Norfolk Southern expects a now-resolved hardware-related technology outage on Monday morning, Aug. 28, to impact its rail operations for at least a couple of weeks. The outage shut down its systems and disrupted passenger and freight trains.
Norfolk Southern said its teams worked throughout the day and successfully restored all systems at 7:00 pm ET. “We are safely bringing our rail network back online,” the company said. “Throughout this, we have been in contact with our customers and will work with them on updated timing for their shipments.”
The company noted that it has no indication at this time that the outage was a cybersecurity incident. Amtrak said on Aug. 29 that some of its trains were canceled in the Midwest and the Northeast because of the Norfolk Southern outage, according to Bloomberg.
The incident comes as Norfolk Southern faces heightened scrutiny since a chemical train derailment earlier this year in East Palestine, Ohio, which drew national attention to rail safety. The House Energy and Commerce Committee is planning to hold a field hearing in September on the derailment’s cleanup progress.