| The Aberdeen, Carolina and Western Railway Company joined forces with NS to create a transportation package to secure a new poultry feed mill for Mountaire Farms near Candor, N.C. The effort resulted in new business and is typical of the partnership NS fosters with short lines and regional railroads. Shown from left to right are Raeford Elkins, project manager, and Ray Williams, feed mill manager, both of Mountaire Farms; Mark Bean, NS account manager Sales, Charlotte, N.C.; Judy Stephens, director Montgomery County (N.C.) Economic Development Corporation; Bill Johnson, NS group sales manager, Charlotte; Bob Ingram, NS product manager Grain Marketing, Roanoke, Va.; and Jim Bowman, NS industrial development manager, Raleigh, N.C. |
Short Lines and Regional Roads
Partner with NS to Improve Service
A spirit of camaraderie and collaboration has grown among NS and its connecting short lines and regional railroads.
"There is an attitude of cooperation and determination that benefits customers - theirs and ours,"says John Kraemer, NS general manager Short Line Marketing. "We work together to determine the best way to interchange traffic to provide the highest levels of safety, service and value."
Bill Strawn, president of the Ohio Central Railroad System, agrees.
"It's not always easy for the big corporation to listen to a small company, but that's what NS has done," Strawn says. "I think they will continue to add value not only for themselves, but also for customers by these partnerships with short lines."
Dick Robey, president of North Shore Railroad Co., which operates eight short lines in Pennsylvania, says large and small railroads are interdependent.
"This is a hand-in-glove relationship," he says. "We are the fingertips on the larger NS."
The expanded NS rail system connects with some 220 regional and short line railroads throughout the Southeast, East, and Midwest. Those short line and regional rail partners feed traffic for movement across the NS system.
"The short lines come through for us in terms of route management and capacity," Kraemer says. "They have been, and continue to be, a great asset to our rail network."
NS will continue to explore additional partnership opportunities, as many short line and regional rail routes provide cost-effective and service-enhancing ways for NS to meet demand and improve service.
"We share an undivided focus on safety, customer service and continuous improvement," Kraemer says. "With common goals, we'll be able to improve service and add value for customers as we go forward together."