Norfolk Southern’s new TOP21 operating plan will reduce the size of a locomotive fleet that will become more reliable, more productive, and spend less time in the shop, CEO Jim Squires said during the railroad’s investor day on Monday.
“We have really four initiatives under way to reduce the size of our locomotive fleet,” says Doug Corbin, assistant vice president and chief mechanical officer.
NS will run heavier trains with increased used of distributed power, continue its DC-to-AC conversion program, reduce the size of the switching fleet as local and yard service becomes more efficient, and run the same number of trains in each direction every day, which balances power requirements and keeps locomotives where they are needed.
“Through those four initiatives, we do intend to pull over 500 locomotives out of the fleet,” Corbin says.
NS aims to increase locomotive productivity by 30 percent by 2021, based on gross ton-miles per unit, and boost train length by 12 percent, to an average of 7,130 tons.
The smaller fleet will be able to handle more tonnage, Corbin says, because it will have higher tractive effort due to the near doubling of the percentage of AC-traction locomotives on the active roster.
“Computerized control of AC-traction technology gives us a huge boost in the amount of freight we can move with a locomotive with no additional horsepower,” Corbin says. “That’s the beauty of this program.”
NS will ramp up the DC-to-AC conversion program, which has completed 190 units since it began in 2016. The program allows NS to get a modern locomotive for half the cost of buying new.
“We’ve been very pleased with the results,” Corbin says.
By 2021, NS will convert 527 of its 1,200-unit fleet of DC-traction Dash 9s that were purchased between 1994 and 2004, Corbin says. That will boost the AC-traction percentage of the fleet to 61 percent, up from the current 32 percent.
The rebuilding contract runs past 2021, NS officials noted, so it’s likely that the railroad will convert more AC-traction units beyond its current three-year plan.
NS will supplement the rebuild program by buying some new locomotives, Corbin says.
By using fewer locomotives NS hopes to reduce its operating expenses at it aims for a 60-percent operating ratio by 2021, down from 65.4 percent last year.
A smaller, more reliable fleet needs fewer shop workers, Corbin explains, and AC-traction power needs fewer replacement parts than their DC-traction cousins.
And moving tonnage on fewer, longer trains also reduces fuel consumption. The practice better matches horsepower to tonnage and keeps locomotives running in their higher power range, which is more fuel efficient, Corbin says.
