Coal  will  remain  an  integral  part  of  Norfolk  Southern ahead as the railroad adjusts to a 

commodity that's future is "more dynamic and more uncertain," Chief Marketing Officer Alan 

Shaw said Tuesday. 

In  a  keynote address at the National Coal Transportation Association's Spring Conference, 

Shaw said that while NS has made cuts to its Central Appalachian coal network in the past f

ew  years, this   year   the   company  has  invested  in  both  metallurgical  and  thermal  co

al infrastructure  as  those markets  improved, and  it will do the same when there are "clear 

and identified opportunities" in its coal business. 

"Clearly, when opportunities are  there, we'll  invest," Shaw  said. He  added that the railroa

d will "make sure we're there when the volumes come on." 

Since  2015, NS  has  taken  out  of  service  a  33-mile  stretch of track in West Virginia fro

m Elmore to Princeton, a 31-mile stretch of track in Virginia from Dismal to Richlands, idled 

parts of  the  West  Virginia Secondary, a 253-mile line between Columbus, Ohio, and cent

ral  West Virginia, reduced  train  operations  at   its   Knoxville, Tennessee, rail  yard   and 

shut down its Ashtabula, Ohio, coal pier on Lake Erie. 

Shaw said Tuesday that NS talked of shutting  down Ashtabula for years as volumes began 

to dwindle. 

But the US coal industry, both  export and domestic, has seen significant recovery since the 

end of last year leading to positive revenues and volumes for the railroad, Shaw said. NS co

al  volumes   grew  21.9%  in  Q1  compared  to  the  first three  months  of  2016, with totals 

increasing to 245,771 carloads from 201,671 carloads.