The railway broke ground on a $70 million railroad bridge in Letchworth State Park in conjunction with the New York State Department of Transportation; the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; and various other supporters.
Norfolk Southern posted a net income of $452 million for the third quarter of 2015, which represents a 19 percent decline from the third quarter of 2014.
During the quarter, the net income was reduced by $23 million due to the $37 million in expenses associated with restructuring the company’s Triple Crown Services subsidiary to focus on the transport of auto parts, along with with the closure of the NS office in Roanoke, Va. the railway said.
Diluted earnings per share at NS fell 17 percent, from $1.79 per share in Q3 2014 to $1.49 per share in Q3 2015.
The railway’s operating revenues stood at $2.7 billion for the third quarter, a year-over-year drop of 10 percent. NS primarily attributed the decline to reductions in fuel surcharge revenues in each of the company’s three commodity groups and a continued drop in coal shipments.
General merchandise revenues fell 7 percent to $1.6 billion. The company’s five general merchandise commodity groups reported the following revenues: Chemicals were down 8 percent to $451 million; agriculture was up 4 percent to $380 million; metals/construction were down 20 percent to $330 million; automotive was down 3 percent to $246 million; and paper/forest was down 3 percent to $203 million.
Intermodal revenues fell 7 percent to $621 million, the result of lower fuel surcharges and fewer domestic shipments, NS said.
Coal revenues slipped 23 percent to $482 million, and the railway attributed the decline to a weak global export market and lower natural gas prices in the utility market.
Meanwhile, Norfolk Southern; the New York State Department of Transportation; the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; and various other supporters broke ground on a $70 million steel arch railroad bridge earlier this week in Letchworth State Park, situated 58 miles southeast of Buffalo, N.Y.
The new Portageville Bridge will be located approximately 75 feet south of the current iron truss bridge built by the Erie Railroad in 1875, which spans the Genesee River Gorge.
The current bridge is no longer equipped to efficiently handle modern-day freight rail transportation, according to NS. “Currently, Norfolk Southern must slow freight trains crossing the bridge to 10 mph, and freight car weights must be reduced 13,000 pounds below the industry standard,” the railway said.
The new Portageville Bridge will assist businesses in Buffalo and the Southern Tier regions to connect with markets east and west. In addition, the new bridge will connect ten short line railroads that serve local businesses with the Norfolk Southern network.
The 900-foot single-track bridge is expected to take three years to construct. In addition, NS will build 1,200 feet of new track on either side of the gorge to align current tracks with the new bridge. Construction for the bridge project is expected to commence by the end of 2015.
“The budget for the bridge project includes $3 million in design costs and $2.5 million in construction costs from the New York Department of Transportation; a $2 million grant from the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council; and a $10 million grant from the U.S. Federal Highway Administration. Norfolk Southern will contribute the balance,” the railway said.
The current bridge will remain open during the construction and will be dismantled afterwards.
Norfolk Southern sees 19% drop in Q3 net income
