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12/22/2023
Norfolk Southern Railway recently highlighted the work of its 20 teams — consisting of more than 660 railroaders — that make up the Class I's capital production gangs.
Each team performs a specialized function, keeping NS’ 28,000-plus miles of track in safe working condition, NS officials said this week in a website post.
The teams that make up the capital production gangs include:• the R3 Dual Rail gang, which is the largest of the production gangs and the only rail-laying team in the industry that installs both rails simultaneously;• the two Super Single Rail gangs, R4 & R5, that handle shorter rail replacement jobs that cannot be efficiently performed by R3;• the six Super, 2 Yard and 3 Regional Timber and Surfacing (T&S) gangs, which replace a total of 2.25 million cross ties annually; and• the two Surfacing Gangs, S2 & S6 and surfacing teams that are embedded in the rail gangs and maintain track stability by tamping/surfacing nearly 2,000 miles annually.
To ensure the capital projects work is performed safely and efficiently with a minimal impact to train movement, the railroad's engineering team partners with multiple groups, including the Network Operations Center and the network planning and optimization, transportation and mechanical teams, NS officials said.