Norfolk Southern issues statement on tariff changes

The Norfolk, Va.-based Class I railroad will make changes to its demurrage, accessorial and switching tariffs with an effective date of December 1, 2017, according to NS Vice President Mike McClellan.    Norfolk Southern Corp. (NS) has issued a statement regarding changes to its demurrage, accessorial and switching tariffs.
   NS Vice President Mike McClellan said that regarding the company’s Demurrage and Storage Rules and Charges Tariff, the primary change will be to gradually reduce Empty Private Car Storage (EPCS) credits from five credits to two over the course of the next 10 months. These changes will be effective December 1, 2017 and full implementation to two free days will occur on June 1, 2018, said McClellan.
   “Offsetting this reduction in free time will be expanded flexibility with regard to our administration and credit calculations for storage,” he said. “First, our dispute for monthly storage charges will move from five days from the actual dispute date to five days after the close of the month.
   “Second, credit days for loading and unloading of private cars will be combined. We believe that both of these changes better reflect the operational and administrative realities in most of our customer operations, while providing customers with an opportunity for offsetting savings on their monthly private car storage charges,” explained McClellan.
   He said Norfolk Southern is making these changes to “sharpen our focus on ways to reduce excessive dwell time on our tracks and in our terminals, to improve network fluidity, and to improve customer operational and administrative efficiency.”
   The second change will involve Accessorial Services Tariff where the company will consolidate the multiple charges currently incurred for overloads and improperly loaded cars into one single charge. “The instances of these events are minimal, and this will reduce the administrative burden in the event that they do occur,” said McClellan.
   The final change announced by Norfolk Southern is to Conditions of Carriage Tariff and Switching Tariff, which will provide a more efficient interface for customers and reducing administrative burden, said McClellan.
   The rail line has also recently implemented a new crew management system in a partnership with Union Pacific subsidiary PS Technology in an effort to boost operating efficiency, lower costs sand increase productivity.