NS
NS started the New Year “raising awareness around the importance of working safely and maintaining a safe work environment,” according to the Class I railroad (see video above).
“At Norfolk Southern, everything starts with safety,” NS President and CEO Alan Shaw reported in a LinkedIn post. “We kicked off our first full day of 2024 operations by talking about safety. Across our network, leaders met with their teams and reinforced how important it is to operate safely, watch out for their colleagues, and raise their hand if they see something unsafe.
“I had the privilege to join our railroaders at our Enola Yard outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. No one knows our railroad better than our craft colleagues. We’re listening to their feedback, and together, we’re building upon our safety culture and making our company more resilient. It takes our shared, unwavering commitment to deliver safe service for our customers, while driving productivity and growth.
“We’re always looking for ways to advance our safety culture and performance at NS. With all 20,000 of us dedicated to this goal every day, we’re committed to being the gold standard of safety in the rail industry.”
According to NS Chief Operating Officer Paul Duncan, NS will continue to hold safety events like this year-round “so that safety remains top of mind,” and it is “working closely to support our craft colleagues so we can work safely and return home each day the same way we came to work.”
NS in 2023 reported committing to making “our safe railroad even safer” by retaining Atkins Nuclear Secured to conduct a multi-year independent review of its safety culture, safety-related training programs, employee engagement, oversight and monitoring, and communications protocols and practices; by introducing six-point safety and craft workforce engagement plans to guide its actions; and by beginning work on a new regional safety training center in East Palestine that it said will provide ongoing, free training for first responders from Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and the greater region, following the Feb. 3 derailment.
In other NS news, the railroad recently released its inaugural plan aimed at “reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with a focus on transitioning to a low-carbon economy.”
UP
CertainTeed Roofing, a sustainable exterior and interior building products manufacturer, is expanding its service and production capabilities in Texas. The Saint-Gobain Corporation subsidiary broke ground in late November on a new warehouse and distribution center in Bryan, which will be served by UP. This plant—one of more than 15 across North America—is expected to be operational over the next several years. It will allow the company to shorten the distance its products travel to market and lower its carbon footprint, aligning with Saint-Gobain’s global goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.
According to CertainTeed, the project has been supported by direct contributions of land, a zero-cost rail easement, locally supported industrial infrastructure, and 10 years of property tax savings from the Chapter 313 program.
The groundbreaking event featured remarks from Texas Business and Community Development Director Larry McManus; Vice President and General Manager of CertainTeed Roofing Carmen Bodden; Bryan Mayor Bobby Gutierrez;, Brazos County Judge Duane Peters; and CertainTeed Roofing Director of Strategy and Business Development Jill Betters. CertainTeed Roofing also presented a check for $20,000 to the Bryan Independent School District (ISD) Education Foundation in support of the Bryan ISD Career and Technical Education Center, which neighbors CertainTeed’s location in Bryan.
“We’re excited to expand our service capabilities to our customers in Texas,” said Carmen Bodden. “With the support of Union Pacific, our new warehouse in Bryan will fully optimize the use of rail transportation, which helps to minimize our carbon footprint for generations to come and live our purpose of ‘Making the World a Better Home.’”
“This facility is a great opportunity for our long-time customer, CertainTeed Roofing, to further utilize Union Pacific’s network for their customers,” said Kim Hess, UP Assistant Vice President-Energy.
“CertainTeed’s new roofing manufacturing and distribution center in Bryan is an important addition to the state’s booming manufacturing industry,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said. “Texas has been the top exporting state in the nation for the last 21 years in a row, and it’s thanks to our state’s hardworking manufacturers that ‘Made in Texas’ has never been a more powerful global brand. I thank CertainTeed for choosing to grow in Texas, and congratulations on the groundbreaking of this remarkable new facility.”
Separately, UP, which with Ferromex and BNSF suffered a severe service disruption in December when U.S. Customs and Border Protection unnecessarily closed the U.S./Mexico rail bridges at Eagle Pass and El Paso, Tex., has added a Special Agent patrol at the border.
