NS
“This year, we made meaningful investments across our network to improve our railroad, our industry, and the communities we serve,” NS reported Dec. 29. Among the highlights:
Safety
- NS invested in its employees, “building the skills and capabilities of generational railroaders” through Safety Camps, two-day, intensive leadership development programs. The railroad in 2025 achieved what it said was its “lowest injury and accident rates in more than a decade.”
- NS trained 5,800 first responders through its Operation Awareness and Response (OAR) program.
- Railroaders companywide—from senior leaders to frontline employees—“joined forces to raise awareness, protect communities, and help save lives during Operation Lifesaver’s See Tracks? Think Train!® Week.”
- NS installed three new Digital Train Inspection (DTI) portals, bringing the total number in networkwide operation to 10.
- NS deployed its “first-ever” Wheel Integrity System (WIS) “that uses AI and ultra‑high‑resolution imaging to spot cracked wheels at track speed, preventing potential derailments before they happen.”
Operations
- NS last spring restored AS Line service around Asheville, N.C., after working for six months to repair track that was damaged by Hurricane Helene. The line connects Eastern Tennessee to Western North Carolina.
- NS established “specialized cross-functional War Rooms focused on critical areas such as wayside operations, locomotive reliability, and car maintenance.” According to the railroad, they “monitor real-time performance, reduce delays, and engineer long-term solutions.”
- NS’s Bellevue Yard achieved a milestone: processing nearly 2,600 cars in a single day, including more than 1,100 in one shift—“all without a single safety incident.”
Infrastructure
- NS committed more than $1 billion in infrastructure upgrades across its 22-state network “to enhance safety, productivity, and fluidity.” Key achievements included replacing more than 480 track miles of rail, installing 1.9 million new crossties, adding 375 highway/rail grade crossing protection systems, and delivering 84 bridge replacement and rehabilitation projects, along with seven terminal upgrade projects “to support capacity, efficiency, and customer demand.”
- In partnership with the Georgia Ports Authority, NS completed work on the Blue Ridge Connector inland port, which will open next year in Gainesville, Ga. The railroad said it led track construction and signal installation for the project, which is designed to boost capacity and cut carbon emissions by up to 90%.
- NS modernized and expanded Alabama’s 3B Corridor, which connects markets in northern and central Alabama with the Port of Mobile. Upgrades included new sidings and yard expansions to support the automotive, agriculture, and manufacturing industries.
Community Impact
- NS distributed $18.3 million to communities across its network through Safety First and Thriving Communities grants and other programs.
Sustainability
- NS introduced RailGreen, described as “a first-of-its-kind solution enabling customers to reduce emissions from their freight rail shipments via verified certificates for supply chain emissions reduction.”
- Josh Raglin, NS Chief Sustainability Officer, was named Sustainable Business Leader of the Year by Environmental Finance.
- NS’s “living shoreline” in Lamberts Point, Va., won Best Sustainability Program from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
- NS’s Juniata Locomotive Shop in Altoona, Pa., completed the railroad’s 1,000th DC-to-AC locomotive conversion, extending each locomotive’s life by at least 20 years and leading to “lower costs, reduced emissions and greater reliability” of the equipment.
Enterprise
- In 2025, NS reported achieving “a world-class response rate of 42% to our customer survey.” The survey results, it said, “show that we made meaningful investments in our customer relationships, service reliability, and proactive communication to boost customer value.”
- NS held its second-annual Labor Summit, building upon its “strong relationships with labor partners to listen, learn, and find more ways to improve together.”
- NS held “Safety Walkabouts,” accelerating what it called a “culture transformation” bringing together railroaders across crafts, roles, and responsibilities.
Customer Successes
- “From the AI economy to renewable energy, NS is helping customers build critical power infrastructure, such as transformers, generators and wind farm components,” it said. “By leveraging our rail network for efficient, reliable transport, NS ensures customers can scale quickly and sustainably for tomorrow’s needs.”
- NS also supported customer goals. “When SA Recycling sought to increase its daily carloads from 14 to 25 and eliminate mainline switching conflicts, we worked with them on a solution, ultimately connecting our Doraville Yard directly to their facility,” the railroad reported. “The result is a smoother service and improved operational efficiency.”
- NS expanded its Short Line Performance Project from an initial pilot to all 260-plus short line connections across its network. The program, it said, “improves interchange performance through shared data, daily visibility, and stronger two-way communication with short line partners.”
- NS’s Great Lakes Reload facility in Chicago has experienced a 62% increase in volume since the railroad acquired it in 2024, NS said. The facility includes a 386,000-square-foot climate-controlled warehouse, 13 overhead cranes, and 18 indoor rail spots to support efficient freight transfer and storage, according to the railroad. It serves the steel, cement, and lumber industries, and handles other bulk commodities.
Innovation
- NS’s new Automated Track Geometry Measurement System (ATGMS) “captures changes that could indicate potential defects without disrupting operations.” By continuously collecting data, “ATGMS helps our craft colleagues enhance safety and performance throughout the network,” according to the railroad.
- NS was recognized with a Fast Company 2025 Innovation by Design Award for its DTI portals, which it noted “spotlight how NS is applying AI and human expertise to make inspections smarter and operations safer.”
Railway Age in November named NS Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer John Orr 2026 Railroader of the Year. Orr will be presented with the award on March 10, 2026, following the Railway Age Next-Gen Freight Rail 2026 conference in Chicago.
CSX
Astro Aggregates, LLC, earlier this month reported that its Hicksville, Long Island, loading facility received the first rail delivery of construction stone from upstate New York’s Benson Mines. The roughly 350-mile journey was serviced by Genesee Valley Transportation, CSX, and Anacostia Rail Holdings’s New York & Atlantic Railway.
Astro Aggregates, a provider of construction stone and other aggregates to the New York City, Long Island and New Jersey markets, and Benson Mines signed a multi-year partnership for rail moves in December 2024.
“We are excited to see this partnership with Benson Mines reach this milestone,” said Marc Furman, President of Astro Aggregates. “We see the relationship benefiting our asphalt and ready-mix customers in the boroughs of New York City and Long Island. As we continue to grow our market presence in the Long Island market and adjacent states, we will continue to market the NYSDOT certifications of the Benson stone and pursue additional state certifications. This material will be used to build the skyscrapers of New York City and pave the roads of all of Long Island. We see the volume of stone being shipped increasing from this initial load [of 500 tons] to using 500 cars per year and then steadily increasing thereafter.”
Astro Aggregates reported that it plans to bring to the Benson Mines site a mobile crushing unit “to efficiently work through the existing stockpiles [of quarried waste rock] and then develop a static plant that can produce higher volumes and load railcars directly from the conveyor.”
Separately, Eco Material Technologies earlier this year opened the Blissville Rail Terminal in Queens, N.Y., to distribute its fly ash and sustainable cementitious materials to the metro area construction market. The terminal is served by New York & Atlantic Railway and operated by Precision Terminal Logistics, LLC in partnership with Eco Material.
BNSF
For the past four years in San Bernardino, Calif., BNSF and J.B. Hunt Transport Services have taken part in the National Wreaths Across America event, placing wreaths on U.S. veterans’ graves. Volunteers from the Patriot Guard earlier this month escorted wreaths, transported free of charge by BNSF and J.B. Hunt, to the Riverside National Cemetery, the railroad reported via social media on Dec. 27 (see photograph above).
“Each year, the teams come together to honor those who served, even in the midst of our busiest season,” BNSF Assistant Terminal Superintendent Tom Batts said. “We demonstrate the value of coming together for a special purpose, while maintaining seamless operations.”
The 2025 Wreaths Across America event took place Dec. 13 at 5,598 locations; more than 3.1 million sponsored veterans’ wreaths were placed in remembrance of “our nation’s heroes,” according to Wreaths Across America, a nonprofit.
Separately, BNSF in November marked its 11th consecutive month of “record-breaking” terminal dwell.
