Story Yard
Norfolk Southern advances key safety and service objectives

Norfolk Southern recently provided an update on its safety and service initiatives in a letter to federal transportation officials. The letter, addressed to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Amit Bose, and Chairman of the Surface Transportation Board Martin J. Oberman, outlines our progress on these key objectives.

“We are pleased that the implementation of our balanced strategy focused on service, productivity, and growth, with safety at its core, is taking shape,” said Norfolk Southern President and CEO Alan Shaw. “We are building a resilient railroad with a safe, compelling service product that has benefited not only the customers and supply chains that rely on our service, but also the communities we serve.”

Implementing our Six-Point Safety Plan

Through the implementation of our Six-Point Action Plan, we have made significant strides in advancing our safety measures, including the installation of 50 additional hot bearing detector systems so far in 2024 and the implementation of acoustic bearing detector systems. We were also the first Class I railroad to join the FRA’s Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS) pilot program, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at further improving safety across its network.

“We’re enhancing our safety culture at Norfolk Southern every day by involving all 20,000 of our dedicated employees in the effort,” said John Fleps, VP Safety. “We are making meaningful and targeted investments in our people, processes, and technology to reduce risks and keep our workforce and communities safe.”  

Making a safe railroad even safer

In addition, we are on track to meet annual targets on all four of our key safety performance indicators, including reportable injuries, serious injuries, reportable train accidents, and reportable mainline train accidents. Our performance on each of these metrics has improved year-over-year.  

Improving service for our customers and the supply chain

Along with safety, we are advancing opportunities to more reliably and efficiently serve our customers. Under the leadership of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer John Orr, we have achieved significantly higher levels of network fluidity and service consistency. Recent improvements in train speed and terminal dwell time reflect our commitment to delivering a high-quality service product.

We have demonstrated our commitment to supporting our customers in the wake of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. We swiftly responded to this unforeseen event by introducing new international intermodal services and collaborating with partners to mitigate supply chain disruptions.

We will continue to make investments in safety and service to build on our industry-leading results for our employees, customers, and communities. These investments are foundational to our strategy as we chart a better way forward for our company.