February 25, 2013
NORFOLK, Virginia (AP)— Norfolk Southern's Roanoke Terminal will no longer serve as a regional railcar classification yard.
Beginning Monday, the Norfolk, Virginia-based railroad operator says it's ending regional classification operations at the terminal's hump yard.
About 140 jobs, mostly carmen and train crews, will be eliminated.
Norfolk Southern says the volume of general merchandise cars handled by the hump yard has dropped about 30 percent since 2006.
The company also says the Roanoke classification operations are no longer necessary.
The Roanoke Terminal will remain a hub for through-train operations and continue to serve local customers.
Norfolk Southern expects to hire between 850 and 1,150 employees system-wide this year to keep pace with attrition. The company says furloughed employees, including those in Roanoke, will be offered these jobs first.
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