Norfolk Southern has expanded its interchange improvement program to all of its shortline connections in a bid to boost carload volume growth.
NS (NYSE: NSC) sought to improve interchange consistency and reliability when it launched its Short Line Performance Project with 40 short lines last year. “It led to just absolutely above-normal growth for us,” said Stefan Loeb, the railroad’s vice president of business development and first- and final-mile markets, in a company video. “So as an example, those 40 interchanges through 2024 grew at 4.85% volume. It outperformed our general business in those same markets.”
Last year NS’ overall merchandise business was up 1%.
The Short Line Interchange Project, as it’s now called, has been rolled out to all of the railroad’s 260-plus shortline partners, NS announced Wednesday. The program creates real-time data and communication channels so that NS and short lines can quickly iron out — or prevent — service problems.
“It’s about collaboration to be able to sit around the table and exchange ideas and use data to determine what ideas move forward and then make a commitment to act on them,” said Ryan Higgins, chief commercial officer at shortline holding company OmniTRAX, also in the video.
Tim Schumm, general manager of OmniTRAX’s Alabama & Tennessee River Railway, in the video said the program provides accurate data on interchanges with NS. “It also lets us resolve any problems quickly. Instead of waiting a day or a week to have the problem resolved, we could literally do it in hours.”
About 40% of Norfolk Southern’s carload volume originates or terminates on a connecting shortline railroad.
Caption: Norfolk Southern local train H76, led by SD40-2 No. 3423, clears the Lehigh Line main in Three Bridges, New Jersey, with a delivery to the Black River & Western interchange on Aug 6, 2021. (Photo: Jerry Dziedzic)
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