Class I Briefs: NS, BNSF

David C. Lester Photograph

Norfolk Southern (NS) experiences a system outage, resulting in nationwide train delays. Also, BNSF recognizes customers for excellence in product safety.

NS said it has restored all rail systems after the Class I railroad experienced a hardware-related technology outage that impacted all rail operations on Monday.

According to NS, which provided an update on its website, there was no indication that the outage was a cybersecurity incident, and all systems were restored at 7 p.m. ET. NS added that it expects the impact on its operations to last at least a couple of weeks and has been in touch with its customers to work on updated timings for their shipments.

According to a Railfan & Railroad Magazine report, the hours-long disruption was caused by a Positive Train Control (PTC) outage, resulting in “NS and Amtrak trains being unable to move because they could not connect to the PTC network.”

As of 7:20 p.m. EST on Aug. 28, it appeared the issues were continuing late into the evening, according to the Railfan & Railroad Magazine report. For example, Amtrak announced it would be canceling Northeast Regional 66 due to “ongoing host railroad server issues.” Other trains, according to the report, were still set to run but with “significant delays.”

Virginia Railway Express’s (VRE) Manassas Trains were also being held due to the system outage, according to an X (formerly Twitter) post.

According to a report in The Messenger, NS’s website and email systems also appeared to be experiencing outages.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) disclosed earlier this month that it is “considering enforcement actions” against NS, which has been “under heavy fire” following the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, according to a Reuters report.

BNSF recently honored 115 customers with its annual Product Stewardship Award for the safe transportation of hazardous materials by rail.

Implemented in 1997, The BNSF Stewardship Award recognizes shippers who transport a minimum of 500 loaded tank cars of hazardous materials during the previous year and record zero non-accidental releases.

According to the Class I railroad, companies receiving the award transported an established minimum of loaded tank cars of hazardous materials with zero non-accident releases during the last year’s full transportation cycle. These customers, BNSF says, also upheld the ethics of Product Stewardship under the American Chemistry Council’s Responsible Care® initiative.

The honorees for 2023 are:

• DEEN ENERGY LLC
• AGRIUM US INC
• ALBINA HOLDINGS INC
• ALLIANCE ENERGY SERVICES
• ALTAGAS LTD
• AMERIGAS PROPANE LP
• ARROW RELOAD SYSTEMS INC
• ARTESIA PTU LLC
• ASHTA CHEMICALS INC
• ASPHALT & FUEL SUPPLY LLC
• BASF CORP
• BIG WEST OIL CO
• BP PRODUCTS NORTH AMERICA
• BRIDGEPORT ETHANOL LLC
• BUSHMILLS ETHANOL INC
• CALUMET LUBRICANTS CO
• CARGILL INC
• CENOVUS ENERGY INC
• CENTENNIAL ENERGY LLC
• CF INDUSTRIES SALES LLC
• CHEMTRADE LOGISTICS INC
• CHEVRON PHILLIPS CHEMICAL
• CHEVRON PRODUCTS CO
• CHIEF ETHANOL FUELS INC
• CHS INC
• CITGO PETROLEUM CORP
• CONOCOPHILLIPS CO
• CONTANGO
• COVESTRO LLC
• DAKOTA GASIFICATION COMPANY
• DAKOTA SPIRIT AGENERGY LLC
• DIAMOND GREEN DIESEL
• DIVERSIFIED CPC INTERNATIONAL
• DYNO NOBEL INC
• EASTMAN CHEMICAL CO
• ECO SERVICES OPERATIONS CO
• ELBOW RIVER MARKETING LTD
• ENTERPRISE PRODUCTS OPERATIONS
• EQUINOR MARKETING & TRADING
• ERCO WORLDWIDE
• ERGON INC
• EXXONMOBIL CORP
• FACTOR GAS LIQUIDS INC
• FORMOSA PLASTICS CORPORATION
• GENESIS ENERGY LP
• GLACIAL LAKES ENERGY LLC
• GOLDEN TRIANGLE ENERGY LLC
• GREEN PLAINS TRADE GROUP LLC
• GUNVOR USA LLC
• HARMATTAN GAS PROCESSING
• HEREFORD ETHANOL PARTNERS
• HESS CORP
• HF SINCLAIR REFINING & MARKETING, LLC
• HTP ENERGY
• HUNTSMAN CORP
• HUSKER AG LLC
• HUSKY ENERGY INC
• INDORAMA VENTURES USA INC
• INEOS LLC
• INEOS STYROLUTION AMERICA
• INTERNATIONAL RAW MATERIALS
• JEBRO INC
• JR SIMPLOT COMPANY
• KEYERA CORP
• KIROS ENERGY MARKETING ULC
• KIVA ENERGY
• LINDE INC
• LION OIL CO
• LUBRIZOL CORP
• MARATHON PETROLEUM
• MARTIN PRODUCT SALES LLC
• MEGLOBAL AMERICAS INC
• METHANEX METHANOL LLC
• MID AMERICA AGRI PRODUCTS
• MIDSTREAM LPG PARTNERSHIP
• MOOSE JAW REFINERY PARTNER
• MUREX N A LTD
• NEBRASKA CORN PROCESSING LLC
• NEW WORLD GLOBAL LLC
• NGL ENERGY PARTNERS LP
• NGL SUPPLY COMPANY LTD
• NORFALCO SALES INC
• NUGEN ENERGY LLC
• OCCIDENTAL CHEMICAL CORP
• OLIN CORP
• OQ CHEMICALS CORP
• PBF HOLDING COMPANY LLC
• PCS SALES (USA) INC
• PEMBINA RESOURCE SERVICES
• PETROGAS ENERGY CORP
• PHILLIPS 66
• PIONEER OIL LLC
• PLAINS MIDSTREAM CANADA ULC
• PLAINVIEW BIOENERGY LLC
• PLYMOUTH ENERGY LLC
• POET BIOREFINING
• POET BIOREFINING-BIG STONE
• REAGENT CHEMICAL & RESEARCH
• REDFIELD ENERGY LLC
• RPMG LLC
• SHELL USA
• SOLVAY AMERICA INC
• SOUTHERN CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTION
• STOLT-NIELSEN TRANSPORTATION
• SUNCOR ENERGY MARKETING INC
• TARGA RESOURCES INC
• TARGRAY INDUSTRIES INC
• TAUBER OIL CO
• TESSENDERLO KERLEY INC
• THE ANDERSONS INC
• THE DOW CHEMICAL CO
• THE INTERNATIONAL GROUP INC
• TIDEWATER MIDSTREAM & INFRASTRUCTURE
• TOTALENERGIES PETROCHEMICALS
• TRECORA HYDROCARBONS LLC

“At BNSF, safety is always at the forefront of everything we do,” said Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer Matt Igoe. “We are happy to recognize our customers whose priorities consistently align with ours. These strong partnerships help us remain committed to moving hazardous materials safer than any other mode of land transportation.”