Norfolk Southern releases 2026 Forging a Better Tomorrow report

Norfolk Southern has released its 2026 Forging a Better Tomorrow report, highlighting progress in building a safer, stronger, and more sustainable railroad. Covering performance from 2025 through early 2026, the annual report showcases how continued investment and innovation are helping deliver for customers, strengthen communities, and support long-term growth.

Driving business excellence and innovation

We’re investing in infrastructure, technology, and AI-powered solutions that strengthen performance, improve service reliability, and create long-term value for our customers.

• Invested more than $1 billion in infrastructure upgrades to improve safety, capacity, and service
• Supported 60+ industrial development projects, generating $7.7 billion in investment activity
• Expanded AI-powered inspection, monitoring, and analytics to improve safety and network performance
• Announced an agreement with Union Pacific to create America's first transcontinental railroad, connecting more than 50,000 route miles across 43 states

Building a better planet

Our commitment to sustainability is embedded in our day-to-day decisions, helping us move what matters while building a lower-carbon, more resilient future.

• Achieved a record 5% improvement in locomotive fuel efficiency and surpassed 1,000 DC-to-AC locomotive modernizations
• Diverted 84% of operational waste from landfills while generating a record $101 million through resource recovery
• Expanded RailGreen™ and reporting tools to help customers reduce supply chain emissions

Advancing a culture of safety

Safety is a core value that guides every decision we make. We strengthen our safety culture through accountability, continuous improvement, investments in advanced technologies, and ongoing training.

• Achieved the best FRA-reportable train accident rate in more than a decade, a 29% improvement compared with 2024, and reduced the employee injury rate by 15%
• Trained more than 5,800 first responders through our Operation Awareness & Response program
• More than 75% of traffic was scanned monthly by Digital Train Inspection portals

Strengthening communities and our workforce

People are the power behind Norfolk Southern. We invest in our railroaders while supporting the communities where we live and work through charitable giving, volunteerism, workforce development, and strategic partnerships.

• Contributed more than $18.2 million to charitable organizations for the third consecutive year
• Railroaders volunteered more than 7,200 hours in communities across our network
• Strengthened partnerships with craft employees and labor organizations, ratifying agreements with all 13 unions

From our leaders

"Progress doesn't happen on its own. It is driven by the people who show up every day focused on what matters most: operating our railroad safely, delivering reliable service to our customers, and supporting the communities where our railroaders live, work, and operate. In 2025, that focus delivered meaningful results. These results reflect more than operational progress. They reflect how our culture is taking hold through stronger alignment, clearer expectations, greater accountability, and more consistent execution across our railroad.” – Mark George, President & CEO

“The progress highlighted in this report demonstrates how sustainability is creating value across our railroad. From achieving a record improvement in locomotive fuel efficiency to delivering new solutions for our customers, we're proving what’s possible when sustainability and operational excellence move forward together.” – Josh Raglin, Chief Sustainability Officer

Explore the full report and highlights document at https://www.norfolksouthern.com/forgingabettertomorrow2026.