On May 3, John Orr, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, penned the following letter to Norfolk Southern Operations colleagues:

Dear Colleague,

Today marks just over a month since I joined the Norfolk Southern team. From the first time I met Alan Shaw, to stepping onto the ballast, I have been incredibly impressed. Thank you for welcoming me so warmly and helping to get me up to speed.

The balanced strategy that Alan developed, and we are driving, represents the future of our industry. I am confident that together we have an incredible opportunity to unlock the full potential of our network. Everything I’ve seen from this team to date has only made me more excited about our opportunity.

One Team

My vision for Operations is for our team to be the benchmark of collaboration, creating value and continuous improvement for the transportation industry. This vision is shaped by my four-decade career in railroading, learning from and working alongside teams like this one. I’ve worked at every level of our industry, and I’ve seen how organizational silos can stifle potential. I began my career as a brakeman and union leader, and I’ve seen organizations stall in their progress because of us-vs-them thinking. We will be different. I know that there are opportunities for all of us to learn from each other in a way that we foster stronger relationships while we drive better results.  You will start seeing some of those ideas take shape in the next 60-days and I look forward to hearing your creative solutions as well!

I respect and appreciate how integral relationships with craft partners are to Norfolk Southern’s success. I want feedback from my craft colleagues, both formal and informal. So, in addition to regularly being on the ballast, I’m setting up a formal council with labor leaders. This will be critical to ensuring there is a structured dialogue and forum for discussion. It will be something unique to Norfolk Southern that does not currently exist in the industry. I’m also establishing an open and easy way to reach me directly, and I look forward to sharing that with you in the coming days.

Deeds Matter

You’ve heard Alan reference our strategy, a balance of service, productivity, and growth. In Operations, everything we do starts with safety by each of us looking out for one another. We depend on the talent of everyone in this entire organization to be successful and achieve our goals. I am committed to engaging, getting your feedback, and working together to find new ways to deliver safe, reliable, and resilient service. I am pleased to report that we are already executing on opportunities to enhance the productivity of our network. In addition to safety, we are focusing on these big rock issues:

• Identifying and eliminating corridor bottlenecks;
• Targeting large-volume Merchandise terminals for improved velocity and efficiencies;
• Driving standard processes across all workstreams;
• Right sizing locomotives and cars; and
• Replicating these best practices across the network.

Progress Underway

So far, we have assessed terminals, engaged with our stakeholders, and implemented a 48-hour safety blitz to lay the foundation for our safety priorities and industry-leading culture. I’m meeting with railroaders across the system to get to know our team and get feedback. The passion and dedication that I have seen is impressive, and I look forward to continuing these conversations to hear how we can further enhance safety and service.

We are working swiftly and are already seeing meaningful results. I’m most proud to say our year-to-date accident rates across the board are the lowest they have been in years. In just 30 days we have already:

• Lowered terminal dwell by 8%;
• Increased Merchandise train speed by 8%; and
• Created over-the-road efficiencies to improve on-time performance

These results tell me is our strategy is working on all fronts. Not only are we improving our performance, but we’re also doing it in a way that supports our employees and our customers. Without either group, we wouldn’t have a railroad. This is our strategy and approach in action. It’s informed by history, and grounded in solid data, all to create a path for long-term success.   

What's Ahead

Let’s speak candidly. Uncertainty is difficult and the reality is we are all facing some uncertainty right now. It would be understandable if feelings of fear or frustration begin to emerge. I invite you to consider a few other realities. The railroaders I have interacted with since starting at Norfolk Southern are some of the most passionate and dedicated professionals I’ve met during my career; and the commitment to moving forward is stronger than I’ve witnessed in other organizations. Therefore, I have the unwavering faith that we are better together, and we will be the benchmark for collaboration, creating value and continuous improvement in the industry.

The progress we’ve made is a direct reflection of our talented team, and it’s just the beginning! There is still a lot of work to be done, and measuring our results will be critical to making sure we stay on track.

You are a vital part of this network, doing meaningful work. Over the next several months, your operational leaders and I will be identifying metrics to track our performance and ultimately become a more safe, efficient, and effective railroad. We have also laid out a clear plan with phases that we will build on over the next 24 months to drive efficiency throughout. We will do so while never wavering on our commitment to our customers and to each other while leading the industry in safety.

We each have a stake in our future and we each have a stake in this railroad.  I know that the team is fully committed to delivering on these priorities in 2024, and I cannot thank you enough. It is my honor and privilege to work together to set the gold standard of safety and service in North America.

Sincerely,

John Orr
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

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