NS has record income year

For 2006 NS had a net income of $1.5 billion. A long cry from the late 60s when PC was losing $800k/day.

Good for them. That's what efficent managment and efficent workers get you.

Critics form a line to the left please. Any one with The "Nazi Southern" speech need not apply.

Hope the trainmen get a better contract and all now- what they get now is not the greatest.

nick11a wrote:Hope the trainmen get a better contract and all now- what they get now is not the greatest.

No, not the greatest, but compared to CN it is probably a better contract..

I have a friend who works for NS, who likes his job, and always stresses that it is a good railroad to work for! Yeah, I'm sure it is very hard hours and they push you to the limit, but I'd rather run a train on safer, better maintained track then what CSX has to offer!

Okay, let the flames begin!

come on, just because they had record profits does not mean that they are a "well run" operation.

Sure, they might have less problems than other railroads, (cough cough CSX) but that doesn't mean that everything is "hunky dorey"

the "Nazi Southern" nickname might have something to do with the record profits - there is a delicate balance between satisfying stockholders and being fair and reasonable to the workforce. Usually the stockholders win out.

Case in point, wasn't it discussed in here how the H02 was one of the worst runs because of the amount of work that it has to do, the amount of cars and industry it has to switch out, and the territory it has to cover? Sounds to me that another crew is needed...........has one been added?

Block you're right, they push you to the limit and the hours and long and hard - what does that equal? Fatigue - a problem that is HUGE in the railroad industry.

But all that doesn't matter because the tracks are good and they have record profits...........

Block you're right, they push you to the limit and the hours and long and hard - what does that equal? Fatigue - a problem that is HUGE in the railroad industry.

But all that doesn't matter because the tracks are good and they have record profits...........

All I said was that a friend liked his job at NS.. I didn't say they don't push you to the limit.. They all have their faults and failures! I'm sure there are also some instances on the CSX system where they do the same for cost cutting measures and such...

No your right, NS is not perfect either, but I still think they are one of the better run railroad companies that will at least get the mail and intermodel traffic to its destination in a more timely manner..!

With regards to H02, I am also surprised they didn't establish a second job being that NS just hired a whole sh*t load of people over the past 2 years!

Apparently, there isn't enough work for a second job. There was a second job- the H56 crew would work a night or two a week with the 02's equipment but that stopped a few years back. And besides, most of the time, the crews want that much work and stuff. They get payed more and if they have enough work, they can get payed overtime.

With all of this profit, it just seems NS could bump up the employee pay a bit. Right now, for a lot of NS crewmen, it is barely enough to live off of.

With all of this profit, it just seems NS could bump up the employee pay a bit. Right now, for a lot of NS crewmen, it is barely enough to live off of.

Exactly Nick - NS has yet to realize that the cost of doing operations in the Northeast, and in particular this area, is much higher than down in the South and Western parts of their operating area - and the people who suffer are the ones who work here in NJ and the Northeast. Workers are forced to work OT just to make enough money to keep their head above water. This leads to over-working and fatigue. Which again, fatigue is a MAJOR problem in the rail industry, so much so that the FRA and Congress are looking into the problem and proposing changing hours of service regulations, mainly due to the number of accidents, reported and unreported that can be attributed to fatigue.

Claims by the company like "record profits" are a kick in the teeth to those workers all over, who do the grunt work, and are barely making it by, and in come cases aren't making it by and having cars repossessed, houses foreclosed on and living pay check to pay check. All the while upper level managers are giving themselves bonuses and pay increases due to cutting costs and productivity gains. The focus is short term on profits and the stock price, not long term on giving the employees what they need to do their job the right way and of course, happy and satisfied employees, which reduces turnover and other costs as well.

How does that make sense? It doesn't.

The CNW had the right idea - employee owned and operated. Takes away the whole stockprice/shareholder element. If the employees are the stockholders, they have a totally different approach to the job, the company and their own actions.

As a disclaimer, of course I am a little biased in my opinion on things, however, I do have a business degree in management, so i can look at things in a slightly different manner, and can see both sides of the coin. But corporate models and methods of operations are changing, especially in regard to employee treatment, but like everything else, the railroad is so resistant to change, that they are probably about 60 years behind the rest of corporate america.

Just my half-a-cent here...

The matter of wether or not Norfolk Southern is a "well run operation" is heavily subjective, and can be easily biased by the factor of individual point of view. This is something that Jtgshu admitted to by noting his education in the business realm. However, a trainman, or operations planning manager, or ethusiast may see something totally different.

One must also consider all the segments that add up to being a well run operation. Personally, I believe that NS gets a ton of things right, but also has it's flaws. Again, it is subjective.

The management and board at NS has demonstrated itself time and time again to be typical of large companies. They desire to do the most amount of successful, profitable business with the least possible spending using employees being paid as little as possible. Is that right? No, of course not. It only hurts the employees, and results is poor work and low morale, leading to a lack of desire by employees to do the work. From what I have heard from NS employees, the contracts do...well...suck. Not a good thing, as anyone knows in any industry.

Train operations, in terms of schedules and dispatching, on the NS are efficent and thorough for the most part to my eyes. My experience as a neutral observer has shown me that fact does depend on where in the system you are, but it is true for the most part. For example, the three track transcon west of Altoona is fluid and generally sees few trains at a hault when there are no suprises. The same can be said for the former Nickle Plate Road lines; the Lake Erie District down to the Fostoria District. On the other hand, the Hagerstown District and the Wabash District often see traffic jams. A train crew may disagree, but they are often not "big picture railroading" being that their perspective is biased on wanting to be off work. Also, NS's schedules are well orchestrated, as is block planning.

Just a few examples off the top of my head. Do I think that NS is a well run operation? I think they need to improve on working conditions, wages, and some facilities. I see a well operated railroad. But I think NS in the larger scope could use some improvements.

Like the wise man said..."Your perspective is not my reality".

nick11a wrote:Apparently, there isn't enough work for a second job. There was a second job- the H56 crew would work a night or two a week with the 02's equipment but that stopped a few years back. And besides, most of the time, the crews want that much work and stuff. They get payed more and if they have enough work, they can get payed overtime.

With all of this profit, it just seems NS could bump up the employee pay a bit. Right now, for a lot of NS crewmen, it is barely enough to live off of.

First. The NS falls into the national handling NCCC for its contracts for ALL its labor unions. A NS trainman gets the same pay as a CSX trainman and a BNSF trainman. Just becasue the NS is stricter with its overtime than say Conrail was why is it a big deal.

Second. You do realize that its cheaper to have only one job making 12 hours than two jobs each getting a quit. If you had two jobs only working 6 hours or less, why pay for both of them, when one job could get all the work done. If the H-02 was really overburdened with work wouldnt you think the crew would have layed down on them now.

Third. The NS is a huge system reaching far beyond what our little eyes can see. We are at the "end" of their eastern region. They are very good with there schedueling, Thus the Eastbound parade in the AM and the Westbound parade in the PM. There record profits are sure to have included the income from all there subsicederies as well not just the railroad.

wolfboy8171981 wrote:

nick11a wrote:Apparently, there isn't enough work for a second job. There was a second job- the H56 crew would work a night or two a week with the 02's equipment but that stopped a few years back. And besides, most of the time, the crews want that much work and stuff. They get payed more and if they have enough work, they can get payed overtime.

With all of this profit, it just seems NS could bump up the employee pay a bit. Right now, for a lot of NS crewmen, it is barely enough to live off of.

First. The NS falls into the national handling NCCC for its contracts for ALL its labor unions. A NS trainman gets the same pay as a CSX trainman and a BNSF trainman. Just becasue the NS is stricter with its overtime than say Conrail was why is it a big deal.

Second. You do realize that its cheaper to have only one job making 12 hours than two jobs each getting a quit. If you had two jobs only working 6 hours or less, why pay for both of them, when one job could get all the work done. If the H-02 was really overburdened with work wouldnt you think the crew would have layed down on them now.

Third. The NS is a huge system reaching far beyond what our little eyes can see. We are at the "end" of their eastern region. They are very good with there schedueling, Thus the Eastbound parade in the AM and the Westbound parade in the PM. There record profits are sure to have included the income from all there subsicederies as well not just the railroad.

And a somewhat related Fourth, one great year performance does not necessarily imply future performance to match. NS last week announced an expected decline in earnings for the first quarter of 2007, in brief excerpt as follows:

NORFOLK - Norfolk Southern Corp., the fourth-largest U.S. railroad, warned Wednesday that slumping freight volumes and reduced property sale income are expected to lower first-quarter earnings per share by about 3 percent compared with year-ago levels.

The last time Norfolk Southern's quarterly earnings per share declined year-over-year was in the first quarter of 2000, because of its acquisition of Conrail.

Cargo shipments fell 4.4 percent in the first quarter this year from the January-to-March period of 2006, reflecting a weak housing market and decreased domestic vehicle production, the railroad said in a statement. That nearly equals the industry wide 4.5 percent drop in freight volume for the first 12 weeks of 2007 compared with last year, according to the Association of American Railroads.

I wonder how much of that $1.5 billion came from the company scamming its customers Of course the company is going to show how much it made as opposed to how much it lost on my way out ups was pulling out of ns due to constatnt delays caused by poor managment decisions or at least that was the case in north jersey not sure whatever happened with that how about the issues with certain trainmasters shaking down customers telling them they will not get service unless these trainmasters get something does that come into play with the $1.5 billion in net income?
Someone mentioned efficient crews and management but i have only experienced many lazy crews and highly incompetent management none of the guys in the north jersey area are satisfied with ns so to say that your friend likes the company must be some kind of bs
So the ns made $1.5 billion and the dover job still has to borrow locomotives and atlanta will be furious over the crew using the morristown engines so what was solved at dover with the ns making a $1.5 billion net income? the crew will still be borrowing that jallopy on monday or so i heard

wolfboy8171981 wrote:
First. The NS falls into the national handling NCCC for its contracts for ALL its labor unions. A NS trainman gets the same pay as a CSX trainman and a BNSF trainman. Just becasue the NS is stricter with its overtime than say Conrail was why is it a big deal.

Actually, the BLE allows its respective General Committees to sign single-property agreements. For example, NS engineers working on the NSR (Southern Agreement) territories are under contract through 2009, and have pay rates and arbitraries that are not part of the National Agreement. We get higher away from home meal allowances, and weekend/holiday differentials than those bargained with the NCCC.

Our health and welfare stuff comes from the national, but the BLET does have leeway to negotiate outside of it.

General wrote:on my way out ups was pulling out of ns due to constatnt delays caused by poor managment decisions or at least that was the case in north jersey not sure whatever happened with that how about the issues with certain trainmasters shaking down customers telling them they will not get service unless these trainmasters get something

UPS has been shifting traffic nationwide to long haul trucks, and a portion of the lost UPS stuff was retaliation from a western carrier, who didn't like NS's Meridian Speedway deal with KCS and subsequently cut a deal with CSX to take some away.

As far as trainmasters go, the winds of change have been blowing. 2 of the North Jersey trainmasters are gone. One was shipped out to Chicago (CD), and another sent back down south (CB).

In A'town, the dreadlocked one has also been sent west, also to Chicago.

General wrote:I wonder how much of that $1.5 billion came from the company scamming its customers Of course the company is going to show how much it made as opposed to how much it lost on my way out ups was pulling out of ns due to constatnt delays caused by poor managment decisions or at least that was the case in north jersey not sure whatever happened with that how about the issues with certain trainmasters shaking down customers telling them they will not get service unless these trainmasters get something does that come into play with the $1.5 billion in net income?
Someone mentioned efficient crews and management but i have only experienced many lazy crews and highly incompetent management none of the guys in the north jersey area are satisfied with ns so to say that your friend likes the company must be some kind of bs
So the ns made $1.5 billion and the dover job still has to borrow locomotives and atlanta will be furious over the crew using the morristown engines so what was solved at dover with the ns making a $1.5 billion net income? the crew will still be borrowing that jallopy on monday or so i heard

Your run on sentences are giving me a headache!! Relax and take a chill pill will ya???