NSPD, SWAT teams train for a more secure railroad

Hijack! It's the word no one wanted to hear, but it was the message relayed to Norfolk Southern police on Nov. 13. A train had been hijacked, and time was of the essence to secure it and the people aboard. NS police and members of the local police department's SWAT team prepared to retake the train.

That was the scenario for a joint training exercise between NS police and police departments in Lancaster and Dauphin counties in Columbia, Pa., about 35 miles from Harrisburg. The exercise was part of a cooperative effort to enhance homeland security.

"We look for opportunities to work with law enforcement and public safety organizations at all levels to improve security for our employees, our customers' freight, our facilities and the communities we serve," said Fred Alley, deputy director field operations for the NS police department. Alley said all railway police in North America now have representation on the FBI National Joint Terrorism Task Force. Curt Stanley, supervisory special agent from Norfolk, serves on it full time.

NS and local police prepare to retake a train in a simulated hijacking.

Nearly 50 officers participated in the Columbia session. Rich Bowes, supervisory special agent, and special agents Gary Mullen and Randy Sloan represented NS.

The day began with a complete description of railroad operations for the local police.

"We talked about our operations, rail equipment, how to identify our crews, safety procedures and who to contact in an emergency," Bowes said. "It helped our local police partners understand the issues we face in these kinds of situations."

Local police reciprocated with a discussion of police procedures, legal issues and specific SWAT team procedures.

The train used to simulate the hijacking consisted of a locomotive, two passenger coaches and a boxcar.

The larger group split into three working groups for the actual exercise.

"Each group was able to work in all the equipment," Bowes said. "That made for a very comprehensive experience."

Bowes said the configuration of the equipment gave each team a unique opportunity.

"The passenger coaches presented different problems for us, because we had to deal with the configuration of the passageways," Bowes said. "In one car, the aisle was easily accessible. In the other, we had to deal with a number of barriers before we could get into the car."

As the day ended, all three organizations had learned more about each other's operations and what kind of teamwork was required to deal successfully with a life-threatening situation.

"We learn more each time we work together, and it pays off when there's a real threat to our people or our property," Alley said.

NS reports third-quarter results

Norfolk Southern reported third-quarter 2003 net income of $137 million, or $0.35 per diluted share, compared with net income of $126 million, or $0.32 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2002.

"Despite a challenging environment, we managed to improve our net income and earnings per share and at the same time post the best operating performance metrics in our history, positioning ourselves for the future by improving service consistency, asset utilization and efficiency," said David R. Goode, chairman, president and chief executive officer.

For the first nine months, income from continuing operations, before required accounting changes, was $359 million or $0.92 per diluted share compared with net income of $331 million or $0.85 per diluted share for the same period in the prior year.

Net income during the first nine months was $483 million or $1.24 per diluted share and included a $114 million or $0.29 per diluted share gain largely due to a required change in accounting for the cost of removing railroad crossties, and a $10 million or $0.03 per diluted share gain from discontinued operations resulting from the 1998 sale of a former motor carrier subsidiary.

Third-quarter railway operating revenues of $1.60 billion were even with third quarter 2002. Year-to-date railway operating revenues of $4.79 billion were up $103 million, or 2 percent, compared to the same period a year earlier and established a new nine-month record.

Intermodal revenues in 2003 set a third-quarter record at $315 million and also a record for the first nine months, increasing 3 percent to $904 million compared to the same period a year earlier. The revenue growth reflects increases in converting traffic from the highway to the railroad.

Coal revenues improved slightly to $372 million in the quarter and increased 3 percent to $1.12 billion for the first nine months compared to the same period a year earlier, primarily due to increases in utility and export coal shipments.

Third-quarter general merchandise revenues declined 1 percent to $911 million compared to the same period of 2002. Automotive revenues decreased 11 percent, primarily due to slowed manufacturing and model changeovers, while agricultural, paper and forest products and chemicals reported increased revenues. For the first nine months, general merchandise revenues rose 1 percent to $2.77 billion compared with the year-earlier nine-month period.

Railway operating expenses for the quarter remained unchanged at $1.29 billion compared to third quarter 2002 but were up 3 percent to $3.95 billion for the first nine months compared to the same period last year largely due to lower pension income and increases in employee wages and medical benefits, as well as higher diesel fuel prices.

For the quarter, the railway operating ratio remained unchanged at 80.5 percent compared with the same period of 2002. For the first nine months, the operating ratio rose from 81.4 percent to 82.5 percent.

Norfolk Southern, BLE reach agreement

Norfolk Southern and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers reached a new agreement, with terms through 2009, that continues to link engineers' compensation to the company's corporate performance.

The agreement provides engineers with an annual bonus opportunity based on the same financial performance criteria that determines management bonuses. The BLE has participated in NS' bonus program since 1996.

Other highlights of the agreement include wage increases in 2005 and 2007, enhancements to the BLE's 401k plan and incentive pay for weekend/holiday work.

BLE General Chairman R.C. Wallace said, "We want to take the lead in helping NS become more customer-focused and more successful. We expect to show results that will trigger even higher bonus payments."

NS Senior Vice President Administration Jim Hixon said, "This agreement continues our cooperative and mutually beneficial partnership. By resolving the contract issues now, we will be able to focus our combined energies on improving operating efficiency and customer service on the railroad."

BLE General Chairman L.W. Sykes said, "Engineers have a dramatic impact on the success of NS' operations. This agreement allows our members to prosper by helping NS to prosper."

BLE General Chairman W.E. Knight said, "The bonus program has proven financially beneficial to our members. We all need to work hard to ensure the success of the program continues."

It's peak time all the time for NS and UPS

Imagine that the item you order as a holiday gift doesn't arrive on time. That would be unacceptable to you. It's unacceptable to Norfolk Southern and United Parcel Service, too. To ensure that doesn't happen, NS and UPS meet annually to review operating plans and focus on a failure-free peak season.

"This is the time when UPS traffic peaks with holiday shipping in addition to our usual traffic," said Randy Survant, group manager intermodal marketing. "It's essential that we stay focused on zero service failures during this period."

NS' intermodal group works with operating departments to keep UPS shipments moving. Plans call for adding locomotives when necessary, fueling at Chicago instead of Elkhart, Ind., having extra end- of-train devices available and making sure people are in place to respond quickly to any potential service failure. NS' Thoroughbred Operating Plan also makes a difference.

"We meet with people across the system to review our plan and address any issues that may arise before peak time begins," Survant said. "We make sure everyone is committed to our operating plan and to being as flexible as possible within that plan. That way we can head off any problems and focus on flawless performance."

NS has shifted its focus from zero failures only during peak season to all year long, Survant said. "Our slogan is 'peak time all the time,' and it's really paying off."

That kind of focus is paying off already for NS intermodal shipments overall, with on-time performance better than 90 percent in the third quarter.

Link Museum to open January 2004

A museum devoted to the work of the late O. Winston Link, who became one of the 20th century's most acclaimed photographers for his dramatically lit black and white photographs of trains and railroad towns, will open in the newly renovated Norfolk & Western Railway passenger station in Roanoke January 2004.

David Goode, Norfolk Southern chairman, president and chief executive officer, and former NW chairman and chief executive officer Jack Fishwick, both natives of the Roanoke area, are honorary co-chairs for a fundraising effort to launch the museum.

The 15,000-square-foot museum will house the largest collection of Link's work, including 190 signed prints, 85 estate prints and all 2,400 of Link's negatives. The collection also is expected to include recently recovered stolen prints, some of which never have been seen by the public. The prints recently were recovered after they appeared on an Internet auction site.

Link photographed NW steam locomotives as they passed through towns in Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland from 1955 until 1960, when steam operations were terminated.

He requested before his death in 2001 that a museum bearing his name be located in the old NW passenger station in Roanoke, where he took some of his photographs. The station was built in 1905 and redesigned in 1947 by world-renowned industrial designer Raymond Loewy. It served as the hub of five main rail lines radiating to points in Ohio, North Carolina, Maryland and Tennessee.

In addition to Link's work, the museum will exhibit his photographic equipment, prints not on formal display and NW artifacts. A virtual rail experience will allow visitors to "take a trip" to the towns he photographed.

At the museum's fund-raising kickoff, Goode announced a Norfolk Southern Foundation pledge of $300,000 toward establishment of the museum. "Additionally, NS people - active and retired - have pledged more than $200,000, which also will be matched by our foundation. So, the family is committed so far for three quarters of a million dollars.

"It is entirely fitting that Norfolk Southern and its people take a leading role in supporting a museum that will preserve and display for the enjoyment of future generations the works of Winston Link. The museum will be a tribute not only to a great artist, but also to a great railroad," Goode said.

New crew change center streamlines operations, reduces delays

A new crew change center opened outside Manassas, Va. It is designed to improve emergency vehicle access, reduce downtown traffic congestion and help Norfolk Southern operate more efficiently and safely on a core intermodal route.

Previously, crews changed at a small yard downtown, resulting in vehicular traffic delays on increasingly congested roads crossing NS tracks. The new center and other rail improvements mean most trains move through the city without stopping, and auto traffic waits a maximum of one to two minutes as they pass.

The center was the last of three projects resulting from a study in March 1992. The Virginia Department of Transportation and Virginia Department of Rail and Transportation conducted the Railroad Realignment Study with input from the city, Prince William County and NS. Improvements include realigning curved track at Wellington Road to keep freight moving smoothly through the city, installing double track and constructing the crew change center at Bristow, and shifting crew change operations from the center of the city to the county.

"These projects represent an important commitment by all of us to improve the community's quality of life while recognizing the need for smooth rail freight operations," said Charlie Rickman, superintendent Piedmont Division. Joining Rickman, Virginia State Sen. Chuck Colgan, Del. Harry Parrish, Manassas Mayor Marvin Gillum, and Prince William County Supervisor Ben Thompson at a ribbon-cutting ceremony were several NS employees who had key roles in the projects. They included Dave Orrison, system engineer public projects; Ron Phillips, architectural engineer; Ken Hearn, manager architectural services; Wiley McCain, engineer planning, Brian Matthews; track supervisor, and trainmaster Bob Logan.

NS 2004 wall calendars, new merchandise available

Are you looking for that perfect gift? Why not order a 2004 Norfolk Southern wall calendar or check out the new merchandise in NS' Company Store?

New merchandise catalogs will be sent to NS employees in time for holiday shopping. You can also check NS' Web site at www.nscorp.com for new items.

Calendars can be purchased for $9.95 (including tax, postage and handling) using a credit card by calling toll-free 1-800-264-4394 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST, or by sending a check or money order for that amount to:

Norfolk Southern Calendar
c/o Nyberg, Fletcher and White
2915 Whittington Ave.
Baltimore, Md. 21230

TRANSCAER brings safety message to NS communities

Emergency responders in five southeastern cities received hands-on training in the safe transportation of hazardous materials as part of Norfolk Southern's TRANSCAER® Whistle-Stop Tour.

NS sponsored the special train in October that brought demonstrations of the latest technology and methods to manage hazardous materials.

"We had many objectives in this tour, and we met them all," said Mike Stiner, assistant manager hazardous materials. "We were able to reach a large number of community members and emergency responders in a short time."

Participants in this year's tour included fire departments, emergency response contractors, other railroads, elected officials and local emergency planning committees. Kathryn Boer, a hazardous materials coordinator for the emergency planning committee in District IV, helped coordinate the tour's stop in Jacksonville, Fla.

"I've received a lot of great responses," Boer said. "The event not only bolstered awareness on how to deal with chemicals, it also fostered mutually beneficial relationships between responders and administrative emergency management personnel."

In addition to Jacksonville, stops on the tour included Forsyth, Savannah and Augusta, Ga., and Charleston S.C. More than 1,000 participants received training that included response to tank car incidents, locomotive fires and radiological emergencies.

"We counted the tour as a success on all levels," Stiner said. "We've raised the comfort level of emergency responders and the general public all along our route. They know there are many resources available to help them safely deal with hazardous materials."

Transportation Community Awareness and Emergency Response is a voluntary national outreach effort that focuses on assisting communities in preparing for a possible hazardous material transportation incident.

NS meets new ISO 9001:2000 standards

Sandusky Docks and Norfolk Southern's training processes have received ISO 9001:2000 registration, bringing to eight the number of major work groups now registered under the new standards. "We had to show a number of enhancements to our quality processes to achieve this goal," said Jeff Yates, assistant superintendent Virginia Division (formerly assistant vice president quality management.) "Those enhancements include evidence of continual improvement reflected in our adoption of Six Sigma methodology, a greater customer focus and the involvement of upper management."

The company had until this month to meet the new standards. The work groups received their registrations well in advance of the deadline.

The Charlotte Roadway Shop and Lambert's Point Pier 6 received their registration spring 2002; the research and tests department, major mechanical shops and the Wheelersburg Coal Terminal in fall 2002; and the transportation department in spring 2003.

"Achieving this goal is important for our future. It demonstrates our solid commitment to continual quality improvement, and shows our customers and our partners that NS quality is something they can depend on," Yates said.

ISO 9001:2000 is a globally recognized quality standard established by the International Organization for Standardization in Geneva, Switzerland.