HARRISBURG, Pa. — Norfolk Southern Corp. has temporarily closed the newly rebuilt part of its Enola railroad yard in East Pennsboro Twp. and laid off 14 workers in a dispute with the United Transportation Union over safety issues. No reopening date has been announced, the Harrisburg Patriot-News reported.
The shutdown was ordered last week by Stephen Tobias, vice chairman and chief operating officer of the railroad, at the conclusion of a Sept. 11 meeting with the union. Trains.com, a Web site for railroad buffs, first reported the story.
Rudy Husband, a spokesman for Norfolk Southern, said the 14 workers will be recalled when the railroad completes a study of the safety issue. He could not say whether the workers are members of the United Transportation Union. Don Dunlevy, legislative director for the UTU in Pennsylvania, said at least some of them are.
The union claims that new tracks used for classification of freight cars are too steeply graded and allow strings of cars to go out of control. The union said the unique design of the new yard places unusual stress on the couplings between cars and has caused several accidents, including a derailment.
“They’re trying to be innovative, but I don’t think they got the plans right,” Dunlevy said. “Certain people in that company are trying not to admit this is happening.”
Norfolk Southern has moved the Enola classification operation to its freight yards in Conway and Allentown, Husband said. Other parts of the Enola rail yard are still functioning normally.
The Enola yard is an important part of Norfolk Southern’s north-south operations. The railroad spent nearly $2 million to upgrade the yard last year and put it into service in January. It handles about 600 rail cars a day.