Received the following two announcements via email from Norfolk Southern.
September 15, 2009
Norfolk Southern thanks state partners in Crescent Corridor stimulus application
NORFOLK, VA. - Norfolk Southern commended its partners in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee for their leadership in supporting the Crescent Corridor program (see map) to increase rail freight transportation capacity and improve mobility and the environment.
"On behalf of Norfolk Southern, I thank our partners for their farsighted support of the Crescent Corridor," said CEO Wick Moorman. "The Crescent Corridor is a tremendous economic advantage for the states and the nation. It will stimulate jobs, tax revenue, and business growth, while delivering substantial public benefits for communities and customers. Governors Ed Rendell, Tim Kaine, Bob Riley, Haley Barbour, and Phil Bredesen are leading the way in showing how public-private partnerships can create safe, affordable, green solutions to America's transportation infrastructure challenges."
Lead state Pennsylvania on Sept. 14 submitted "The Crescent Corridor Intermodal Freight Application" to apply for federal stimulus money under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Program.
The application seeks $300 million in support of new independent intermodal facilities at Memphis, Birmingham, and Franklin County, Pa.; and the expansion of intermodal terminals in Harrisburg and Philadelphia. Track improvements in the five partner states will include 10 passing tracks, 557 individual speed improvements, and 393 miles of track improved with upgraded rail.
These projects will help the Crescent Corridor - an existing 2,500-mile rail network supporting the supply chain from Memphis and New Orleans to New Jersey - handle more rail freight traffic, faster and more reliably, creating or benefiting some 47,000 green jobs and producing these estimated annual benefits:
· $326 million in tax revenues to states and communities
· 1.3 million long-haul trucks diverted from interstates
· $146 million in accident avoidance savings
· 1.9 million tons in CO2 reduction
· $575 million in congestion savings
· $92 million in highway maintenance savings
· 169 million gallons in fuel savings
In their TIGER application, the five partner states described the Crescent Corridor as, "one of the single largest additions of new freight transportation capacity in America since the Interstate Highway System. Building the last long haul intermodal freight distribution supply chain is one of the best transportation investments of our time."
Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) is one of the nation's premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary operates approximately 21,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in the eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other rail carriers. Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal and industrial products.
Norfolk Southern contacts
Media Frank Brown 757-629-2710 fsbrown@nscorp.com
Investors Leanne Marilley 757-629-2861 leanne.marilley@nscorp.com
September 15, 2009
Norfolk Southern's sustainability report highlights carbon footprint, improved fuel economy
NORFOLK, VA. - Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) has issued its second annual sustainability report, including the company's first-ever calculation of its carbon footprint and highlighting achievements in responsible economic, environmental, and social performance.
"We have made good progress," notes CEO Wick Moorman in a letter introducing the 62-page report, posted on the company's Web site at www.nscorp.com/footprints.
Norfolk Southern's carbon footprint is a measurement of greenhouse gases produced by the company's business operations. The largest single component, about 90 percent, is carbon dioxide emissions from diesel-burning locomotives. Other sources include emissions from production of electricity for rail facilities and fuel consumption by everything from company vehicles to boilers. Putting it all together, Norfolk Southern's carbon footprint for 2008 is calculated at 5.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents. Put in perspective, it is less than one tenth of 1 percent of the 7.2 billion total emissions of carbon dioxide equivalents in the entire United States for 2007, the latest year for which data is available.
"This is an important indicator," notes Moorman in his letter, "that establishes a baseline for future improvement. Disclosure also demonstrates to our customers, communities, employees, and investors the seriousness of our intent to be good environmental stewards."
Since issuing the company's first sustainability report last year, Moorman said, "We have continued efforts on several fronts to increase our fuel efficiency and reduce greenhouse emissions." For example, locomotive fuel economy has improved almost 3 percent over the past year and 10 percent over the last decade. The report notes that the greenhouse gas emission of one Norfolk Southern locomotive per revenue ton-mile is about one ounce, which is equivalent to the weight of a slice of bread.
"Our people make this company successful - from safety to sustainability," Moorman said. "This report describes some of the many ways they have embraced responsible business practices that will help ensure the ongoing strength of our company, the livability of their communities, and the quality of their lives.
"The progress we have made is a beginning," Moorman said. "As this report outlines, we and our partners in business and in the public sector are working on some far-reaching, long-term initiatives that will translate into big public benefits, including green jobs, further reductions in fuel consumption and emissions, and less highway congestion - thanks to the environmental and economic advantages of transportation by rail."
Norfolk Southern Corporation is one of the nation's premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary operates approximately 21,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in the eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other rail carriers. Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal and industrial products.
Norfolk Southern contacts
Media Rick Harris 757-629-2718 rick.harris@nscorp.com
Investors Leanne Marilley 757-629-2861 leanne.marilley@nscorp.com