NS also accelerated implementation of its data management system for intermodal operations. The Strategic Intermodal Management System was installed at 13 intermodal terminals in about two months, instead of four to six months as originally planned. The Internet presents many new opportunities for railroads and their customers. NS has established a cross-functional team of senior people in Transportation, Marketing, Finance and Information Technology to implement its corporate electronic commerce strategy. NS, which long has practiced electronic transfer of information, now is engaged in Internet-based applications.
Internet applications being developed include the cars-due reports.
Web-enabled bills of lading and car orders also are being developed. In an innovative e-commerce undertaking, NS is testing an application designed specifically for Internet deployment. The Coal Transportation Management System will facilitate all aspects of the coal business - from initiating a shipment, to scheduling, tracing and capturing vital information. NS loaded the billionth ton of coal at its Lamberts Point Pier 6 transload facility in Norfolk, Va., on Sept. 4, 1999. Lamberts Point, the largest coal transload terminal in the Northern Hemisphere, is the only facility of its kind to reach this milestone.