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| Norfolk Southern Corporation | Volume 4, Issue 1, January 2004 |
Ground was broken Dec. 17 for a coke plant that will bring new business for Norfolk Southern. Sun Coke Company is constructing the plant in Haverhill, Ohio, for International Steel Group.
The facility will receive coal for producing coke, which fires furnaces used to produce steel. NS will transport outbound coke to East Chicago, Cleveland and Sparrows Point, Md. Volume of inbound coal delivered by NS is expected to be nearly 800,000 tons, which will produce 550,000 tons of outbound coke.
"We've been working on this for some time, and it's rewarding to see it come to fruition," said Tony Wade, director domestic metallurgical coal. "We expect to see volumes grow as the demand for coke continues to rise."
Construction at Haverhill North Coke Company is expected to last 18 to 24 months.
Norfolk Southern received Schneider National Inc.'s Partners in Quality Award for its 2003 achievements in service, innovation, continuous improvement and ease of doing business. The award was presented in November at the Intermodal Expo and Intermodal Association of North America Annual Membership Meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
"Our rail carriers are a critical part of the success Schneider National is having in intermodal," said Brian Bowers, Schneider's vice president of intermodal. "Without their dedication to us, we would not be able to deliver trucklike time-in-transit at competitive prices. Schneider National is pleased to recognize Norfolk Southern for its commitment to delivering superior service and promoting intermodal as a reliable transportation alternative."
NS was honored in large part because of its on-time performance. The railroad provided the highest level of on-time performance to Schneider National of any of the major railroads in 2003.
"It is an honor for Norfolk Southern to receive Schneider's Partners in Quality Award," said Mike McClellan, NS vice president intermodal marketing. "We are committed to meeting Schneider's service-sensitive needs, and we will continue to seek new ways to offer innovative, value-added services to help Schneider operate its business efficiently."
Burton M. Joyce, chairman of the board of IPSCO, Inc., was elected a director of Norfolk Southern Corporation.
Joyce has been chairman of IPSCO, a leading electric-furnace, flat-rolled steel producer, since 2000. Before that he was vice chairman, president and chief executive officer of Terra Industries, Inc., having risen since 1986 through key executive positions with Terra and a predecessor company. He previously had held executive positions with United Technologies, Compu-graphic Corporation, Airco and Ernst & Ernst.
A graduate of Miami University of Ohio with a B.S. degree in accounting, Joyce resides in Penhook, Va.
A series of transportation department safety workshops took place across Norfolk Southern's system over the past few months. The eight-hour sessions brought an important message to all NS employees.
"The message is all about getting back to the basics of railroading," said Tony Ingram, senior vice president transportation network and mechanical.
Workshops were facilitated by a conductor or engineer and a supervisor from their respective divisions. Topics included the history of NS' safety process, communication, job safety briefings, leading causes of injuries, START, security training and derailment analysis. Each session ended with a discussion about local issues. More than 14,000 operations employees attended the workshops.
"The better trained our employees are and the more knowledge they have to complete their work assignments, the safer they will be," Ingram said. "Working safely and complying with the rules means our people go home to their families injury-free every day."
Norfolk Southern plans to spend $810 million in 2004 for capital improvements to its railroad operations and subsidiaries.
"Our capital spending budget reflects our commitment to providing the highest levels of service and safety for our customers and to utilizing our equipment and facilities efficiently," said Chairman, President and CEO David R. Goode.
The anticipated spending includes $517 million for roadway projects and $258 million for equipment.
In roadway improvements, the largest expenditure will be $384 million for rail, crosstie, ballast and bridge programs. In addition, $29 million is provided for communications, signal and electrical projects, $19 million for maintenance of way equipment and $16 million for environmental projects and public improvements such as grade crossing separations and crossing signal upgrades.
Equipment spending includes $178 million to purchase 100 six-axle locomotives, upgrade existing locomotives, certify and rebuild 390 multilevel automobile racks and purchase 212 bilevel racks at the end of their lease. Equipment spending also includes $42 million for projects related to computers, systems and information technology.
Business and industrial development initiatives total $64 million and include roadway and equipment spending for increased track capacity and access to coal receivers, bulk transfer facilities, and vehicle production and distribution facilities; investments in intermodal terminals and equipment to add capacity to the intermodal network; and additional investments in NS' Triple Crown Services and TransWorks subsidiaries.
A series of senior-level executive and organizational changes was announced following completion of Norfolk Southern's voluntary separation program for non-agreement employees. The changes also reflect efficiencies realized from the company's continuing activity value analysis, said David R. Goode, NS chairman, president and chief executive officer.
"I am pleased that the board of directors acted on these changes so that we can implement the benefits of these programs quickly and move forward with a business plan that emphasizes growth and operational efficiency," Goode said.
James A. Hixon, formerly senior vice president administration, was named senior vice president legal and government affairs, with responsibility for the company's legal activities; federal, state and community activities, and corporate governance. James A. Squires, formerly senior general counsel, was named vice president law and will report to Hixon.
Tony L. Ingram, formerly vice president transportation operations, was named senior vice president transportation network and mechanical, with responsibility for transportation services, mechanical facilities and equipment utilization.
Mark D. Manion, formerly vice president transportation services and mechanical, was named senior vice president transportation operations, with responsibility for transportation field operations and customer service.
Kathryn B. McQuade, formerly senior vice president financial planning, was named senior vice president finance, with responsibility for financial planning, treasury and accounting. Marta R. Stewart, formerly assistant vice president corporate accounting, was named vice president and controller, reporting to McQuade.
Charles W. Moorman, formerly senior vice president corporate services and president of Thoroughbred Technology and telecommunications Inc. (T-Cubed), was named senior vice president corporate planning and services, with responsibility for strategic planning, public relations, passenger rail relationships, the Eastern Carolina Business Unit and T-Cubed.
John P. Rathbone, formerly senior vice president and controller, was named senior vice president administration, with responsibility for human resources, labor relations and material management.
Donald W. Seale, formerly senior vice president merchandise marketing, was named senior vice president marketing services, with expanded responsibility for merchandise commodity groups, coal, automotive and MODALGISTICS.®
Daniel D. Smith, formerly president of NS Development, was named senior vice president energy and properties with responsibility for coal marketing, real estate and Pocahontas Land Corp., reporting to Seale.
Robert E. Martínez, formerly vice president marketing services and international, was named vice president business development, with responsibility for industrial development and international and ports business. He continues to report to L. I. Prillaman, vice chairman and chief marketing officer.
Norfolk Southern took part in the first cross-country movement of alternative-fuel school buses in a new type of railcar known as a unilevel. In the past, railroads did not have enclosed railcars with enough inside clearance for large vehicles, and the prospect of moving them on open flatcars offered too many chances for damage en route. With the prototype cars, rail became a more viable option than driving the buses across country, because of limited availability of fuels such as LNG and vehicle size that makes truck transportation expensive.
Four alternative-fuel buses were driven from a factory in High Point, N.C., to NS' automotive vehicle distribution facility at Winston-Salem, N.C., where they were loaded into prototype railcars. The railcars were interchanged to the Union Pacific Railroad at Kansas City, Mo., for their journey to Los Angeles and delivery to short line Pacific Harbor Line for unloading at Wilmington, Calif.
The sound of an explosion ripped through the air. Another one followed. The sounds came from an area in Port Newark, N.J., where shipping containers were stored. Emergency responders including Norfolk Southern police reacted. Port Authority Police received a call from the Rhode Island State Police saying that five containers had been stolen from a medical supply company, and a terrorist group claimed responsibility for the blasts and threatened more mayhem.
This was the scenario for a port security exercise to test Port Newark's emergency response capabilities. More than 600 emergency responders and law enforcement personnel took part. In addition to NS police, Port Authority Police, the U.S. Coast Guard, the FBI, New Jersey State Police, CSX police, U.S. Customs personnel and the Waterfront Commission participated. A command post was set up near the Shared Assets Area's Port Newark Yard.
"This was a great opportunity for us to practice our response to this kind of event, and get to know federal, state and local emergency responders much better," said Joe Geng, NS police special agent in charge. "We also had the opportunity to practice working as a team."
Geng said NS was outside the "hot zone," so police agents did not have to respond to the disaster directly.
"We provided support by sealing off the railroad, which borders the entire west side of the port. We manned the Port Newark Yard office in the event NS had to shut down other rail lines in the area or move trains from the area," Geng said.
NS police also blocked off access roads to the port and secured posts on the railroad.
The drill tested the ability of all the groups to work together to contain a major terrorist threat and action. All passed with flying colors.
"Fortunately, this was only an exercise, but had it been the real thing, we know we could work together very effectively to mitigate the situation," Geng said.
Norfolk Southern's Harrisburg Division employees wanted to honor three transportation department employees called to active duty. Train dispatchers Joe Ether and Dustin Sinkkanen and conductor Jim Herbst were called to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The division launched "Operation MLOA" (military leave of absence) to thank their co-workers for their sacrifice, and to stay in touch regularly.
In thanks for their service, each will receive an NS Veterans Month poster as a personal memento. While on active duty, they also receive an NS care package quarterly from division headquarters. The packages contain the latest safety newsletters, safety incentive gifts, cards and goodwill messages from the division superintendent and other employees.
"The bonds established through this experience include not just those who were called to active duty, but also family members, co-workers and office staff at division headquarters," said Sandy Baer, division office manager, who coordinated the project.
Ether said he appreciated hearing news from home. Herbst's wife called the division to say that the care packages brought a little sunshine to his life while stationed away from home. The couple plans to visit division headquarters and personally thank all involved in the effort when he returns.
As of this writing, Ether, serving in the U.S. Navy Reserve, has returned; Herbst, serving in the Army Reserve, is expected to return shortly; and Sinkkanen, serving in the Air Force Reserve, remains on active duty.
Roger Gregg, a carman at Sevier Yard in Tennessee, was called to active duty January 2001 to work on the investigation into the bombing of the USS Cole. He remains on active duty in the Washington, D.C., area. His most recent duties place him in the Pentagon working for the Chief of Naval Operations dealing with Antiterrorism/Force Protection and Law Enforcement/Physical Security.
Croxton (N.J.) Intermodal Terminal received the Chairman's Award from Bi-State Motor Carriers Association as the "most outstanding off-pier intermodal terminal." Terminal personnel were cited for outstanding service to the motor carriers' group.
Triple Crown Services Company recently picked up its 3 millionth truckload. Avery Dennison's Fasson Roll N.A. facility in Fort Wayne, Ind., loaded the trailer for a shipment to its Gainesville, Ga., operation. Triple Crown Services marked the occasion with a presentation of a plaque at the Avery Dennison's Fort Wayne office. Jim Newton, president; Art Miller, vice president sales and marketing; and Ben Shelton, regional marketing manager, made the presentation on behalf of Triple Crown to Avery Dennison representatives Bill Yahne, service and logistics manager; Terry McDonald, service and logistics group manager; and Steve Hoopengardner, shipping coordinator.
Already the most environmentally friendly way to move freight, railroads could grow even greener if a Norfolk Southern pilot program pans out.
During an 18-month pilot, NS will test the Locomotive Engineer Assist Display and Event Recorder. LEADER® is a computer system that helps engineers determine the best train handling for fuel efficiency, scheduling and safety. The NS pilot project is a partnership with New York Air Brake Corp., General Electric Transportation Systems and the Federal Railroad Administration research office, which provided a $615,000 grant.
The patented LEADER system, which was developed by New York Air Brake Corp., will be installed on 15 GE Dash 9 locomotives, owned by NS and equipped with General Electric's LocoComm® technology. The locomotives will be assigned to trains operating over the 104-mile Winston-Salem line, which runs from Roanoke, Va., to Belews Creek, N.C.
LEADER works by continuously logging the operating state of the train in its memory. Over a number of trips the software accounts for all energy used in moving the train and creates a statistical profile of the operation. That data is then used to develop the highest energy-efficient trip - called a "Golden Run" - and help engineers repeat it on subsequent trips by prompting them in real time to adjust locomotive throttle and brakes for optimal performance.
"LEADER has the potential to be the next major advance in train handling," said John Samuels, NS senior vice president operations planning and support. "Not only is there the opportunity to achieve significant fuel savings - a real benefit to the environment and potentially to our bottom line - but also to improve safety."
"We are confident the LEADER pilot program will demonstrate its ability to yield significant fuel savings as well as improve train handling methods, contributing to a safer environment," said Marshall Beck, senior vice president of marketing and sales for New York Air Brake. "We are delighted that NS will be field testing LEADER and appreciate the FRA's funding support. The partnership with GE Transportation Systems also represents an important step in realizing the technology's potential."