Norfolk Southern Railway

The Norfolk Southern Railway 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 mi 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 is responsible for maintaining 28,400 mi, with the remainder being operated under trackage rights from other parties responsible for maintenance work. 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.

History
Norfolk Southern is one of the five biggest railroad operators in North America by its revenue. It operates in 22 states and in Washington, D.C. The company’s market capitalization stood at nearly $58 billion in February 2024.

Predecessors
Norfolk Southern's predecessor railroads date to the early 19th century.

The South Carolina Canal & Rail Road was the SOU's earliest predecessor line. Chartered in 1827, the South Carolina Canal & Rail Road Company became the first to offer regularly scheduled passenger train service with the inaugural run of the Best Friend of Charleston in 1830. Another early predecessor, the Richmond & Danville Railroad (R&D), was formed in 1847 and expanded into a large system after the American Civil War under Algernon S. Buford. The R&D ultimately fell on hard times, and in 1894, it became a major portion of the new Southern Railway (SOU). Financier J. P. Morgan selected veteran railroader Samuel Spencer as president. Profitable and innovative, Southern became, in 1953, the first major U.S. railroad to completely switch to diesel-electric locomotives from steam.

The City Point Railroad, established in 1838, was a 9 mi railroad in Virginia that started south of Richmond—specifically, City Point on the navigable portion of the James River, now part of the independent city of Hopewell—and ran to Petersburg. It was acquired by the South Side Railroad in 1854. After the Civil War, it became part of the Atlantic, Mississippi & Ohio Railroad (AM&O), a trunk line across Virginia's southern tier formed by mergers in 1870 by William Mahone, who had built the Norfolk & Petersburg Railroad in the 1850s. The AM&O was the oldest portion of the Norfolk & Western (N&W) when it was formed in 1881, under E. W. Clark & Co., ownership with a keen interest and financial investments in the coal fields of Western Virginia and West Virginia. In the second half of the 20th century, the N&W acquired the Virginian Railway (1959), the Wabash Railway, and the Nickel Plate Road, among others.

Formation
In 1982, the Norfolk Southern Corporation was created as a holding company for the Southern Railway (SOU, formed in 1894) and Norfolk & Western Railway (N&W, formed in 1881). In 1990, Norfolk Southern Corporation transferred all the common stock of N&W to Southern, and Southern's name was changed to Norfolk Southern Railway Company. In 1998, Norfolk and Western was merged into Norfolk Southern Railway, forming one, united, railroad. Headquarters for the new NS were established in Norfolk, Virginia. The company suffered a slight embarrassment when the marble headpiece at the building's entrance was unveiled, which read "Norfork [sic] Southern Railway". A new headpiece replaced the erroneous one several weeks later. NS aimed to compete in the eastern United States with CSX Transportation, formed after the Interstate Commerce Commission's 1980 approval of the merger of the Chessie System and the Seaboard System.

Conrail purchase
The system grew with the acquisition of over half of Conrail. The Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) was an 11000 mi system formed in 1976 from the Penn Central Railroad (1968–1976), and five other ailing northeastern railroads that were conveyed into it, forming a government-financed corporation. Conrail was perhaps the most controversial conglomerate in corporate history. Penn Central itself was created by merging three venerable rivals—the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR, 1846), the New York Central Railroad (NYC, 1831), and the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad (NYNH&H, 1872)—as well as some smaller competitors. In 1980, Conrail became profitable after the Staggers Act largely deregulated the U.S. railroad industry. In 1996, CSX bid to buy Conrail; Norfolk Southern, fearing that CSX would come to dominate rail traffic in the eastern U.S., responded with a bid of its own. On June 23, 1997, NS and CSX filed a joint application with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) for authority to purchase, divide, and operate the assets of Conrail. On June 6, 1998, the STB approved the NS-CSX application, effective August 22, 1998. NS acquired 58% of Conrail assets, including about 7200 mi of track, most of which was part of the former Pennsylvania Railroad. CSX got the remaining 42%. NS began operating its trains on its portion of the former Conrail network on June 1, 1999, closing out the 1990s merger era.

21st century
In 2016, a proposed merger that had been months in the pipeline with Canadian Pacific was abandoned abruptly.

According to NS's 2022 Annual Report to Investors, at the end of 2022, NS had 19,300 employees, 3,190 locomotives, and 40,470 freight cars. At the end of 2022, the transport of coal made up 14% of the total operating revenue of NS, general merchandise (automotive, chemicals, metals, construction materials, agriculture commodities, consumer products, paper, clay, forest products, and more) made up 57%, and intermodal made up 29% of the total.

On December 12, 2018, Norfolk Southern announced that it would be leaving its hometown of Norfolk, Virginia after 38 years and relocating its headquarters to Atlanta, Georgia. The new Atlanta headquarters building opened on November 10, 2021.

In June 2023, Norfolk Southern became the first major North American freight railroad with deals to provide all its union workers sick time.

In July 2023, Norfolk Southern announced plans to purchase the Cincinnati Southern Railway for $1.6 billion. Cincinnati voters approved the sale in the November 2023 election. Norfolk Southern will pay the city $1.6 billion and Cincinnati will establish a trust fund with the money, with earned interest going back to Cincinnati to maintain infrastructure.

In 2024, the company nominated a slate of new board members. In a letter to shareholders, NS asked them to vote for its slate of 13 nominees at its May shareholder meeting. The company defended its choice of board members, citing the board's work to improve long-term shareholder value, hold management accountable, and improve safety and operational performance. Among the 13 nominees, two of them are for new independent directors—Richard H. Anderson, former CEO of Amtrak and Delta Air Lines, and Heidi Heitkamp, a former U.S. Senator. In 2023, retired Navy Admiral Philip Davidson, and Francesca DeBiase, former executive at McDonald's Corporation, were appointed to the board.

Environmental history
In early spring of 2008, the state program manager for air quality planning in Georgia, Jimmy Johnston, had been talking to NS about voluntary upgrades to reduce the company's environmental impact. NS is upgrading 3,800 of its locomotives with new technology that is 73 percent more efficient than previous models. The new technology being put into the locomotives makes the ride more fuel efficient and reduces idle time.

In 2009, the company introduced an experimental battery-electric switcher locomotive, NS 999. This prototype locomotive was developed by Norfolk Southern in collaboration with the United States Department of Energy, the Federal Railroad Administration and the Pennsylvania State University.

Norfolk Southern reduced core greenhouse gasses by 13.5% between 2019 and 2021. For its efforts, the company achieved recognition from USA Today's America's Climate Leaders 2023 and Forbes' Net Zero Leaders 2023.

In November 2022, Norfolk Southern contributed $750,000 to the Georgia Tech sustainability program for the next three years.

In order to align itself with climate-change goals set by the Paris Agreement, NS aims to cut its scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 42% by 2034. NS has begun measures to lower emissions, such as modernizing more than 100 locomotives each year and equipping 93% of its active locomotive fleet, or 1550 locomotives, with energy-management technology.

Labor history
Since 2019, a labor dispute between Norfolk Southern Railway and railway workers has been underway. In September 2022, the workers and companies involved tentatively agreed to a deal, but it was rejected by a majority of the union's members. In late 2022, the United States Congress intervened to prevent a strike by passing the tentative deal into law. On December 6, 2022, Norfolk Southern announced a new service and growth plan that will ensure the company maintains its train crew levels during downturns.

In 2024, an investor group led an effort to bring in a new leadership team at NS. The proposal would have removed Alan Shaw as CEO and replaced seven directors on the company's board. The division of organized labor on the issue surfaced in April. Labor was divided on the issue, which has into a proxy battle ahead of an annual shareholder meeting. Unions criticized investors' plans to replace Shaw and implement an industry operating model known as Precision Scheduled Railroading, saying such a model is "unrealistic." In the end, shareholders voted to keep Shaw as CEO, but voted in three new directors.

Notable accidents
On September 15, 2002, a Norfolk Southern train derailed in Farragut, Tennessee. The derailment resulted in the release of oleum or fuming sulfuric acid. Roughly 2,600 residents were evacuated from nearby homes for three days until hazardous materials crews were able to mitigate the scene. No fatalities or major injuries were reported as a result of the derailment, but property damage and losses were calculated at $1.02 million. Seventeen people were injured.

On January 6, 2005, a derailment in Graniteville, South Carolina, resulted in a large amount of chlorine and diesel fuel being released into nearby waterways. In addition, a toxic cloud covered the city resulting in the town being evacuated. Local wildlife was killed, many of the local crops and vegetation were contaminated or killed, nine human deaths were reported, and thousands were injured. The company was taken to court and fined for violating the Clean Water Act and the Federal Superfund law. NS spent a total of $26 million for the cleanup.

2018 Pennsylvania derailment
A derailment happened in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, on the afternoon of August 5, 2018, when the train was heading from New Jersey to Chicago.

2023 Ohio derailment
On February 3, 2023, a freight train carrying vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylhexyl acrylate and ethylene glycol monobutyl ether derailed along Norfolk Southern Railways Fort Wayne Line in East Palestine, Ohio, United States. Emergency crews conducted a controlled burn of the spill which released hydrogen chloride and phosgene into the air. On February 8, affected businesses and residents filed three class action lawsuits against the company.

Norfolk Southern, along with other rail companies, had successfully lobbied for the repeal of rules requiring electronically controlled pneumatic brakes on trains carrying hazardous materials, which could have reduced the severity of the incident. On February 16, 2023, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy tweeted that the ECP braking rule does not apply to this train and would not have prevented the derailment.

In the aftermath of the disaster, the company was accused of prioritizing $10 billion in stock buybacks for shareholders over maintenance. MarketWatch reported that in the three weeks following the incident the company's stock has lost about $6.68 billion in market capitalization in an 11.6% drop in stock value. Shares were down about 5% compared to the time of the derailment in late July 2023.

Norfolk Southern implemented a new six-point safety plan immediately following the incident.

In May 2023, Norfolk Southern announced compensation plans for homeowners whose homes lost value near the 2023 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. The program applies to parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania near the derailment site and applies to those with homes on the market, future listings or sold since February 3, 2023. So far, NS has pledged more than $103 million to East Palestine and the surrounding area.

NS has also added more trackside detectors to help spot mechanical problems like wheel-bearing temperatures following the Ohio derailment. Six months after the accident, contractors removed about 25 million gallons of wastewater and 80,000 tons of contaminated soil. By July 2023, NS spent $63 million to support the community, including about $18 million to reimburse families for housing, food and other expenses. Within eight months of the accident, Norfolk Southern removed more than 167,000 tons of contaminated soil and more than 39 million gallons of tainted water from the site. Norfolk Southern is continuing to collect 2,500 soil samples from the site to ensure all the contamination is gone.

As of June 2024, Norfolk Southern contributed over $107 million in aid to East Palestine, including nearly $21 million paid out directly to residents whose lives were affected by the derailment. Norfolk Southern worked on several projects in East Palestine, including renovating the historic train depot, enhancing City Lake, improving the municipal water treatment plant, renovating East Palestine City Park, and establishing a First Responder Training Center.

Residents in East Palestine affected by the Norfolk Southern train derailment have the option to join a class action lawsuit to potentially receive a portion of a $600 million settlement. The agreement-in-principle of the class action lawsuit includes compensation for residents and businesses in East Palestine and surrounding communities for personal injuries resulting from exposure to chemicals. Accepting payment from the rail company now would prevent homeowners from pursuing future litigations against Norfolk Southern.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reached a settlement with Norfolk Southern Railway Company in May 2024 to address the derailment. The settlement includes over $310 million for cleanup efforts, penalties, and future costs associated with the environmental impact.

Safety
Norfolk Southern launched its Operation Awareness & Response program in 2015. The program focuses on educating the public about the economic significance of safely transporting hazardous materials by rail and trains 5,000 first responders annually.

In March 2023, Norfolk Southern implemented a six-point safety plan. Norfolk Southern plans to add about 200 more hot bearing detectors to its rail network.

In May 2023, Norfolk Southern hired Atkins Nuclear Secured (ANS) to evaluate and improve safety for the railroad. The team is run by a former head of the United States Navy Nuclear Propulsion program and includes several former admirals, all with Navy nuke experience.

In May 2023, CEO Alan Shaw and 12 union leaders committed to enhanced rail safety for employees and communities served by Norfolk Southern in a joint safety letter issued to employees and union members.

Norfolk Southern held several safety-related events in June 2023, including a companywide town hall meeting that focused on safety and the importance of labor-management collaboration and an emergency training for Spartanburg County first responders to respond efficiently to railroad accidents.

A report completed by the Federal Railroad Administration in August 2023 found that Norfolk Southern's safety culture was at an "involving" level of maturity, considered level 3 out of 5 on the Fleming Safety Culture Maturity Model. The FRA stated that while Norfolk Southern has made efforts to improve safety, in some areas the railroad was still following minimum safety standards as set in laws and regulations. Norfolk Southern acknowledged the report and pledged to make improvements based on the report's findings.

In September 2023, Norfolk Southern began building a new railroad safety training center in East Palestine. The $20 million facility will train first responders from Ohio, Pennsylvania and the surrounding regions on how to respond to various emergencies on railroad tracks.

In October 2023, Norfolk Southern began installing new technology known as Digital Train Inspection Portals. The first portal was deployed between Leetonia and Columbiana. It is the first of its kind in the United States, with 42 stadium-style lights that illuminate the train, while 38 high-definition cameras capture images. Computers analyze each shot to look for potential defects that could lead to derailments.

In 2023, Norfolk Southern was the only Class I railroad to achieve significant reductions in the rate of mainline derailments, while the industry at-large worsened.

In January 2024, Norfolk Southern became the first Class I railroad to join the federal program C3RS. The Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS) is a program in which employees can anonymously report near-miss accidents.

Leadership history

 * John P. Fishwick Sr.
 * CEO and President of Norfolk Western Railroad: 1970–1980
 * CEO and President of Norfolk Southern Railroad: 1980–1981
 * Robert B. Claytor
 * CEO: 1982–1987
 * Arnold B. McKinnon
 * CEO and President: 1987–1992
 * David R. Goode:
 * CEO: 1992–2005
 * President: 1991–2004
 * Charles "Wick" Moorman:
 * CEO: 2005–2015
 * President: 2004–2013
 * James A. Squires:
 * President: June 1, 2013 – December 2021
 * CEO: June 1, 2015 – May 1, 2022
 * Alan H. Shaw
 * President: December 2021 – present
 * CEO: May 1, 2022 – present

Alan Shaw
Alan Shaw, who became CEO in May 2022, has been with Norfolk Southern since 1994, holding various positions within the company. Shaw holds a Bachelor of Science and an MBA from Virginia Tech, and he completed the General Management Program at Harvard Business School. In December 2022, he introduced a new strategy for Norfolk Southern that focuses on enhancing service reliability and investing in resources like locomotives, technology, and employee training. After a train derailment in 2023 in East Palestine, Ohio, Shaw visited residents, assuring them of NS's commitment to assisting with the cleanup and recovery efforts after the derailment. In 2023, Shaw received the Railway Innovator Award, an industry given by Progressive Railroading and RailTrends.

Regional divisions
On March 15, 2016, Norfolk Southern consolidated its three operation regions into two: northern and southern regions. The northern region includes Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Dearborn, Lake, and Illinois divisions. The southern region includes Piedmont, Alabama, Georgia, Central, and Pocahontas divisions.

The two merged regions will support approximately 1,000 daily crew starts for long-haul train operations. The consolidation was part of Norfolk Southern's five-year strategic plan to enhance operating efficiencies while reducing costs.

Premier Corridor
The Premier Corridor is Norfolk Southern's principal east–west line from the East Coast to the Midwest. An average day sees 100 trains of all types. The corridor's main (New York to Chicago) segment consists of the Lehigh Line, Reading Line, Harrisburg Line, Pittsburgh Line, Fort Wayne Line, Cleveland Line, and Chicago Line.

Pan Am Southern/Patriot Corridor
On May 15, 2008, NS announced that it would join with Pan Am Railways to create the "Patriot Corridor", an improved rail route between Albany, New York, and the greater Boston, Massachusetts, area. On March 12, 2009, STB approved the deal. Each of the two companies now owns 50% of a new company known as Pan Am Southern (PAS). PAR's trackage between Ayer, Massachusetts, and Mechanicville, New York, was transferred to PAS and continues to be operated and maintained by PAR's Springfield Terminal Railway Company subsidiary. NS transferred to PAS cash and property valued at $140 million. The railroad operates 22K and 23K from Mechanicville, NY to Ayer, MA. Due to the unique ACSES PTC system used on Keolis-operated trackage, which the 22K and 23K runs on between Wachusett and Ayer, only specific SD60E locomotives equipped with ACSES can lead trains.

In 2021, CSX announced its intention to purchase Pan Am Railways. Norfolk Southern protested, arguing that CSX, which would own 50% of Pan Am Southern, would be able to block Norfolk Southern out of the northeast. As part of the Surface Transportation Board merger requirements, CSX will give NS limited trackage rights to run intermodal trains, and Pan Am Southern will be operated by the Pittsburg and Shawmut Railroad, under the name Berkshire and Eastern Railroad.

Yards and facilities
Norfolk Southern operates 35,600 miles (57,300 kilometers) of track primarily in the eastern United States, covering 22 states. It maintains four major hubs in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Chicago, and Atlanta, along with various facilities like classification yards and intermodal yards. The company also holds trackage rights that allow it to run its trains on other railroads' tracks, extending its operations to places like Dallas, Texas, Waterville, Maine, and Miami, Florida, while also participating in locomotive leasing and sharing with other Class I railroads.

General freight classification yards


• Atlanta, GA – Inman Yard

• Allentown, PA

• Altoona, PA – Rose Yard

• Chamblee, GA

• Baltimore, MD – Bayview Yard, Dundalk Yard and Sparrows Point Yard

• Bellevue, OH – Moorman Yard

• Binghamton, NY – East Binghamton Yard

• Birmingham, AL

• Buffalo, NY – Bison Yard, SK Yard

• Chattanooga, TN – Debutts Yard

• Chicago, IL

• Cincinnati, OH – Gest St. Yard

• Cleveland, OH – Rockport Yard, Fairlane Yard

• Columbus, OH – Watkins Yard

• Conway, PA – Conway Yard

• Dayton, OH

• Decatur, IL

• Detroit, MI – Oakwood Yard

• Elrama, PA – Shire Oaks Yard

• Elkhart, IN

• Harrisburg, PA – Enola Yard

• Kansas City, MO

• Linwood, NC – Spencer Yard

• Louisville, KY – Youngtown Yard

• Macon, GA – Brosnan Yard

• Newark, NJ – Oak Island Yard

• Norfolk, VA

• Roanoke, VA

• Sheffield, AL

• St. Louis, MO – Luther Yard

• St. Louis, MO – Coapman Yard

• Savannah, GA – Dillard Yard

Intermodal classification yards
• Atlanta, GA – Inman Yard

• Austell, GA (Whitaker)

• Ayer, MA (Pan Am Southern)

• Baltimore, MD

• Bethlehem, PA

• Buffalo, NY – Bison Yard

• Bluefield, WV

• Charlotte, NC

• Chesapeake, VA – Portlock

• Chicago, IL – 47th Street

• Chicago, IL – 63rd Street

• Chicago, IL – Calumet

• Chicago, IL – Landers

• Cincinnati, OH – Gest Street

• Cleveland, OH – Maple Heights

• Columbus, OH

• Dallas, TX – KCS

• Decatur, IL

• Detroit, MI – Delray

• Detroit, MI – Livernois

• Elizabeth, NJ – Elizabeth Marine Terminal

• Elizabeth, NJ – E-Rail

• Front Royal, VA – Virginia Inland Port

• Garden City, GA – Garden City Marine Terminal (Savannah)

• Georgetown, KY

• Greencastle, PA – Franklin County Regional Intermodal Facility

• Greensboro, NC

• Greer, SC – South Carolina Inland Port

• Harrisburg, PA – Harrisburg Intermodal Yard

• Harrisburg, PA – Rutherford Intermodal Yard

• Huntsville, AL

• Jacksonville, FL – Simpson Yard

• Jersey City, NJ – Croxton Yard

• Kansas City, MO

• Langhorne, PA – Morrisville Yard

• Louisville, KY – Appliance Park

• Louisville, KY – Buechel

• Maple Heights, OH (Cleveland)

• McCalla, AL (Birmingham)

• Mechanicville, NY (Albany)

• Memphis, TN – Harris Yard

• Norfolk, VA – Norfolk International Terminals

• North Charleston, SC (Charleston)

• New Orleans, LA – Oliver Yard

• Portsmouth, VA – APM Terminal

• Rossville, TN – Rossville Intermodal Facility

• Savannah, GA – Mason Yard (connection to Savannah Port Terminal Railroad)

• Sharonville, OH (Cincinnati)

• St. Louis, MO

• Taylor, PA (Scranton)

• Toledo, OH – Airline Yard

• Wall, PA (Pittsburgh)

Locomotive shops
• Atlanta, GA – Inman Yard

• Altoona, PA – Altoona Works

• Bellevue, OH (closed in 2020 due to PSR changes)

• Chattanooga, TN

• Conway, PA – Conway Yard

• Elkhart, IN

• Harrisburg, PA – Enola Yard

• Roanoke, VA – Shaffer's Crossing Locomotive Shop

• Roanoke, VA – Roanoke Locomotive Shop (closed in 2020 due to PSR changes)

NS also shares interest with CSX in the Oak Island Yard, managed by Conrail Shared Assets Operations in Newark, New Jersey.

Steam excursion programs
After the 1982 merger, NS President Robert Claytor retained the Southern Railway's steam excursion program begun in the 1960s by his brother, SOU president W. Graham Claytor. NS initially used former Chesapeake and Ohio 2716, which had been modified and decorated as a Southern locomotive for the steam program; however, the engine developed mechanical problems in its firebox after less than a year in excursion service and was replaced by Nickel Plate Road 765.

Merging with the Norfolk & Western Railway prompted the steam program to acquire and overhaul Norfolk & Western 611 in 1982, and Norfolk & Western 1218 in 1987. These two locomotives and 765 joined the steam program veterans – Southern Railway 4501, Savannah and Atlanta Railway 750, Nickel Plate 587, Louisville & Nashville 152, Atlanta and West Point 290, Tennessee Valley Railroad 610, and Frisco 1522 – for an extensive series of excursions throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. Norfolk Southern's management under David R. Goode was forced to end the program in late 1994, citing safety concerns, rising insurance costs, the expense of maintaining the steam locomotives and decreasing rail network availability due to a surge in freight traffic.

In June 2010, Norfolk Southern CEO Wick Moorman announced that NS would run excursions with Southern Railway 4501, Southern Railway 630, and U.S. Army 610 with their new 21st Century Steam program.

The program began in 2011 with excursions in the south powered by 630 and in the north by 765. On February 22, 2013, the Virginia Museum of Transportation (611's owner) formed a campaign called "Fire Up 611!" to conduct a feasibility study with the goal of returning the 611 to active service and have it join the program. The locomotive was removed from her static display from the Virginia Museum of Transportation to the North Carolina Transportation Museum in 2014 to be overhauled. That same year, TVRM completed their restoration of Southern Railway 4501 – joining the 21st Century Steam program for the 2015 season and pulling excursions in Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia. The restoration of 611 was completed in May 2015 and celebrated with a run to Roanoke, Virginia, where it was originally built. The 611 pulled several excursions in Virginia and was featured in special events at the North Carolina Transportation Museum. In December 2015, Norfolk Southern had concluded their program; however, the 611 continued to run various excursions, hosted by the Virginia Museum of Transportation and the North Carolina Transportation Museum instead of Norfolk Southern across the NS system in Virginia and North Carolina until 2018. Norfolk Southern currently limits the steam locomotives up to 40 mph on their system.

Reporting marks
Although it has been widely known as simply "Norfolk Southern" since 1982, the corporate structure and reporting marks are more complicated. In 1999, when most of Conrail's former PRR trackage was sold to the Norfolk Southern Railway, the Pennsylvania Railway Lines was created and PRR reporting marks used on the former Conrail motive power and rolling stock.

Improvement projects

 * Crescent Corridor – Louisiana to New Jersey
 * Heartland Corridor – Midwest to Norfolk