Special Norfolk Southern locomotives help Atlantans breathe
easier
ATLANTA,
Sept. 1, 2015 -- With Georgia Gov.
Nathan Deal on hand to celebrate the success of a public-private partnership for
cleaner air, Norfolk Southern today unveiled the nation’s first of a new class
of rail yard locomotives developed with federal funding assistance to reduce
emissions in urban areas.
“Norfolk Southern has been a valued partner for economic
growth in Georgia for many years,” said Gov. Deal. “I applaud the company’s
environmental consciousness and its work to achieve public benefits through
cooperative efforts with municipalities and government agencies like the one we
celebrate here today.”
Gov. Deal and Mark Manion, Norfolk Southern’s chief operating
officer, dedicated five of the locomotives during a ceremony at Norfolk
Southern’s Inman Yard, a major hub of interstate commerce and intermodal
transportation just northwest of downtown Atlanta.
The engines are branded “Eco” locomotives for their operating
efficiencies in reducing emissions and fuel consumption. The 3,000-horsepower
engines meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s strict Tier-3 emissions
standards for locomotives. Norfolk Southern’s Atlanta yard eventually will put
to work 10 low-emissions Eco locomotives this year. Annually, the 10 units will
account for 6.6 fewer tons of particulate matter and 155 fewer tons of nitrogen
oxides pollutants generally associated with smog and acid rain. As more Eco
units are delivered to Atlanta in 2016, the clean-air benefits will be even
greater.
The Eco units were designed and built by Norfolk Southern at
its Juniata, Pa., locomotive shops using components from locomotive builder
Electro-Motive Diesel, a division of Progress Rail Services, a Caterpillar
company. The project was funded in part by grants from the federal Congestion
Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ). The Eco units unveiled
today feature a stylistic green paint scheme with a Georgia-shaped icon and the
slogan “Working Together for a Cleaner State.”
Additional CMAQ grants will lead to future placement of Eco
locomotives at Norfolk Southern’s rail yards at Macon and Rome, Ga., and at
Chicago.
“In addition to lower emissions and fuel savings, benefits
include operating efficiencies, as each Eco unit can replace two older,
less-efficient locomotives,” Manion said. “Over the last five years, we have
significantly lowered greenhouse gas emissions of our locomotive fleet,
achieving an 8.5 percent reduction per revenue ton-mile. Rollout of the Eco
units demonstrates Norfolk Southern’s continuing commitment to industry
leadership in sustainability best practices and environmental partnerships. Our
transportation operations at Atlanta are central to serving customers throughout
our network and beyond. We consider it a corporate responsibility to mitigate
the environmental impacts of our rail operations, and we thank the Georgia
Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Division, the city
of Atlanta, and other cities and customers all along our lines that partner with
us to achieve this goal.”
“Through a phased implementation of lower emissions standards
for locomotives, the federal Environmental Protection Agency has worked with the
rail industry to bring about cleaner air for communities,” said Beverly
Banister, division director of EPA’s Region 4 based at Atlanta. “The Eco units
supported by grants from CMAQ will help ensure that yard switcher locomotives
adhere to cleaner, healthier air quality standards.”
In Georgia, Norfolk Southern employs 4,735 people and
operates a network of 1,779 rail miles. The company annually transports 1.3
million shipments by rail in the Peach State alone, totaling 55 million tons of
freight for some 1,200 customers. Together with industrial development activity
that brings new business, jobs, and investment to Georgia, and service to the
state’s ports, Norfolk Southern’s rail network connects Georgia communities to
the marketplaces of the world.
About
Norfolk Southern
Norfolk Southern
Corporation
(NYSE: NSC) is one of the nation’s premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk
Southern Railway Company subsidiary operates approximately 20,000
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, automotive, and industrial
products.
Media
Inquiries:
Rick Harris, 404-529-2310 (rick.harris@nscorp.com)
Investor Inquiries:
Katie
Cook, 757-629-2861 (InvestorRelations@nscorp.com)