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Canadian National

2007: A Strong Year For Railroad Safety

WASHINGTON — Last year was another strong year for safety on the nation’s railroads, with records being set in two key safety measurements while a third fell just shy of setting a record. “Over the years, the railroad industry has developed a strong safety culture,” said Edward R. Hamberger, president and CEO of the Association of American Railroads (AAR) at the annual E.H. Harriman Awards luncheon which honors railroads with the best employee safety records for the previous year. “Last year the train accident rate was the lowest in history,” he said. “So was the grade crossing accident rate. The

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Norfolk Southern

Eastman Chemical Recognizes Norfolk Southern With Innovation Award

NORFOLK, Va. — Eastman Chemical Company has awarded Norfolk Southern Corporation its 2007 Global Logistics Supplier Innovation Award. The award recognizes Norfolk Southern for the development and implementation of a new process for delivering coal to Eastman’s Kingsport, Tenn., chemical manufacturing plant. Norfolk Southern’s creative redesign of its service plan for the plant resulted in significant improvements in delivery schedules, consistency of operations, and efficiency for both Eastman and Norfolk Southern. “Norfolk Southern’s work in improving our coal handling delivery process exemplifies the purpose of the Innovation Award,” said Terry Begley, Eastman Chemical vice president, global supply chain and quality.

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Legislation

Norfolk Southern Names Voyack to Government Relations Post

WASHINGTON — Frank Voyack has been named Norfolk Southern Corp.’s government relations director. Headquartered in Washington, Voyack will be responsible for lobbying Congress, coordinating government relations programs and policies and implementing legislative strategies. He will report to Marque I. Ledoux, assistant vice president government relations — federal. Voyack started his work on Capitol Hill in the office of Congressman Norman Sisisky of Virginia before moving to the International Association of Bridge, Structural and Ornamental Iron Workers, where he spent 18 years in various legislative positions. He is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University and Georgetown University. “Frank’s breadth of experience

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Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern and 10 Short Line Railroads Create Short-Haul Rail Options in New York and Beyond

NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern Corp. and 10 New York-based short line railroads have created a program to convert short-haul truck movements to rail. The “Empire Link” allows the short line railroads to market the excess rail freight capacity on NS’ Southern Tier main line between Binghamton and Silver Springs, N.Y., as well as on branch lines between Corning and Geneva, and between Waverly and Ludlowville. “With the high price of diesel fuel, the Empire Link is an attractive option for shippers currently trucking freight in New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey,” said David Lawson, Norfolk Southern’s vice president industrial

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Amtrak

Rail Network Could Face Major Congestion in Coming Decades

WASHINGTON — Congestion on the nation’s rail network is expected to increase over the next two decades and could eventually pose a major problem, members of Congress warned. Since deregulation of the freight railroad industry in 1980, Class 1 freight ton-miles have increased 93 percent, while miles of track have decreased 40 percent, U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Fla., said. The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that the demand for rail freight transportation will increase 88 percent by 2035, and their studies estimate that an investment of $148 billion in infrastructure expansion will be needed over the ext 28 years to

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Norfolk Southern

43 Rail Customers Earn Norfolk Southern’s Thoroughbred Chemical Safety Award

NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern Corp. has recognized the safety performance of 43 of its rail transportation customers with the Thoroughbred Chemical Safety Award for 2007. The awards, given annually for 12 years, are presented to companies that ship more than 1,000 carloads of hazardous chemicals without incident. “These valued customers have set the example for safe handling of chemicals transported by rail,” said Norfolk Southern Chief Executive Officer Wick Moorman. “Their record of zero incidents demonstrates their commitment to safety in the workplace and in the community. Norfolk Southern is pleased to recognize their accomplishments.” Customers earning the award

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Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Receives First Uni-Level Railcars for Large Motor Vehicle Transport

NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern Corp. has put into service the first of the new Uni-Level railcars supplied by TTX Company. Last week, Norfolk Southern loaded the first 13 of 55 Uni-Level cars received from TTX, officially launching the railroad’s Uni-Level service network. The fully enclosed Uni-Level railcar is designed to provide economical rail transportation of large motorized vehicles, including Class 5-8 trucks and recreational vehicles. Transporting these types of vehicles in a Uni-Level car helps ensure that the vehicles will arrive at their distributors in factory-quality condition and will not require re-work, as is typically the case with over-the-road

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Norfolk Southern

Pan Am Railways and Norfolk Southern Create the Patriot Corridor to Improve Rail Service and Expand Capacity in New York and New England

NORTH BILLERICA, Mass. — Pan Am Railways and Norfolk Southern Railway have agreed to create an improved rail route between Albany, N.Y., and the greater Boston, Mass., area called the “Patriot Corridor.” Investments in the Patriot Corridor are expected to improve track quality and customer service, boost train speed and reliability, and increase capacity on the route. PAR and NS each will have a 50 percent interest in the newly formed railroad company, called “Pan Am Southern.” PAR has agreed to transfer to the joint venture its 155-mile main line track that runs between Mechanicville (Albany), N.Y., and Ayer, Mass.,

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Norfolk Southern

NTSB: Inadequate Rail Inspection to Blame for 2006 NS Derailment

WASHINGTON — Norfolk Southern Railroad’s inadequate rail inspection and maintenance program resulted in a rail fracture from an undetected internal defect, which is to blame for an October 2006 derailment. Contributing to the accident was the Federal Railroad Administration’s inadequate oversight of the internal rail inspection process and its insufficient requirements for internal rail inspection. On Oct. 20, 2006, a Norfolk Southern freight train (68QB119), en route from the Chicago area to Sewaren, N.J., derailed while crossing the Beaver River railroad bridge in New Brighton, P.a. The train consisted of a three-unit locomotive pulling three empty freight cars and 83 tank

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Norfolk Southern

Balanced Traffic Mix Drives Success, Moorman Tells Stockholders at Annual Meeting

NORFOLK, Va. — A balanced mix of traffic has enabled Norfolk Southern to post solid financial and operating performance in spite of softness in the housing and automotive markets, said Chief Executive Officer Wick Moorman during the company’s 26th annual stockholders meeting, held in Norfolk, Va. “Our results speak volumes for something that we talk about all the time – the strength of our balanced portfolio of business,” Moorman said. “We’re really seeing two different economies out there in that a large component of our business is very healthy. Our agricultural business and anything having to do with commodities are