Class I Briefs: UP, NS

A ship takes on coal at Pier 6, the heart of Lamberts Point Coal Terminal in Norfolk, Va. The facility operates around the clock. Since 1883, more than 1.2 billion tons of coal have been loaded onto vessels there. (NS photo)

Union Pacific (UP) expands opportunities for businesses to connect to rail with five new “Focus Sites.” Also, Norfolk Southern’s (NS) Lamberts Point team in Norfolk, Va., sets a coal processing record.

UP

UP on July 2 announced five new Focus Sites, providing businesses additional connections to the railroad’s 32,000-mile network and new opportunities to address their transportation needs.

Focus Sites, according to the Class I, are large-scale development sites suited for custom-built warehouses or industrial facilities. These sites are railroad hubs where UP can “concentrate resources, effectively manage logistics and provide targeted services for its customers.”

In all, UP has 32 Focus Sites across its network. The five new sites are in Shawnee, Okla.; Cedar City and Grantsville, Utah; and San Antonio and Texarkana, Texas. Combined, these five sites have 15,000 available acres ready for development.

“Our team of regional experts specialize in finding you the best site to build your business,” said UP Executive Vice President – Marketing and Sales Kenny Rocker. “We work with customers to understand their business needs and find solutions to win in the marketplace.”

In addition to Focus Sites, UP provides a Site Solutions Tool with more than 6,000 potential properties available and located within 800 meters of its rail lines. The listings, the Class I says, are constantly updated to offer customers “full visibility into available options to establish rail service with UP.”

NS

In addition to assisting CONSOL Energy following the March collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Md., members of NS’s Lamberts Point Coal Terminal in Norfolk, Va., set a record for loading coal that helped to ensure the Class I could meet global energy demand.

CONSOL Energy needed a new way to export their product overseas after the closure of the Port of Baltimore. The company approached NS to find a temporary solution until the port reopened. Working together, NS and CONSOL made plans to divert coal through Lamberts Point.

“Our craft and non-craft colleagues at Lamberts Point demonstrated great flexibility to come together and successfully meet the service needs of one of our most important customers,” said NS Chief Operating Officer John Orr. “The team’s efforts had an enormous impact on the world’s energy supply and demonstrated that NS can be counted on as a transportation partner of choice.” 

The plan required tight coordination with multiple teams throughout April and May to accommodate the diverted traffic without adversely affecting existing coal volumes. These efforts included:

• More than 40 conductors and engineers from across NS were deployed to Norfolk to assist with the expanded production needs.
• Every opportunity to load vessels was maximized.
• Craft colleagues worked around the clock to arrive trains from CONSOL’s mines, cycle cars to the dumper for unloading, and switch empty cars into outbound trains.
• NS’s Mechanical team serviced and maintained machinery and locomotives.
• NS’s Communications & Signals team maintained tracks and systems to support the overall flow of traffic.

By collectively pulling together, NS says the team loaded more than 3.8 million tons of coal over a two-month period, a record for the facility. This achievement included more than two million tons in May, the first time this benchmark had been reached since April 2013. This also marked only the seventh time two million tons has been exceeded in a month since 2000, according to the Class I.

“Our teams rallied together to effectively handle our customer’s needs. What we were able to accomplish in such a short period of time was phenomenal,” said Terminal Superintendent Tom Novitske.

NS’s success at Lamberts Point to meet global energy demands was made possible due to a “Team of Teams” approach, the Class I noted. Transportation, Mechanical, Engineering, Communications and Signals, along with NS’s Marketing, Network Operations Center, and Network Planning and Optimization teams each contributed to help increase production.