OREANDA-NEWS. Norfolk Southern assisted 94 industries in locating or expanding their businesses along its rail lines in 2014.

The 72 new and 22 expanded industries represent an investment of USD 5.7 billion by Norfolk Southern customers and are expected to create more than 4,420 new jobs in the railroad's territory, generating more than 205,000 carloads of new rail traffic annually.

Norfolk Southern assisted state and local government and economic development officials throughout 18 states in helping customers identify ideal locations for the projects.

"The energy sector continued to be a major driver of industrial development projects in 2014, and we began to see the return of more traditional industrial projects such as steel mills, auto assembly plants, tire manufacturers, and food processing facilities," said Jason Reiner, assistant vice president industrial development. "We expect continued development in the energy sector, as well as growing activity in manufacturing, in 2015. We will continue to work closely with the communities we serve to ensure that high quality industrial sites are identified and ready to be presented to prospective industrial clients. We have the experience and resources available to support our communities in their efforts to compete for new manufacturing and distribution projects."

Norfolk Southern works with state and local economic development authorities on projects involving site location and development of infrastructure to connect customers to its rail system and provides free and confidential plant location services, including industrial park planning, site layout, track design, and supply chain analysis. During the past 10 years, Norfolk Southern's Industrial Development Department has participated in the location or expansion of 1,017 facilities, representing an investment of USD 57 billion and creating more than 44,000 customer jobs in the territory served by the railroad.