Congratulations to Jamie Helmer, Director Fuel Efficiency, for being included in Progressive Railroading’s first “Women of Influence in Rail” ebook published in recognition of International Women’s Day. The publication features profiles of women who have broken barriers to have successful careers in railroading.  

A 27-year veteran of Norfolk Southern, Helmer joined the company as a co-op while finishing her engineering degree at Virginia Tech. Over the course of her career, she has held positions with IT, Strategic Planning, Mechanical, and Norfolk Southern Police, among others. 

“I followed a non-linear career path, in part because I’ve always been open to the challenge of the unknown,” said Helmer. “Over the years, I’ve gotten to see how several different departments work and how they fit into our company’s overall operations. Learning other people’s priorities has helped me to understand how to operate more effectively.” 

Since joining the Advanced Train Control team two years ago, Helmer has worked to reduce NS’ carbon footprint by maximizing every gallon of diesel fuel used. The company has a target greenhouse-gas reduction goal of 42% by 2032 from a 2019 baseline year. The company has already made improvements to locomotive fuel efficiency over 9% since 2019.

Her work requires her to look at the present and future for energy sources, which includes biofuels, battery electric, and hydrogen to meet science-based targets around emissions. Helmer works with teams throughout the company such as Operations and Information Technology to set the path forward to reduce emissions.  

She also played a critical role in the development of a new carbon calculator that gives our customers the ability to estimate the difference of their carbon footprint when using rail instead of truck to ship commodities. We now use this tool to calculate fuel usage. 

“When we are operating at peak performance, we are doing the right thing with fuel efficiency,” says Helmer. To this end, her work advances our energy management goals, which include consistent operations, safe train handling, and fuel efficiency. 

In recognition of her efforts to advance environmental stewardship, Helmer received the Association of American Railroads’ 2022 John H. Chafee Environmental Excellence Award.

“Through her unique combination of skills, experience, and personal drive, Jamie is driving meaningful change at Norfolk Southern,” said Tom Schnautz, VP Advanced Train Control. “Her efforts show in our fuel efficiency improvements, where she works collaboratively with many teams across the entire company to reach our goals.” 

Helmer says her key to success has been listening and learning from the various experts she’s worked with over the years. “I’ve been open to new possibilities as far as my goals are concerned. Along the way, people have come to me with opportunities that were a good fit. Getting to work with so many groups across Norfolk Southern has been very rewarding.”