US rail company Norfolk Southern (NS) is planning to reduce train operations in response to lower traffic volumes at its Knoxville, Tennessee, rail yard.
The action is consistent with the company’s strategic plan to improve operating efficiencies, reduce costs, drive profitability, and support long-term growth. The move is also part of NS’s five-year strategic plan to implement cost control initiatives and network improvements, as well as to save over $650m of annual expenses by 2020.
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One of the operator’s intended changes is to stop switching operations at the rail yard, where currently freight cars from inbound trains are sorted by destination and assembled into outbound trains. It will also decrease train traffic as well as reduce the need for some personnel and infrastructure in Knoxville.
However, Knoxville will continue to be the company’s Central Division headquarters and the Knoxville terminal will continue to serve as a hub for through-train operations.
The Central Division of NS includes 1,100 track miles, primarily in Tennessee and Kentucky.
The reduction of operations at the yard will impact about 135 positions, and nearly 300 employees in Knoxville will continue to support division operations and manage yard traffic. According to NS, the company will assist impacted employees by offering them job opportunities as they become available.
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By GlobalDataCurrently, the company employs more than 1,570 people across Tennessee, with nearly 850 miles of track across the state, intermodal terminals in Memphis, and a major rail classification yard and locomotive shop in Chattanooga.
Under its five-year strategic plan, the company will consolidate two operating divisions in West Virginia and Virginia, shut down a major Lake Erie coal terminal, and discontinue operations on some coal routes in Central Appalachia, all in response to changes in the coal business
The company will also restructure its Triple Crown Services subsidiary, realign operating regions from three to two; and consolidate corporate office locations.
