Norfolk’s “Thoroughbred Team” has used more than 160,000 tons of materials to rebuild 13 miles of track between Newport and Asheville.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Norfolk Southern reopened customer freight into Asheville on May 20. In a statement, Norfolk’s leaders celebrated “a major milestone” in the effort to reconnect Western North Carolina with East Tennessee.
Kevin McKinney, the chief of operations for Underwood and Weld, a transportation company, said the reopening will elevate tension on Underwood and Weld’s operations.
“The average rail car that we get in is going to have four to five tractor-trailer loads of material on it,” McKinney said. “Without the rail freight, it’d be tough for some of these companies to do what they do.”
Helene slowed freight operations by destroying miles of both freight rail and roadways, but orders didn’t stop coming in. McKinney said he’s seen hundreds of thousands of pounds of plastic pellets, barley and more get backlogged due to damaged rail lines and shuttered storage and distribution sites, like Asheville.
“If you go in your house, your business, your office, wherever, you’re not going to handle anything that hasn’t been shipped by rail, or truck, or both,” he said.
He said operations have worked their way back to pre-Helene levels over time, and this latest reopening will build momentum.
Rob Mathis, the mayor of Cocke County, said the announcement is positive news for several large employers in the county who rely on freight to ship their own products and provide products from elsewhere to be hauled across East Tennessee and beyond.
It also struck a sentimental note.
“You wouldn’t believe the number of folks, myself included, who, after several months of not hearing that train horn in the middle of the night, or throughout the day, you don’t realize how much you miss it until it’s gone, and how great it is to hear it again,” he said.
Norfolk Southern rebuilt its trestle on the east side of Newport in the months after Helene. Mathis said the community welcomed back the first Norfolk Southern train since Helene at the end of March. With more potentially on the way, he said his county is continuing to progress in “Stage Three” of life after Helene, rebuilding better than before.
