Norfolk Southern revealed on January 23 that it will spend $792m on capital projects in 1997, an $84m increase on 1996. A week later Union Pacific announced that its 1997 capital spending would total $2·2bn, including more than $500m to implement the merger with SP.
NS has allocated over $100m towards the automotive network it is developing for Ford. Of the remainder, $240m will go on track and bridge replacement, $144m toward loco refurbishment and purchase of six-axle, high-adhesion units; and $95m on rebuilding or purchase of wagons. The rest will go on upgrading bridges, dispatching and data transmission systems.
The UP programme includes:
