For an opposing point of view, see “Setting the record straight: Norfolk Southern’s commitment to fair rail access in Hampton Roads,” by a former Norfolk Southern executive.
Virginians don’t need to be told that traffic is a problem. We live it every day. From Northern Virginia to Richmond to Hampton Roads, congestion is wearing us down and costing us time and money. According to national data, Virginia ranks as the sixth-worst place in the country for traffic. One company’s push for a virtual monopoly on rail traffic through the Port of Virginia threatens to make it worse.
The issue starts at the Port of Virginia, one of the most important shipping hubs on the East Coast.
Norfolk International Terminals (NIT), the largest terminal at the port, is a critical part of Virginia’s economy. It supports tens of thousands of jobs and helps drive business throughout the Commonwealth.
Today, Norfolk Southern controls on-dock rail service at NIT and owns the majority of the Belt Line Railroad, a short but essential line that connects the NIT to broader national rail networks. This means one company effectively wields a monopoly over one of the most important economic junctions on the East Coast.
Unfortunately, Norfolk Southern is using that power to squeeze out the competition. The end result is higher prices for consumers and unnecessary truck traffic — potentially more than 50,000 trucks per year — through pedestrian areas of Norfolk and onto Virginia’s highway systems. These actions are making our economic challenges and traffic problems far worse.
According to court filings, today, Norfolk Southern is charging its competitors outrageous fees of over $200 per railcar just to use a rail line it partially owns, among other actions obstructing fair competition at NIT. The result? Fewer companies are using trains because of these tactics, and more cargo is being pushed onto trucks instead.
When freight can’t move by rail, it moves by road. That means more trucks on I-95, I-81, I-64, and the already jammed Beltway. It means more traffic, more crashes, more wear and tear on our infrastructure, and more taxpayer money spent to fix it. And that’s where the problem hits home for all of us.
The lack of equal access is particularly frustrating given that Virginia taxpayers recently invested $1.4 billion to expand and modernize the Port of Virginia, including upgrades to rail capacity. That investment was supposed to improve efficiency, reduce congestion. It was also meant to solidify Virginia’s premier position for port cargo on the East Coast. But if one company can choke off competition and drive more freight onto the roads, our return on that investment disappears and our traffic only gets worse.
As governor, I devoted much time to economic development in Hampton Roads. I established the aircraft carrier integration center to ensure Newport News would remain the vital hub of shipbuilding. The goal of that investment was economic development and Virginia jobs.
Public infrastructure is supposed to serve the public, not just powerful corporations. At the key Norfolk terminal, that is not happening. The time for change is now.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court declined to review this situation because of a legal technicality. But an independent federal agency, the Surface Transportation Board, announced it is now reviewing Norfolk Southern’s exclusive control over the Belt Line railroad to the Norfolk terminal. Virginians should be paying attention. This is our chance to stand up for competition and speak out against monopolies that make life harder for working families.
If the courts can no longer address this problem, maybe it is time to search for other solutions. The government of Virginia should address whether the law of eminent domain might be employed to ensure equal access to facilities in which the taxpayers have invested so much money.
Let’s make sure Virginia’s ports stay competitive, our roads stay passable, our communities are safer, and our economy works for everyone.
James S. Gilmore III was the 68th governor of Virginia. He served as U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe from 2019-2021.
