Railroaders place to shoot the shit.

(Norfolk Southern issued the following on October 12, 2009.)

NORFOLK, Va. Norfolk Southern customers now can receive text messages notifying them of the status of shipments with Railcar Event Alerts. Using a simple application on the companys e-commerce site, accessNS, customers can set up alerts to advise them of a variety of events for as many as three railcars, containers, trailers, or chassis at a time.

Once an alert is set up, Railcar Event Alerts checks the status of the equipment every hour and sends a text message to the customers cell phone if the status has changed. Information available through Railcar Event Alerts includes:

Changes in ETA or ETI
Bad order notification
When a shipment is received from another rail carrier
When a shipment is placed for a shippers customer
When a car in the shop has been repaired and is moving again

For customers needing assistance with e-commerce applications, Norfolk Southern has added live online chat support. This is in addition to the toll-free help line and email support the accessNS team has provided all along. By clicking the Live Support link, available in the top left corner of the accessNS title bar or as a button on the accessNS sign-on screen, customers can open a chat session with support personnel in real time. This new feature allows the accessNS support team to help more customers in less time.

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) is a leading North American transportation provider. Its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary operates approximately 21,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in the eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other rail carriers. Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal and industrial products.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009