ROANOKE (WSLS 10) -Â Norfolk Southern Railway Company announced Wednesday they will no longer accept shipments of Poisonous-Inhalation-Hazard ("PIH") commodities, effective Dec. 1, 2015.
Officials said PIH commodities in transit on Dec. 1, 2015 will be delivered to destination by Dec. 31, 2015.
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Starting on December 1, 2015, Norfolk Southern will not pull PIH loads or residual cars from a facility on NS and will not accept such cars at interchange.
These service changes – effective across the entire NS rail network -- are required to comply with federal safety laws that become effective after Dec. 31, 2015, the government's deadline for installation of PTC. Despite investment of nearly $1 billion to date, Norfolk Southern will not meet the deadline.
NSR is ceasing service related to PIH commodities to prevent it from violating federal safety laws that become effective after December 31, 2015. The December 1, 2015 effective date is designed to allow for all such commodities tendered prior to December 1, 2015 to clear the NSR system before January 1, 2016.
In addition, NSR has notified in writing Amtrak, Virginia Railway Express and Metra that passenger trains will not be permitted to operate on NSR track after December 31, 2015.
Norfolk Southern said they regret the inconvenience that customers, passengers, and commuters will experience and hopes that Congress will act quickly and decisively to allow us to restore full access to our rail network.