Norfolk Southern Railway
Map of Norfolk Southern Railway with trackage rights in purple | |
NS 9865, a GE Dash 9-40CW, leads an intermodal train in Wauseon, Ohio | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Reporting mark | NS |
| Locale | Northeastern, Southern and Midwestern United States |
| Dates of operation | June 1, 1982–present |
| Predecessors | Norfolk and Western Railway Southern Railway |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Length | 19,335 miles (31,117 km) |
Norfolk Southern's headquarters in Atlanta | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Transportation |
| Founded | July 23, 1980 in Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
Key people | Mark R. George (President and CEO) |
| Revenue | US$12.16 billion (2023) |
| US$2.851 billion (2023) | |
| US$1.827 billion (2023) | |
| Total assets | US$41.65 billion (2023) |
| Total equity | US$12.78 billion (2023) |
Number of employees | 20,000 (2023) |
| Website | norfolksouthern.com |
| Footnotes / references | |
The Norfolk Southern Railway (reporting mark NS) is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The company operates 19,420 route miles (31,250 km) in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia, and has rights in Canada over the Albany to Montreal route of the Canadian Pacific Kansas City. Norfolk Southern Railway is the leading subsidiary of the Norfolk Southern Corporation.
Norfolk Southern maintains 28,400 miles of track, with the rest managed by other parties through trackage rights. Intermodal containers and trailers are the most common commodity type carried by NS, which have grown as the coal business has declined throughout the 21st century; coal was formerly the largest traffic source. The railway offers the largest intermodal rail network in eastern North America. NS was also the pioneer of Roadrailer service. Norfolk Southern and its chief competitor, CSX Transportation, have a duopoly on the transcontinental freight rail lines in the Eastern United States.
Norfolk Southern is the namesake and leading subsidiary of the Norfolk Southern Corporation, based in Atlanta, Georgia; it was headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, until 2021. Norfolk Southern Corporation was incorporated in Virginia on July 23, 1980, and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol NSC. The primary business function of Norfolk Southern Corporation is the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods across the Southeast, East, and Midwest United States. The corporation further facilitates transport to the remainder of the United States through interchange with other rail carriers while also serving overseas transport needs by serving several Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports. As of February 2024, Norfolk Southern Corporation's total public stock value is $57.869. As of January 2024, Norfolk Southern's operating revenue is $3.07 billion.