June 1, 2007
On Its Anniversary, Norfolk Southern Thanks Supporters
NORFOLK, VA - Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) today marked the 25th anniversary of its formation, thanking the customers, shareholders, employees and communities that the railroad serves.
“Any success we claim is a result of their support and willingness to be true partners,” said Chief Executive Officer Wick Moorman. “No company serves a better group of stakeholders.”
Norfolk Southern was formed June 1, 1982, from the consolidation of two of the country’s most successful railroads, Southern Railway and Norfolk and Western Railway, which traced their beginnings respectively to 1827 and 1836 and the earliest days of railroading in North America. A top news publication called the transaction “a model of its kind,” and another went so far as to say, “It is a marriage that, if not made in heaven, must have been conceived on some high and favored cloud.”
The next 25 years would see continuous improvement in NS’ safety, service, finances and technology. At least four achievements can be identified as watersheds.
The first occurred in 1989, when NS earned its first E.H. Harriman Memorial gold medal award for employee safety. NS employees have earned the top award every year since then – an unprecedented 18 consecutive times – creating one of the safest workplaces in the world and raising the bar for safety at transportation companies everywhere.
The second occurred June 1, 1999, when NS closed on its transaction to integrate into its system a large portion of the routes and assets of Conrail, expanding NS’ service territory into northeastern markets and ensuring balanced rail competition in the East.
A third key achievement is associated with the railroad’s traffic base. Over the last 25 years, NS has met the growing need for fast, reliable transportation of international and domestic containers, successfully putting intermodal traf