Norfolk Southern

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Norfolk Southern is a publicly-traded stock corporation based in Norfolk, Virginia originally founded in 1838.[1] It is the holding company for the Norfolk Southern Railway, a major Class I railroad system.[1] Norfolk Southern Railway operates approximately 21,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, covering every major container port in the eastern United States, with connections to other rail carriers.[1] Norfolk Southern is a major transporter of coal and industrial products, with coal, coke, and iron ore making up 29% of the company's 2009 principal operating revenue sources.[2]

The railroad serves 161 coal-loading facilities and 103 power generation plants.[2]

Norfolk Southern Railway announced that it had shipped a record of 159,941.45 net tons of metallurgical coal to China out of Lamberts Point Terminal in Norfolk, VA.[3]

In 2011, Norfolk Southern reported $11,172,000,000 in operating revenues.[4]

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Ties to Pete Peterson's "Fix the Debt"

The Campaign to Fix the Debt is the latest incarnation of a decades-long effort by former Nixon man turned Wall Street billionaire Pete Peterson to slash earned benefit programs such as Social Security and Medicare under the guise of fixing the nation's "debt problem." Norfolk Southern is part of the Campaign to Fix the Debt as of February 2013.

This article is part of the Center for Media and Democracy's investigation of Pete Peterson's Campaign to "Fix the Debt." Please visit our main SourceWatch page on Fix the Debt.

About Fix the Debt
The Campaign to Fix the Debt is the latest incarnation of a decades-long effort by former Nixon man turned Wall Street billionaire Pete Peterson to slash earned benefit programs such as Social Security and Medicare under the guise of fixing the nation's "debt problem." Through a special report and new interactive wiki resource, the Center for Media and Democracy -- in partnership with the Nation magazine -- exposes the funding, the leaders, the partner groups, and the phony state "chapters" of this astroturf supergroup. Learn more at PetersonPyramid.org and in the Nation magazine.

Support for the American Legislative Exchange Council

Norfolk Southern was a "Trustee" level sponsor of 2011 American Legislative Exchange Council Annual Conference, which in 2010, equated to $5,000.[5] Norfolk Souhern was also a sponsor of the Louisiana Welcome Reception at the 2011 ALEC Annual Meeting.[6]

About ALEC
ALEC is a corporate bill mill. It is not just a lobby or a front group; it is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, corporations hand state legislators their wishlists to benefit their bottom line. Corporations fund almost all of ALEC's operations. They pay for a seat on ALEC task forces where corporate lobbyists and special interest reps vote with elected officials to approve “model” bills. Learn more at the Center for Media and Democracy's ALECexposed.org, and check out breaking news on our ExposedbyCMD.org site.

Coal mine operations

Norfolk serves coal mines throughout 22 states. A list can be accessed here.

Coal Terminals

The terminals that serve Norfolk include:[7]

  • Ashtabula Coal Pier, Ashtabula, OH
  • Big Sandy Terminal, Cyrus, WV
  • Coal Network, Kenova, WV
  • CNX Marine Terminals - Baltimore Terminal
  • General Materials Terminals, Conway, PA
  • Kanawha River Terminal, Ceredo, WV
  • Lamberts Point Terminal, Norfolk, VA
  • Louisville Jefferson Riverport, Louisville, KY
  • MOL-DOK, Leetsdale, PA
  • Sandusky Dock, Sandusky, OH
  • Wheelersburg Terminal, Wheelersburg, OH

Transporting fly ash

Norfolk Southern has expressed interest in transporting fly ash, the charcoal-gray powder left from the burning of coal for electricity, to landfills. In 2009, the Tennessee Valley Authority hired Norfolk Southern to haul fly ash from a massive spill at a coal-burning power plant in Kingston, Tennessee - the TVA Kingston Fossil Plant coal ash spill - to a landfill in Alabama. Between July 2009 and December, the railroad hauled 4 million tons of fly ash from the Kingston site, on 414 trains with an average of nearly 100 cars a train, according to the authority. While the TVA declined to say how much the railroad was paid, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported in January 2010 that Norfolk Southern had a $75 million contract with the authority.[8]

Board of Directors

As of March 2011:[2]

  • Gerald L. Baliles
  • Thomas D. Bell Jr.
  • Erskine B. Bowles
  • Robert A. Bradway
  • Wesley G. Bush
  • Daniel A. Carp
  • Alston D. Correll
  • Karen N. Horn
  • Burton M. Joyce
  • Steven F. Leer
  • Michael D. Lockhart
  • Charles W. Moorman
  • J. Paul Reason

Contact Details

3 Commercial Pl #100
Norfolk, VA 23510

Phone: (757) 629-2608

Articles and Resources

Related SourceWatch Articles

Featured SourceWatch Articles on Fix the Debt

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Our History" Norfolk Southern Corporation, accessed February 4, 2013.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Norfolk Southern Corporate Profile" Norfolk Southern Corporation, accessed March 2011.
  3. "On its way to China, NS ships record coal load" Bill Archer, Bluefield Daily Telegraph, January 16, 2011.
  4. "2011 Annual Report" Norfolk Southern Corporation, accessed February 4, 2013.
  5. [American Legislative Exchange Council, 2011 Conference Sponsors, conference brochure on file with CMD, August 11, 2011]
  6. [American Legislative Exchange Council, 2011 Conference Receptions, conference brochure on file with CMD, August 11, 2011]
  7. "NS-Served Transloading Facilities" Norfolk Southern Corporation, accessed March 2011.
  8. Robert McCabe, "Norfolk Southern sees new business in hauling coal fly ash" The Virginian-Pilot, April 4, 2011.

Wikipedia also has an article on Norfolk Southern. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.