Crisis in Bluefield: NS consolidation a crippling blow

[NS Newsfeed]

The looming consolidation of Norfolk Southern's Virginia and Pocahontas divisions is another crippling blow for the greater Bluefield area. It is a crisis that demands the immediate attention of leaders on the local, state and federal level.



It was the railroad, after all, that helped build the city of Bluefield — and the two will be forever linked. But come Feb. 1, the historic Pocahontas Division of Norfolk Southern will be consolidated with the existing Roanoke division. The move, we are told, is necessary due to a significant decrease in coal production. The consolidation will affect management and office staff positions now based in Bluefield, the current Pocahontas Division headquarters. Those employees will have an opportunity to relocate to Roanoke or apply for other positions at the company, according to Norfolk Southern. Once this realignment is complete, NS says the Roanoke area will be called the new Pocahontas Division. Sadly, we fear that there are some Bluefield employees who will not be able to make the move to Roanoke, Va., and will subsequently become unemployed as a result of this unfortunate consolidation.



No, we won't stop seeing trains in Bluefield. The company says it will continue to operate its railyard in the city. But NS says trains moving Appalachian coal comprise most of the business handled in Bluefield, and the railyard traffic has declined as coal volumes moved by the railroad have dropped over the past five years. The company says there are about 130 people who work in operations departments at the railyard in transportation, engineering and mechanical.



It comes as no surprise to us that the volume of coal being moved through Bluefield has decreased. We have seen fewer and fewer trains hauling coal through the city over the course of the past few years. And it is truly tragic and saddening to see our historic railyard filled with empty coal cars.



We blame this crisis on President Barack Obama and those largely Democratic lawmakers who have and continue to push the administration's job-killing climate change agenda. Thousands of coal miners across the Deep South counties have lost their jobs in recent months as mines across our region have been closed or idled. This attack on coal has had a ripple effect upon the region as a whole.



>From the closure of coal-fired power plants to the loss of our Pocahontas Division offices, the impact has been nothing short of crippling. This is a crisis, and area leaders should be working aggressively to stop the bleeding. Everyone — from the Bluefield Board of Directors to the Mercer County Development Authority Board of Directors — should be working to address this emergency in conjunction with the Mercer County Commission and state and federal lawmakers.



We cannot afford to lose any more jobs in our region. We must protect what we have left, and formulate a bold new plan for job creation and a diversification of an economy that was once solely based on coal.



Voters, in the meantime, can send a strong message at the polls this May and November by championing those candidates who support coal, fossil fuels in general and a common sense energy plan for America.

[IllinoisTerminal]

We blame this crisis on President Barack Obama and those largely Democratic lawmakers who have and continue to push the administration's job-killing climate change agenda.

Simple as this.