Norfolk Southern wins top safety honor

For the 21st year in a row, Norfolk Southern Corp. has won the gold award in an annual rail-industry safety competition.

The railroad took top honors Tuesday in the E.H. Harriman Awards, with the best employee-safety record in 2009 among the nation's largest line-haul railroads. CSX won the silver award and Union Pacific Railroad, the bronze.

Norfolk Southern, CSX and Union Pacific were in the category with railroads whose employees worked 15 million employee-hours or more. Winners are selected by representatives from the transportation field and are granted on the basis of the lowest casualty rates per 200,000 employee-hours, according to a statement by the Association of American Railroads.