Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Agrees in Principle to Settle East Palestine Derailment Class Action Lawsuit

ATLANTA –– Norfolk Southern Corporation announced Tuesday that it has reached a $600 million agreement in principle to resolve a consolidated class action lawsuit relating to the East Palestine derailment. If approved by the court, the agreement will resolve all class action claims within a 20-mile radius from the derailment and, for those residents who choose to participate, personal injury claims within a 10-mile radius from the derailment.

Bridge Collapse Shuts Down Port of Baltimore — From Our Colleagues at Railway Age

BALTIMORE – The tragic early morning collapse of the I-695 Francis Scott Key Bridge, which spans the Patapsco River, following a bridge strike by a container ship weighing 95,000 gross tons, has brought the Port of Baltimore, an important trade hub, to a halt. The Port of Baltimore has suspended all vessel traffic into and out of the port until further notice. The accident is a serious blow to the port operations of both CSX and Norfolk Southern, particularly for intermodal container, automotive and coal traffic.

NS EVP and Chief Marketing Officer Ed Elkins: Rail Group On Air Podcast

Norfolk Southern Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Ed Elkins began his railroad career at Norfolk Southern in 1988 as a Road Brakeman after serving in the United States Marine Corps. Appointed CMO in 2021, he leads the company’s Intermodal, Automotive and Industrial Products business divisions, and also manages the Real Estate, Industrial Development, Short Line Marketing, Field Sales, and Customer Logistics business groups. In this Rail Group On Air Podcast, Elkins and Railway Age Editor-in Chief William C. Vantuono discuss NS’s accomplishments in 2023 attracting new business and growing existing business, as well as expectations going forward. What markets and commodities offer the most growth potential?

Report: Activist Investor Attempting NS Takeover — Commentary Through Our Railway Age Colleagues

ATLANTA ––According to an unsubstantiated late-Jan. 31 Wall Street Journal article, an investor group led by activist Ancora Holdings Group, LLC intends to run a proxy fight and replace Norfolk Southern President and CEO Alan Shaw. Ancora has reportedly built a position in NS and would likely try to take control of the Board to enact management and operational changes. We highlighted this as the number one risk in our downgrade earlier this week. NSC was up ~5% after hours. Story by Jason Seidl, Matt Elkott, Elliot Alper and Uday Khanapurkar, TD Cowen

USDOT Awards $4.9B for Mega, INFRA Projects

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is distributing $4.9 billion to 37 nationwide projects through the FY 2023-24 Mega (National Infrastructure Project Assistance) and INFRA (Infrastructure for Rebuilding America) grant programs. Twelve rail-related projects will receive a total of $1.6 billion; the Pier B project at the Port of Long Beach and the Louisiana International Terminal project at the Port of New Orleans are among the winners.

NS Performance Excellence, with VP Transportation Joe Gioe – RAIL GROUP ON AIR

As Norfolk Southern Vice President Transportation, Joe Gioe is responsible for leading a culture of safe, predictable and consistent service by empowering transportation team members to meet the needs of NS customers. He also leads the Performance Excellence (PE) group, which is responsible for establishing operating processes and measuring performance. The group partners closely with Operations leaders and their teams, including Transportation, Advanced Train Control, Engineering and Safety.