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Norfolk Southern Corp. continues to distance itself from post-merger financial woes. On Oct. 23, the Class I reported $126 million in third-quarter net income, rising 59 percent compared with $79 million in net income during third-quarter 2001.


Quarterly operating revenue improved, too, increasing 6 percent to $1.6
billion compared with last year. Intermodal revenue reached $310 million, the highest total during any quarter in NS' history and an 11 percent jump compared with the same 2001 period.


The strong quarter helped NS improve its operating ratio 3.3 points to 80.5.


However, the Class I reported $1.29 billion in quarterly operating expenses, which rose 2 percent compared with third-quarter 2001.


"We will continue to take steps to improve our service consistency and
reliability while at the same time grow our revenue base and achieve
greater productivity," said Henry Wolf, NS vice chairman and chief financial officer, in a prepared statement.


During the year's first nine months, NS earned $331 million in net income, increasing 27 percent, recorded $4.69 billion in operating revenue, rising 1 percent, and totaled $3.82 billion in operating expenses, decreasing 2 percent compared with a similar 2001 period.


The railroad's operating ratio during that span improved 2.8 points to 81.4.