On Monday, railroad operator Norfolk Southern (NSC 0.17%) announced an ambitious plan for investing in its own infrastructure. Over the course of 2013, the company intends to spend $2 billion making capital improvements to "maintain the safety and quality of our existing franchise, improve service quality and performance, achieve operational efficiencies and productivity improvements, and support business growth," said CEO Wick Moorman in a statement.
In the press release, Norfolk Southern described about 90% of this investment in detail:
- $831 million to replace and maintain rails, crossties, ballast, and bridges.
- $420 million to purchase new or overhaul existing locomotives and railroad cars.
- $229 million for "the continued implementation of positive train control," which aims to increase safety.
- $203 million for investments in facilities and terminals.
- $84 million to "increase main line capacity, accommodate traffic growth, and provide" matching funds for "public-private partnership investments such as CREATE in Chicago and the Crescent Corridor."
- $57 million for new and upgraded systems and computers.
In all, the $2 billion figure represents an 11% decline from last year's capital expenditures, or a 7.4% decline from 2011 levels.
