Norfolk Southern – Page 32

Michigan Central Railway Will Initiate Freight Service in Michigan and Indiana

July 12, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The Michigan Central Railway will initiate freight rail service over 384 route miles of rail line in Michigan and Indiana in first-quarter 2008 under a joint venture to be formed by Norfolk Southern Railway Co. and Watco Cos., the parent company of the newly formed Michigan Central. “The new Michigan Central will preserve and enhance freight rail service in southern Michigan,” said David C. Eyermann, Michigan Central’s interim president. “The company will be headquartered in Kalamazoo and will employ approximately 118 people. In the first year alone we plan to invest more than $6 million to improve

Norfolk Southern Graduates 113 Students from Emergency Response Training School

July 9, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

NORFOLK, Va. — First responders from across the United States sharpened their skills at responding to hazardous materials incidents during Norfolk Southern-sponsored tank car safety classes this year at the Transportation Technology Center Inc., near Pueblo, Colo. One hundred thirteen students attended the five-day, 40-hour courses at TTCI’s Emergency Response Training Center, which provides training in classes that simulate train, truck and barge accidents. Located on 52 square miles of isolated high desert, the TTCI campus includes 48 miles of specialized tracks to test locomotives, vehicles, track components and signal devices. Some 80 rail cars, intermodal and highway vehicles, and

On Its Anniversary, Norfolk Southern Thanks Supporters

June 1, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern Corporation today marked the 25th anniversary of its formation, thanking the customers, shareholders, employees and communities that the railroad serves. “Any success we claim is a result of their support and willingness to be true partners,” said Chief Executive Officer Wick Moorman. “No company serves a better group of stakeholders.” Norfolk Southern was formed June 1, 1982, from the consolidation of two of the country’s most successful railroads, Southern Railway and Norfolk and Western Railway, which traced their beginnings respectively to 1827 and 1836 and the earliest days of railroading in North America. A top

Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern to Offer Fastest Service Between Southern California and Southeast

April 30, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific Railroad and Norfolk Southern Railway will significantly improve eastbound domestic transcontinental service from Los Angeles to the Southeast on May 21. The service improvement in this important high-volume lane will result from shifting traffic from the Memphis gateway to the new Shreveport, La., gateway. This new route, combining Union Pacific’s Sunset Route between Los Angeles and Texas with Norfolk Southern’s and Kansas City Southern’s joint venture line between Shreveport and Meridian, Miss., is nearly 150 miles shorter than the current route, making it the shortest, fastest and most reliable intermodal route between Los Angeles and

Norfolk Southern and BNSF Railway to Test New Train Brake Technology

March 29, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

FORT WORTH, Texas — Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) and BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) will begin testing a new braking system that may reduce the amount of time it takes to stop a train. The project, authorized by the Federal Railroad Administration, calls for NS and BNSF to equip and test certain locomotives and freight cars with electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes. ECP brakes have the potential to reduce train stopping distances by as much as 50 to 70 percent over conventional air brake systems. ECP brakes utilize electronic signals to simultaneously apply and release throughout the length of a freight

Norfolk Southern Facilitates $2 Billion of Industrial Investment Along Rail Lines in 2006

March 22, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern Corp. participated in the location of 70 new industrial facilities and provided support for the expansion of 45 additional industrial facilities along its rail lines in 2006, the company announced. New plants and expansions represent an investment of $2 billion by Norfolk Southern customers and are expected to create an estimated 3,578 customer jobs in the railroad’s territory and eventually generate more than 95,000 carloads of new rail traffic annually. Norfolk Southern assisted state and local government and economic development officials throughout 19 states in helping customers identify ideal locations for new and expanded facilities.

Norfolk Southern’s Harrisburg Division Sets Standard for Rail Worker Safety

March 8, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

HARRISBURG, Pa. — With the statistics tabulated and verified, Norfolk Southern announced that its Harrisburg Division was the safest operating division on the railroad’s 22-state network for 2006, with an injury ratio of .56. The Harrisburg Division’s Transportation Department recorded the lowest operating department injury ratio in the history of Norfolk Southern, with a ratio of .31. The corporate goal for 2006 was a .89 injury ratio, which also was bettered by the Harrisburg Division’s Maintenance of Way and Structures Department, and Communications and Signals Department. Rail industry injury ratios are based on Federal Railroad Administration reportable incidents per 200,000

FRA: New Era of Rail Safety with Approval of First Positive Train Control System

January 9, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON – The first Positive Train Control (PTC) system capable of automatically controlling train speed and movements to prevent certain accidents, including train collisions has been approved. “This is a major achievement that marks the beginning of a new era of rail safety,” said Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph H. Boardman. “The steps FRA and railroads are taking show that applying PTC technology can work and will provide important safety benefits.” In 2005, FRA revised federal signal and train control regulations to facilitate and enable development and deployment of PTC technology, Boardman said. Specifically, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) approved the

Two Years Since Fatal Graniteville Wreck

January 6, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

GRANITEVILLE, S.C. — Today marks the two-year anniversary of a fatal train wreck here. On Jan. 6, 2005, a northbound Norfolk Southern Railway freight train encountered an improperly lined switch that diverted the train from the main line onto an industry track where it struck an unoccupied, parked train. Among the derailed cars were three tank cars containing chlorine, one of which was breached, releasing chlorine gas. The train engineer and eight other people died as a result of chlorine gas inhalation. Nine people were killed in the derailment and hundreds more were evacuated because of spilled chemicals. — Railfanning.org

Norfolk Southern Agrees to Settlement in Graniteville Lawsuit

December 26, 2006 Railfanning.org News Wire

GRANITEVILLE, S.C. – Norfolk Southern is asking a federal judge to approve a class settlement to a lawsuit filed after a Jan. 6, 2005, derailment that left nine people dead. The Norfolk, Va. -based company filed a motion in South Carolina federal court proposing a settlement that “would provide varying levels of compensation for people who were injured and who received medical treatment or were hospitalized as a result of the derailment and subsequent release of chlorine,” the railroad said in a news release. On Jan. 6, 2005, a northbound Norfolk Southern Railway freight train encountered an improperly lined switch