NORFOLK, Va., Feb. 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) assisted 93 industries in locating or expanding their businesses along its rail lines in 2015.

The 61 new and 32 expanded industries represent an investment of $4.2 billion by NS customers and are expected to create 6,200 new jobs in the railroad's territory, generating more than 85,000 carloads of new rail traffic annually.

"While the energy sector has been severely impacted by the drop in commodity prices, this sector -- including alternative energy production -- still accounted for nearly 20 percent of the projects that started operations this year," said Jason Reiner, assistant vice president industrial development. "However, the largest impact to our communities was the strong showing in manufacturing, accounting for $3.7 billion in new investment and 5,600 new jobs. Renewed growth in the automotive industry was the largest contributor to this success. We expect to see continued growth in manufacturing in 2016 as projects currently in development begin full operation."

Norfolk Southern works with state and local economic development authorities on projects involving site location and development of infrastructure to connect customers to its rail system and provides free and confidential plant location services, including industrial park planning, site layout, track design, and supply chain analysis. During the past 10 years, NS' Industrial Development Department has participated in the location or expansion of 989 facilities representing an investment of nearly $60 billion and creating more than 42,000 new customer jobs in the territory served by the railroad.

About Norfolk Southern
Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) is one of the nation's premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway Company subsidiary operates approximately 20,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in the eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other rail carriers. Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal, automotive, and industrial products.

Forward-looking statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements that may be identified by the use of words like "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "plan," "consider," "project," and similar references to the future. Forward-looking statements reflect our good-faith evaluation of information currently available. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, and our actual results may differ materially from those projected. Please refer to our annual and quarterly reports filed with the SEC for a full discussion of those risks and uncertainties we view as most important. Forward-looking statements are not, and should not be relied upon as, a guarantee of future performance or results, nor will they necessarily prove to be accurate indications of the times at or by which any such performance or results will be achieved. As a result, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements.

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SOURCE Norfolk Southern Corporation