Norfolk, CSX Agree on Conrail Split

Norfolk Southern Corp. and CSX Corp. agreed on a plan to split Conrail Inc. between them, leaving two major rail freight haulers east of the Mississippi River and possibly setting up the future consolidation of U.S. railroading into two transcontinental giants. Under the agreement, Norfolk, Va.-based Norfolk Southern would get routes representing 58% of Conrail revenue while Richmond, Va.-based CSX would get routes representing 42% of revenue. This works out to about 6,000 miles of track for Norfolk Southern, 3,600 miles for CSX and 1,000 miles to be shared by both railroads. Norfolk Southern would pay about $5.9 billion for its share and CSX $4.3 billion, figures that would include what the companies have already paid for stakes in Conrail.