Congratulations to Katherine Barry, Senior Manager, Signal and Electrical Engineering, for being recognized by Railway Track and Structures as part of their Women in Railroad Engineering Awards. Honorees were selected from throughout the rail industry for their technical expertise and achievements.

“Katherine has shown a strong work ethic throughout her career at Norfolk Southern,” said Tom Schnautz, VP Advanced Train Control. “She has proven herself adept at navigating complexity and building effective partnerships both within and outside of the company to advance the success of significant projects that support our customers.”

During her twelve-year career with Norfolk Southern, Barry has made significant contributions to promote a safer and more efficient railroad. She joined the company as a Management Trainee in 2011 after graduating with her Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Alabama. Barry became a Signal Engineer the following year and a Highway Crossing Signal Engineer in 2014. She was promoted to Senior Signal Engineer in 2018. In her current position, she lead’s the railroad’s signal design team.

“Electrical engineering is a profession that came naturally for me,” says Barry. “I’m a very driven person and I don’t sit on the sidelines. My role is challenging yet rewarding because I get to make meaningful contributions to support our operations and our customers.”

Throughout her career, Barry has led significant, wide-reaching efforts that have improved the railroad’s ability to safely serve customers. She developed updated template plan sets for both crossing and signal designs to streamline the design process. Over a two-year period, she managed the crossing design for numerous crossing projects.

From 2013-16, Barry managed Positive Train Control (PTC) Signal Design as part of the deployment on over 8,000 miles of track. This effort was Norfolk Southern’s most ambitious signaling project ever undertaken. She successfully applied her field experience and training to the design environment during the PTC installation.

Most recently, she led the Advanced Train Control (ATC) team that performed braking analysis to facilitate the transition to Tons Per Operable Break (TPOB) Timetable speeds. Her work in this area maintains safe signaling and enables Transportation to have more flexibility in train consist makeup, keeping operations fluid.

In addition to her role at Norfolk Southern, Barry serves on multiple committees of the American Railroad Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association. She is also an active volunteer for Habitat for Humanity in the Atlanta area.