station. The incident occurred at about 8 a.m. at a crossing of the NS and the Adrian & Blissfield railroad. […]
ATLANTA – Norfolk Southern is making more than $200 million worth of capacity improvements on its line between Birmingham and Mobile, Ala., to support traffic growth at the Port of Mobile. The 3-B Corridor improvements, announced today, involve building 21 miles of new track, including passing siding projects and expansion of the yard in Wilton, […]
MILWAUKEE — The Justice Department needed to file a lawsuit against Norfolk Southern for its poor handling of Amtrak’s Crescent because Class I railroads routinely ignore the law that gives passenger trains preference over freight traffic, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told Trains on Wednesday. The suit, filed Tuesday, July 30, in the U.S. District Court […]
While on a recent trip to the National Model Railroad Association’s Southeast Regional Convention in Decatur, Ala., I was fortunate enough to go on a trip to Huntsville’s International Intermodal Center. Right when our van arrived in the parking lot, I knew that this would be a perfect real-world industry that anyone can model on […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Justice Department is taking Norfolk Southern to court, alleging the railroad’s delays of Amtrak’s Crescent violate federal law. The civil complaint, filed today (July 30) in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges NS regularly fails to give the Crescent preference over freight trains as required by statute, leading […]
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. […]
MOBILE, Ala. — Amtrak appears to be on the verge of an agreement with the City of Mobile that finally will allow Gulf Coast passenger service to move forward. WALA-TV reports that a spokeswoman for Mayor Sandy Stimpson said the city and Amtrak had finalized language for a funding agreement for Mobile-New Orleans service and […]
Second of two parts. Part one is available here. CHARLESTON, W.Va. — U.S. railroads are hiring to meet future freight demand after years of furloughs and cutbacks that only worsened during the pandemic. At the same time, railroads have grappled with steep declines in coal and macroeconomic conditions. Now railroads appear to be rebalancing headcount […]
First of two parts. CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Navigating macroeconomic headwinds and steep declines in coal, three of the big four U.S. railroads now employ more engineers and conductors than they did a year ago, but headcount is still mostly below pre-pandemic 2019. Railroads are =using new hires to improve service performance and grow future business […]
