NS, TRANSCAER deliver safety training on hazardous material handling

Emergency responders in five cities received hands-on training as part of Norfolk Southern’s TRANSCAER Whistle Stop Tour Oct. 11-15. 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.

“Our purpose is to provide hands-on training to the emergency response community in the event that a hazardous material incident occurs in their community,” said Tom Davis, assistant manager hazardous materials and coordinator for this year’s event. “When something such as a derailment happens, timing is extremely critical. Knowing what to do at an incident is really emphasized during the exercises.”

Davis said there were demonstrations on the safe handling of hazardous materials plus 20 different classes held at each stop on the tour. Standard classroom topics included tank car recognition, air monitoring issues, selecting the correct personal protective equipment, and information about Operation Lifesaver. In addition to standard classes, several new classes were added to this year’s tour, including instructions on handling intermodal portable tanks, radioactive materials, flaring flammable gas, information about cargo tanks on the highway using 21st century technology, derailment safety for first responders and managing a derailment.

The tour stopped at Decatur, Ill.; St. Louis; Princeton, Ind., Louisville; and Danville, Ky. Participants in this year’s tour included fire departments, emergency response contractors, other railroads, elected officials and local emergency planning committees. In addition to NS, sponsors included Dupont, British Petroleum, GATX, the American Chemistry Council, Operation Respond, the Association of American Railroads and others, some of whom provided training equipment for the exercises.

“We had 850 to 1,000 people attending this year’s event, despite some rain,” Davis said. “People seemed eager to learn, and we were equally eager to teach.

“There was an effort from many different organizations to put this together. A lot of work was involved, and we received a wonderful amount of help. The way communities embraced us and what we were trying to do was gratifying, because this is ultimately about them and equipping them with the necessary tools to handle dangerous materials while maintaining public safety,” Davis said.

Atlanta operations begin move to new location

For many years, Norfolk Southern’s Atlanta operations have been spread among several different office locations. With the acquisition of a building formerly owned by AT&T, that is changing. The company’s Atlanta operations soon will be under one roof.

The 1200 Peachtree St. site was selected because of its midtown Atlanta location, close proximity to hotels and restaurants, and its overall convenience.

Blair Wimbush, vice president real estate, said midtown is becoming one of Atlanta’s hottest office complex areas.

“The financial district is gradually shifting from downtown to midtown Atlanta. What makes this particular building so attractive is that it provides a quality work environment in close proximity to restaurants, hotels and cultural opportunities. Within three to five blocks, there are 50 or more restaurants, several hotels, a subway station and an art museum,” Wimbush said.

The move to Peachtree Street will consolidate several departments currently housed in five separate locations. “While our operations in Atlanta are very productive, we hope this move will provide improved communication, coordination and enhanced efficiency,” Wimbush said.

The building has received rave reviews from those who already have moved in. Judy Reece, director IT, moved from leased NS offices on North Ave. in October.

“We love it,” Reece said. “The facilities are very nice. There are plenty of trees that make the scenery extremely beautiful, and we even have a public park right near the building.”

Reece said coordination with other departments will become much more fluid once they all have moved.

“Coordination will be phenomenally better as they come from Spring Street,” Reece said. “Correspondence will be a lot easier, and things will be done more efficiently.”

Wimbush said there is no scheduled completion date for the move, and most departments will be in the new location by the end of 2005.

NS, CN, CP announce agreement to improve freight service between Eastern Canada and the Eastern U.S.

Norfolk Southern, Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway announced an agreement that will significantly improve freight service between Eastern Canada and the Eastern United States.

The three-party arrangement, effective Nov. 19, gives NS and CN a seamless, direct north-south routing over CPR’s lines south of Montreal that slices as much as two days’ transit time off some 20,000 annual shipments. It also increases freight traffic density and revenues on CPR’s wholly owned subsidiary, the Delaware and Hudson Railway.

CN-NS traffic destined for the Eastern United States will move in CPR trains on CPR’s line between Rouses Point and Saratoga Springs, N.Y., under a freight haulage arrangement between CPR and NS. This CN-NS traffic will then move in NS trains over CPR’s line between Saratoga Springs and the NSR connection near Harrisburg, Pa., under a trackage rights agreement between CPR and NS.

The new agreement cuts 330 miles off the prior routing used by CN and NS, which had freight traffic handled more circuitously through the Buffalo, N.Y., gateway.

“We continue to identify and implement efficiencies benefiting shippers throughout North America. This agreement demonstrates our commitment to aggressively pursue opportunities to improve service,” said David R. Goode, NS chairman and chief executive officer.

Rob Ritchie, president and chief executive officer of CPR, said: “This is an important initiative that takes costs out of the rail industry by placing freight traffic on the most efficient routing without regard to ownership. It also creates a significant source of new earnings for our Delaware and Hudson subsidiary and is another major milestone in improving the profitability and value of this part of our network.”

E. Hunter Harrison, president and chief executive officer of CN, said: “This three-railroad agreement will benefit both customers and railroads. First, it will offer CN’s existing merchandise carload customers in Quebec and the Maritimes quicker access to important consuming markets in the Eastern United States. And second, it will enable the participating railroads to improve the utilization of their networks and locomotive and car fleets.”

NS police shut down chop shop

Norfolk Southern Special Agent Felix Turner Jr. was making his rounds in New Orleans the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 20, when he spotted a suspicious vehicle traveling on a private NS road. Knowing that only NS employees use the road, Turner followed the vehicle.

While doing that, he called for backup from his supervisor, Ron Bible, supervisory special agent.

“I explained to him what I had seen and told him to back me up so we could investigate further,” Turner said. Bible wasted no time in arriving.

When Bible arrived on the scene, he and Turner proceeded toward the parked vehicle. As they approached, they recognized the occupants and called out to them. One of them tried to flee, only to be caught a short distance away. The other was captured while trying to hide under the vehicle.

To their surprise, Turner and Bible discovered 18 other vehicles that were either burned or stripped of their parts. The area obviously had been used as a chop shop, where stolen vehicles are stripped of their parts for sale.

“It wasn’t hard to put two and two together, so we notified the New Orleans Police Department,” said Turner.

The two men were arrested and charged with trespassing and car theft. New Orleans Police are investigating to identify other participants in the operation.

GoRail promotes rail benefits, issues

Railroad and rail supply industry officials have launched a nonprofit grass roots organization called GoRail. Its mission is to mobilize the industry’s half-million employees and retirees to promote a positive railroad agenda and to get the word out about the public benefits of railroading.

“GoRail’s message is simple,” said GoRail director Shannon Bagato. “A strong and growing railroad industry is essential for America’s future, and harmful policies like reregulation and unfair taxation would hurt not just the railroad industry, but all Americans. What we need are pro-rail policies that will grow the business, reduce highway congestion and create new economic opportunities.”

Norfolk Southern’s Atlanta employees were the company’s first group to become involved in the organization. GoRail representatives made presentations to NS managers, and managers carried the message back to their respective departments. Employees can sign up to receive e-mail messages from GoRail about important industry issues. Armed with that information, they will be asked to contact the appropriate government representatives or agencies to advocate the industry’s point of view.

“There is a great deal of interest in this effort,” said Marshall Sheets, assistant vice president accounting operations. “We had a large number of Atlanta accounting department employees sign up right away.”

Sheets said kiosks were placed near entrances at NS’ Spring Street and 1200 Peachtree St. locations so more employees could learn about GoRail. Presentations will be made in other locations as well. Employees also will be able to access information and sign up through GoRail’s Web site at www.gorail.org.

“GoRail is a way to get the bigger-picture view and to be involved in issues that can seriously affect our future,” Sheets said. “It gives us the ability to speak with a stronger voice as a company and as an industry, and to make the case for investment in more efficient and environmentally friendly transportation.”

New labor agreements effective Jan. 1, 2005

Representatives of Norfolk Southern and the organizations of electricians, boilermakers/blacksmiths and sheet metal workers have successfully negotiated single collective bargaining agreements. Effective Jan. 1, 2005, shop craft employees represented by these organizations will be covered by the newly negotiated agreements. The systemwide agreements, resulting in a uniform set of working rules for employees within these crafts, closely follow the pattern established by the Carman Agreement that became effective on Jan. 1, 2003.

“This agreement will assure that all electricians on NS will be governed by the same contractual rules, many of which have been clarified to eliminate a lot of confusion for labor and management alike,” said Cliff A. Meredith, general chairman, International Brotherhood of Electricial Workers. “NS also has committed to provide each employee a copy of this new agreement and changes such as the new transfer rule will be very beneficial.”

Dan Hamilton, international representative for the Boilermakers/Blacksmiths said, “A lot of hard work went into the single agreement. I’m very pleased by the way we were able to work through all of the issues and provide the employees I represent a single agreement in which all of their working rules can be found or are referenced.”

Representatives of the sheet metal workers said consolidating the various agreements will serve the best interests of the employees as well as the company.

“A great deal of time and effort went into these agreements. Everyone involved is verypleased that all of their hard work resulted in clear and concise documents that represent the collective efforts of all parties to standardize the working rules for the benefit of the employees and the company at all points across the system,” said Tony Licate, NS director labor relations.

WiNS hosts leadership speakers series

Norfolk Southern’s women’s network, WiNS, held a speaker series in November in Norfolk, Roanoke and Atlanta. The group hosted midday events focusing on leadership. The purpose of the events was to help prepare WiNS members for greater achievement in their business and personal lives.

Roseann Runte

Three accomplished and distinguished women spoke at the lunchtime sessions. Roseann Runte, president Old Dominion University, spoke in Norfolk; Evelyn Bradshaw, director Horizon program at Hollins University, spoke in Roanoke; and Deborrah Himsel, vice president organizational effectiveness at Avon, spoke in Atlanta.

WiNS membership is open to all nonagreement NS employees. To join, access the Employee Resource Center through the NS Web site www.nscorp.com, and select CareerTrack, then Career Training. WiNS is listed among the training course choices. Select WiNS and follow the instructions to join.

NS aims for flawless performance during UPS peak season

Norfolk Southern and United Parcel Service are facing one of their busiest peak shipping seasons in many years. Peak season runs from Nov. 25 through Dec. 24. It is a time when flawless performance means consumer goods and holiday gifts arrive on time.

“Receiving packages from UPS when we expect them, and not having to wonder when, and if, they’re going to arrive on time is something we can all relate to. This is a time when it’s essential that we all work together to achieve zero service failures,” said Randy Survant, director intermodal marketing.

NS’ intermodal business has seen double-digit growth over the past few years. It’s the result of good planning and execution, according to Mike McClellan, vice president intermodal marketing.

“Clearly, our solid operating plan has brought service improvements that are driving our growth,” McClellan said. “UPS has given us more business because of our improved service, so this peak season is more important than ever.”

To keep UPS shipments moving, NS’ intermodal group works with operating departments to ensure success. 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.

“We meet with people across the system to review our plan and address any issues that 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 problems and focus on flawless performance.”

All that hard work paid off in 2003 and into 2004, when NS set a Class I railroad record of 201 consecutive days of zero failures.

“I know we can do even better if we all stay focused on service,” Survant said. “It’s been the key to growing our business, and I expect we’ll see even more growth if we’re successful.”

Looking for that perfect gift?

Look no further than the Norfolk Southern Company Store. Accessed through the company’s Web site, the store offers a variety of items from clothing to golf gear to travel gear. Check it out at www.nscorp.com.

Also available are NS 2005 calendars for $10.95 (including tax, postage and handling). Use a credit card by calling toll-free 1-800-264-4394 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST, or send a check or money order to:

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