News photo: Norfolk Southern debuts new locomotives for executive train

Tuscan red and black diesels with office car train

CLEVELAND — Norfolk Southern has introduced a pair of specially painted SD70ACe locomotives for use on its executive train with a unique design blending Norfolk & Western Tuscan Red — matching the office cars — with the standard NS black-and-white scheme. Locomotives 1230 and 1231 are shown on their first trip on Sunday, Nov. 9, […]

Read More…

STB nominees vow independence on UP-NS merger review despite D.C. partisanship

WASHINGTON — Surface Transportation Board nominees Richard Kloster and Michelle Schultz assured senators on Thursday that they will judge Union Pacific’s proposed acquisition of Norfolk Southern on the merits — and will not allow politics to influence their decisions on the largest merger in railroad history. Kloster and Schultz spoke during a hearing of the […]

Read More…

Charlotte-area voters back sales tax increase for transportation plan

Map of rail line between Charlotte and Mt. Mourne, N.C.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Voters in Mecklenburg County, N.C., on Tuesday (Nov. 4) approved a 1% sales-tax increase to fund a transportation plan, including a commuter rail line. The Charlotte Observer reports that the referendum approved by a 52%-48% margin is expected to raise more than $19 billion over 30 years. The measure requires 40% of […]

Read More…

NTSB final report addresses July 2024 incident at NS Lambert’s Point Yard

Aerial view of yard with notations on accident that injured employee

WASHINGTON — A conductor’s attempt to apply a hand brake while standing in the track gauge, while using a retracted brake stick, was the probable cause of an accident that led to serious injuries to the conductor,  the National Transportation Safety Board said in its final investigation report on the July 2024 incident at Norfolk […]

Read More…

Senators ask STB to look closely at UP-NS merger proposal

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of U.S. senators have asked the Surface Transportation Board to conduct a “rigorous and comprehensive evaluation” of the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger, expressing concern about its impact on agricultural producers and its possible impact on competition. “Already highly consolidated, the current landscape of railroads as it exists today represents […]

Read More…

Hub Group sizes up watershed intermodal growth opportunity

OAK BROOK, Ill. — Hub Group sees the opportunity to gain 2.5 million intermodal loads from the watershed area in the country’s midsection if the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger is approved. The watershed, the area within a few hundred miles of the Mississippi River that also is the de facto dividing line between the big […]

Read More…

UP and NS seek faster merger review as rivals turn up pressure

Yellow and black locomotives leading train of tank cars

Eager to tie the knot, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern have asked federal regulators for a faster review of their proposed transcontinental merger, Trains has learned. The Surface Transportation Board in September proposed a roughly 390-day schedule to review the railroads’ $85 billion deal. The calendar includes wiggle room that would allow the board to […]

Read More…

Norfolk Southern tops 1,000 DC to AC conversions — and transforms its roster

Two black locomotives, one weathered, the other new and shiny

Norfolk Southern didn’t mind being late to the AC-traction party. And NS wasn’t just fashionably late, either. As Burlington Northern, Canadian Pacific, CSX, and Union Pacific gravitated toward AC locomotives in the mid 1990s, NS stuck with DC, saying it couldn’t justify the higher cost of AC-traction units. Even little Kansas City Southern jumped aboard […]

Read More…

MSU professor: UP-NS merger can’t turn back the clock on carload decline

Black locomotive with train with yellow locomotives in background

EAST LANSING, Mich. — The Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger is unlikely to revive carload traffic — and it’s an open question whether it can unlock intermodal growth because of broader economic trends that are beyond railroads’ control, a Michigan State University supply chain management professor said during a webcast today. UP says its proposed $85 […]

Read More…

NS and UP launch interline intermodal service in Louisville, Ky.

Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific have launched their new domestic interline intermodal service linking Louisville, Ky., with UP terminals via interchange at Kansas City, Kan. GE Appliances is among the anchor customers on the service, which first rolled on Oct. 20, NS said today. The railroads announced the joint service on Sept. 15, roughly six […]

Read More…

ScaleTrains HO NS AC44C6M review

Color photo showing nose of HO scale diesel locomotive painted blue, gray, yellow, black, and white on white background.

A Norfolk Southern AC44C6M diesel locomotive is one of the latest additions to the ScaleTrains Rivet Counter line. The HO scale model, based on General Electric Dash 9-40C and Dash 9-44CW rebuilds, features an injection-molded plastic body, die-cast metal chassis, and body-mounted metal Type E semi-scale couplers. Prototype history Norfolk Southern No. 4000 was built […]

Read More…

Norfolk Southern makes operational strides but quarterly revenue falls short

ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern touted efficiency gains, strong service levels, and safety improvements as third-quarter revenue fell short of expectations and competitive pressure ratcheted up from BNSF and CSX. “Norfolk Southern delivered another quarter of strong results on safety, service, and productivity through a dynamic freight market,” CEO Mark George said today (Thursday, Oct. 23). […]

Read More…