Core Values

Norfolk Southern is committed to protecting the quality of the environment for our employees, our customers, and our communities. The company’s core values reflect commitments to:

Ensure that all employees are trained in and fully understand the environmental requirements of their jobs and are responsible and accountable for conducting work activities in a manner that meets or exceeds environmental compliance standards
Ensure that appropriate public agencies and affected communities are informed about any incidents relating to company operations that have the potential to cause environmental harm
Minimize waste through activities such as recycling and reducing consumption of energy, and using environmentally preferred materials and nonpolluting technologies, procedures, and work practices
Protect the environmental quality of the corporation’s real estate through sound management of land, water, and other property resources
Cooperate fully with all governmental authorities charged with protecting the environment and regulating transportation of hazardous materials
Comply fully with laws and regulations protecting the environment and transporting environmentally sensitive materials

Our Environmental Protection Department and Environmental Policy Council are dedicated to ensuring that appropriate policies, procedures and resources are in place to address environmental health and safety considerations across the system.

The “Low-Carb” Way to Move Freight

Norfolk Southern Rapid growth and consumer demand are straining transportation networks across the country. Rail transportation helps relieve congestion on the nation’s highways, and the federal Environmental Protection Agency has noted that transportation by rail currently is the more environmentally friendly mode of transportation.

For example, the EPA estimates that a typical truck emits nearly three times as much nitrogen oxide and particulate matter than a locomotive on a ton-mile basis. If just 10 percent of the freight that currently moves by truck was diverted to rail, fuel savings would approach one billion gallons per year.

A 2005 Texas Transportation Institute study reported that Americans waste 3.7 billion hours in travel time and 2.3 billion gallons in fuel annually due to highway congestion. A single intermodal train can haul the same volume of freight as nearly 300 trucks. A train carrying freight other than intermodal can take up to 500 trucks off the highway. Freight trains move a ton of freight an average of 436 miles on a single gallon of diesel fuel. Plus, NS’ track and infrastructure are privately owned. As public opposition mounts against building more highways through communities, the intrinsic benefits of rail are more apparent.

Trains, Trucks, and Greenhouse Gases

Greenhouse gas emissions are directly related to fuel consumption. Because railroads are, on average, three or more times more fuel efficient than trucks, railroads have a smaller carbon footprint. Every ton-mile of freight that moves by rail instead of truck reduces greenhouse gas emissions by two-thirds or more. According to Environmental Protection Agency data, freight railroads account for just 2 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from transportation sources and well under 1 percent of greenhouse gas emissions from all sources.

By taking steps to attract more freight to railroads, policymakers can expand the greenhouse gas emissions benefits of rail transportation. Transportation-related greenhouse gas reductions would accrue more quickly if tax incentives for projects that expand rail capacity were instituted and if more public-private partnerships for freight railroad infrastructure projects were implemented.

Based on data from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, for each 1 percent of long-haul freight currently moving by truck that moved by rail instead, fuel savings in the U.S. would be approximately 111 million gallons per year and annual greenhouse gas emissions would fall by 1.2 million tons. If 10 percent of long-haul freight now moving by truck moved by rail instead, annual greenhouse gas emissions would fall by more than 12 million tons.

Reducing Fuel Consumption and Emissions

Locomotive Upgrades, Train-Handling Systems

Norfolk Southern is investing more than $100 million to upgrade its locomotive fleet. The company leads the rail industry with 73 percent of its locomotives already compliant with EPA emissions standards.

Norfolk Southern Upgrades include equipping some locomotives with distributive power capability to potentially lower fuel consumption. NS is testing a consist manager system from GE Rail to assess potential fuel savings from engine speed optimization. New Tier 2 and generator-set, or gen-set, locomotives are more environmentally friendly and significantly reduce fuel consumption and emissions.

Norfolk Southern has developed more efficient train-handling systems such as LEADER, a simple name for complex technology. LEADER stands for Locomotive Engineer Assist Display Event Recorder. The system functions using mathematical formulas to calculate optimal train-handling methods in real time, based on line segment grade and curvature. The information is displayed directly to train crews, helping them conserve fuel and reduce emissions.

Fleet Maintenance

Norfolk Southern is committed to use and development of sustainable maintenance procedures, including:

All railcar wheels are equipped with low-torque roller bearings at wheel renewal for fuel savings advantages.
Oil in locomotives and track equipment is changed using spectragraphical analysis rather than by schedules to conserve lubricating oil.

Locomotive Shutdown, Idle Reduction

Norfolk Southern’s locomotive shutdown and idle reduction policies work further to conserve fuel and reduce emissions.

Train crews shut down idling locomotives when operationally feasible. Internal communications programs, including staff audits, enhance understanding of and compliance with shutdown procedures, which are monitored by wireless technology installed on locomotives.
Idle reduction practices include use of auxiliary power units, automatic engine start-stop technologies, and smart stop systems.

Coloring Locomotives Green

Gen-set Norfolk Southern's black locomotives are becoming more and more "green" as evolving technology reduces fuel consumption and benefits the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

A prime example is development of generator-set engines. Unlike conventional locomotives that have a single engine, locomotives with “gen-sets” are powered by three 700-horsepower diesel engines. With multiple engines, we can modulate
the number of engines used at any given time, depending on the horsepower needed. The second and third engines come on line using microprocessor controls only as demand requires. That allows us to burn less fuel, resulting in fewer emissions and greater efficiency.

Gen-set equipped locomotives are expected to reduce emissions of oxides of nitrogen and particulate matter by up to 80 percent and achieve a 40 percent reduction in fuel consumption.

Sustainability Rankings

In March 2008, NS was named to a list of the nation's top 100 corporations in terms of corporate responsibility.

Companies were rated in eight categories, according to Dennis Schaal, editor in chief of CRO Magazine: Climate Change, Employee Relations, Environment, Financial, Governance, Human Rights, Lobbying and Philanthropy. Eligible companies were selected from the Russell 1000 index.

"We're pleased and delighted that CRO Magazine has recognized Norfolk Southern's and the railroad industry's accomplishments in the area of corporate responsibility. It's another clear indication that the industry stands ready to play an even greater role in helping to address our nation's growing infrastructure and environmental challenges. Communities, customers and consumers are the real winners when railroads are green," said NS Chairman, President and CEO Wick Moorman. "We've served our partners for nearly two centuries and our commitment to environmental stewardship will stand for future generations as well."

Where We Stand on TIH Transportation

Norfolk Southern shares the public’s concerns about the transportation of chlorine and similar Toxic by Inhalation (TIH) commodities.

Norfolk Southern Because we’re required under federal law, NS transports some 23,000 carloads of TIH commodities each year. This may be reasonable public policy, given that railroads are the safest way to transport TIHs. However, the money we make carrying these hazardous materials in no way justifies the risks we’re required to take in order to satisfy our “common carrier” obligation.

We believe, simply, that railroads should be relieved of the obligation to carry TIHs, or that statutory caps on liability are needed and appropriate to maintain the financial viability of the nation’s rail system.

In the meantime, NS has gone to great lengths to ensure the safe and secure transportation of TIH commodities. This includes:

Supporting product substitution and geographic substitution
Supporting new design requirements to make tank cars stronger and safer
Implementing a comprehensive security plan
Coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Department of Transportation, Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection, FBI, and various state Homeland Security offices
Participating in the voluntary Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program to help ensure integrity of freight shipments
Erecting physical barriers and new access control measures, issuing photo ID cards to employees, providing security-specific employee training, and increasing NS police patrol frequency
Providing info about TIH shipments to certain government agencies, and upon request to local emergency response agencies, in order to aid in their emergency response preparedness
Working through the Transportation Community Awareness and Emergency Response Program (TRANSCAER) to provide emergency response training, including TIH response, to organizations along the rail network

Recognizing that the transportation of TIHs mandated by our common carrier obligation is inherently risky, Norfolk Southern will continue to work to transport TIHs safely and securely even while pursuing policies that reduce and properly allocate those risks.

Environmental Issues

Norfolk Southern has dealt with a variety of environmental issues in the course of conducting railroad operations. Discussed below are two prominent incidents that reflect our commitment to correct and learn from those events that we have been unable to prevent.

Graniteville, Aiken Co., S.C.

On Jan. 6, 2005, a collision in Graniteville, S.C., between two NS trains caused the release of chlorine gas from a ruptured tank car. The accident resulted in the death of nine people, including an NS locomotive engineer. Some 250 people were injured, including an NS conductor, and approximately 5,400 residents were evacuated.

NS operating, safety and environmental and police forces immediately went to the scene to work with local emergency responders, hazardous materials contractors, and federal, state, and local officials.

Local authorities set up decontamination stations for residents and opened shelters for evacuees. NS opened an assistance center at a local church, where residents were able to speak with NS representatives, obtain financial assistance, and consult with medical personnel and representatives of the Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health.

NS provided financial assistance to residents to facilitate inspections, testing, repairs, and cleaning of homes, as well as handling claims for lost wages, property damage, inconvenience, and personal injury. The company offered to pay for home inspections to ensure that no traces of chlorine remained in the homes of those who had to evacuate.

McKean County, Pa.

A June 30, 2006, derailment in McKean County, Pa., resulted in a sodium hydroxide release. Today the area and waterway impacted by the incident have significantly recovered. To make that happen, NS:

Removed more than 4,600 cubic yards of material containing residual concentrations of sodium hydroxide from the east and west sides of the track and replaced with clean material and topsoil
Stabilized and restored sections of Portage Creek and Big Fill Hollow, which included planting 290 wetland and upland trees, 368 wetland shrubs, 1,944 live stake trees, and more than 5,000 individual wetland grass sedges. In addition, nearly 1.5 acres of land were seeded and mulched
Conducted a survey of aquatic life in Portage Creek, which indicated that it met designated and existing uses as exceptional value waters in accordance with regulatory criteria established by the Department of Environmental Protection
Installed 37 groundwater monitoring wells and 46 soil borings, collected 5,300 pH and temperature readings from surface water and seeps, and performed more than 6,000 conductivity tests to define the extent of potential impacts
Tested more than 100 residential water sources in two separate sampling periods, which in all instances confirmed that applicable standards were being met