ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern has increased the length of its grain shuttle trains to 105 cars from 85, a move that allows the railroad to handle 23% more grain in each train.
“We’re unlocking capacity to handle more business for both our current and prospective customers,” Chief Marketing Officer Ed Elkins said in a statement. “With the increase in train size, our customers will now have to plan and coordinate their operations around fewer trains. This creates new opportunities to explore ways we can leverage the capacity this frees up for both the customer and Norfolk Southern.”
The addition of 20 cars to the grain unit trains was designed to match the increased pulling power of AC traction locomotives. NS has been converting its DC Dash-9 fleet to AC through a locomotive modernization program that has been turning out more than 100 locomotives per year [see “Wabtec to modernize 330 locomotives for Norfolk Southern,” Trains News Wire, March 23, 2022].
Not all grain origins and destinations are equipped to handle 105-car trains, but NS says customers will be making investments to support the longer trains.
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