NORFOLK, Va., Aug. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) has received a technical infrastructure commendation for its Heartland Corridor project in the 2011 Brunel Awards International Railway Design Competition.

The Heartland Corridor project, one of the most extensive railroad engineering projects in modern times, was an initiative to raise the vertical clearances of 28 railroad tunnels and remove 24 overhead obstructions in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio to allow the passage of double-stack container trains. The project began in October 2007 and was completed in September 2010.  The Brunel Jury was impressed with the overall magnitude of the Heartland Corridor project and the long-term positive impact it will have on the environment by eliminating more than 300 miles of travel between the Port of Virginia and the Midwest.  

The Brunel Awards are presented tri-annually by the Watford Group of International Railway Designers to recognize the best in railway architecture, engineering, landscape and environmental design, product design, locomotive and car design, graphic arts, and corporate branding among the world's railways.

The competition is named after the 19th Century British railroad pioneer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859), founder and builder of the Great Western Railway.

Forty-three projects in 11 nations won awards in the competition. The 2011 Brunel awards will be presented Oct. 14, in Washington, D.C.

Norfolk Southern Corporation is one of the nation's premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary operates approximately 20,000 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.

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SOURCE Norfolk Southern Corporation