Norfolk Southern Corporation

Business overview

Norfolk Southern Corporation operates freight rail services in the United States through Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR). The network concentrates on the Southeast, East, and Midwest, with interchanges and port connections on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts to serve domestic and overseas freight. Customers include manufacturing plants, electric generating facilities, mines, distribution centers, transload facilities, and other businesses. The business mixes merchandise transport, intermodal (domestic containers and trailers), and coal transport, with pricing primarily negotiated through private contracts and exempt quotes.

Regulation and governance

Norfolk Southern is publicly traded on the NYSE under the ticker NSC. It is subject to regulation by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB) for certain aspects of operations and to federal safety, security, and cybersecurity regulations.

Merger agreement with Union Pacific (July 28, 2025)

• Parties: Norfolk Southern Corporation, Union Pacific Corporation, and two UP subsidiaries.
• Structure: Two-step merger — first, NSC will merge into a newly created UP subsidiary; second, the resulting entity will merge into UP, with UP as the surviving company.
• Consideration: Each share of NSC common stock will convert into one share of UP stock plus $88.82 in cash (subject to customary exclusions).
• Conditions: The transaction requires regulatory approvals, including from the STB. Termination provisions include potential termination fees of up to $2.5 billion under specified circumstances. The parties are required to use reasonable best efforts to close and may be required to divest assets or accept other conditions to obtain approvals.

Network and footprint

• Route network: approximately 19,100 route miles in 22 states plus the District of Columbia.
• Overall track network including trackage rights: about 34,959 miles (27,607 miles owned; 7,352 miles leased).
• Mainline responsibilities: responsible for maintaining about 28,200 miles of mainline track (excluding segments under trackage rights).
• The network supports both freight operations and shared use with Amtrak and commuter rail on certain routes.

Key corridors (heaviest freight volume)

• New York City area to Chicago (via Allentown and Pittsburgh)
• Chicago to Macon (via Cincinnati, Chattanooga, and Atlanta)
• Central Ohio to Norfolk (via Columbus and Roanoke)
• Birmingham to Meridian
• Cleveland to Kansas City

Fleet and equipment (as of December 31, 2025)

Locomotives

• Total owned: 3,258 (leased: 0)
• Horsepower capacity: 12,119,100 HP
• Breakdown: 3,114 multi-purpose; 140 auxiliary; 4 switching
• Average fleet age in service: 30.5 years
• Retirements in 2025: 27 locomotives

Freight cars

• Total: 36,564 (owned: 31,128; leased: 5,436)
• Average fleet age in service: 24.1 years
• Retirements in 2025: 1,182 cars

Intermodal equipment

• Total: 56,391 (38,987 chassis; 17,404 containers)

Capacity and utilization

• Equipment counts and average ages are provided as capacity metrics; retirements and replacements occurred during 2025.

Property, capital, and investments

• Net property (historical cost basis): approximately $36 billion.
• Property additions (five-year summary, 2025 column shown): total additions in 2025 were $2,204 million, including $1,824 million for road and other property and $380 million for equipment.
• Track infrastructure and related improvements in 2025: 479 miles of new track installed; 4,061 miles of track surfacing; 2.0 million crossties installed.

Operations performance (2025)

• Railway operating revenues: $12.2 billion.
• Revenue mix by commodity:
  • Merchandise: 63% of railway operating revenues (2.3 million merchandise carloads)
  • Intermodal: 25% (4.1 million intermodal units)
  • Coal: 12% (78.0 million tons; ~0.7 million carloads)
• Revenue per thousand revenue ton miles: $66.31.
• Revenue ton miles: 184 billion.
• Railway operating ratio: 64.2%.

Workforce

• Average employees in 2025: 19,400; year-end 2025 headcount: 19,300.
• Approximately 80% of railroad employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements.