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On Friday, Norfolk Southern Corp. marked its 30th anniversary. NS was created June 1, 1982, by the consolidation of the Southern Railway and Norfolk and Western Railway, which trace their lineages to the 1820s.

The new railroad gradually developed a diversified traffic base among the energy, manufacturing and finished goods sectors, and built a nascent intermodal program into a key business segment, NS officials said in a prepared statement. On June 1, 1999, the Class I acquired a large portion of Conrail, which increased the railroad’s market reach and returned rail competition to the Northeast for the first time since the 1970s, they said.

A comparison of annual statistics from 1982 and 2011 shows NS’ reported injury ratio per 200,000 manhours dropped from 9.18 to 0.75; trains operated per day climbed from 1,070 to 2,060; revenue ton miles rose from 92.6 billion to 191.7 billion; railway operating revenue jumped from $3.4 billion to $11.2 billion; value of owned assets soared from $7.8 billion to $28.5 billion; operating ratio declined from 80.4 to 71.2; and capital budget ballooned from $180 million to $2.4 billion.

“We have achieved a great deal in 30 years, but in many ways we have only just begun,” said NS Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Wick Moorman. “The coming decades will see the economy’s dependence on railroads grow dramatically. We are highly competitive, environmentally conscious and constantly seeking new opportunities, [and] the future of our business looks very bright.”