NORFOLK, Va., Sept. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sponsors Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC) and GE Transportation (NYSE: GE) today kick off the second Railroad Sustainability Symposium amid rare longleaf pines and endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers at Norfolk Southern's 14,000-acre Brosnan Forest Conference Center near Charleston, S.C.

"We're delighted to reciprocate as host of this year's symposium following GE's hospitality in welcoming U.S. and international rail industry leaders and sustainability experts to its corporate campus for the first railroad sustainability symposium last year," said Blair Wimbush, Norfolk Southern's vice president real estate and corporate sustainability officer.

Pete Lawson, ecomagination leader at GE Transportation, a major supplier of fuel-efficient low-emissions locomotives for the rail industry, said, "We had barely adjourned last year's symposium before people started clamoring to visit Norfolk Southern's Brosnan Forest, and we're pleased to partner again with Norfolk Southern to sponsor the 2012 symposium at this ecological gem. At GE, we believe that innovation can solve the world's toughest challenges. When you add to that collaboration with partners like NS, together we can work to deliver more efficient and economical environmental solutions that our industry demands."

Topics for the three-day conference include current practices in sustainability, an industry perspective from the Association of American Railroads, "Conservation, Community, Collaboration and Communication," and a shipper's perspective on sustainability, among others.

Symposium attendees will learn about best practices in sustainability and environmental responsibility from speakers representing organizations and companies such as GreenOrder, UPS, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, C2Invest, Chesapeake Energy Corporation, TFC, Coca-Cola, BMW Manufacturing, and the co-sponsors. In between, they'll have the opportunity for forest tours to learn more about the longleaf ecosystem.

In 2008, Norfolk Southern donated a conservation easement to the Lowcountry Open Land Trust, permanently protecting more than 12,000 acres of the forest from development. The property is a safe harbor for numerous colonies of endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers among one of the nation's largest remaining stands of longleaf pines. For more about Norfolk Southern's sustainability initiatives, visit www.nssustainability.com.

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.

GE Transportation, a unit of GE (NYSE: GE), solves the world's toughest transportation challenges. GE Transportation builds equipment that moves the rail, mining and marine industries. Our fuel-efficient and lower-emissions freight and passenger locomotives, diesel engines for rail, marine and stationary power applications, signaling and software solutions, drive systems for mining trucks, underground mining equipment, energy storage systems, and value-added services help customers grow. GE Transportation has approximately 12,000 employees worldwide. For more information visit the company's website at www.getransportation.com.

SOURCE Norfolk Southern Corporation