Norfolk Southern Corporation announced Wednesday the appointment of John Orr as executive vice president and chief operating officer, effective immediately. Throughout his four-decade career, Orr has earned a reputation as a proven leader in applying scheduled railroading principles to drive sustainable long-term value creation. He spearheaded the turnaround of Canadian Pacific Kansas City’s (CPKC) Mexico operations by successfully implementing a high-efficiency operating model, shaped and guided the execution of Kansas City Southern’s (KCS) service-focused scheduled railroading initiatives, and drove significant improvements in Canadian National Railway’s (CN) safety and operational performance.

Orr will oversee Norfolk Southern’s railway operations, including safety, transportation, network planning and operations, engineering, and equipment maintenance. He began his career as a craft railroader and served as a union representative for 15 years. During his tenure at CN, Orr held a variety of positions including chief safety and sustainability officer and was recognized for driving numerous process improvements, mentoring programs, and progressive safety culture initiatives. Orr’s experience as a frontline railroader and an executive informs his approach to team building, employee development, and engagement with regulators. Ultimately, this enables him to drive new levels of safety, service, growth, and operating efficiencies. He will report directly to Norfolk Southern president and chief executive officer Alan H. Shaw. In connection with Orr’s appointment, current chief operating officer Paul Duncan departed the company to pursue other opportunities.

Orr joins Norfolk Southern from CPKC, where he served as executive vice president and chief transformation officer, and oversaw network operations planning and design, labor relations, and regulatory affairs. In that role, he led the integration and optimization of operations following Canadian Pacific Railway’s acquisition of KCS in December 2021, including rapidly remediating the challenged Mexican operations by restoring service levels and resiliency, which resulted in significant operating improvements across train speed, terminal dwell time, car miles for care, locomotive productivity, and service experience for the customer. Prior to CPKC, he was executive vice president of operations at KCS, where he successfully executed precision scheduled railroading initiatives focusing on improving service. Orr is an award-winning expert and author in Precision Scheduled Railroading operations, having worked under Hunter Harrison for decades at CN, and was honored with Railway Age’s 2023 Top Influencer award.

He began his career at CN in 1985 as a conductor. Over the years, he held various operating and network positions at the company, ultimately being promoted to senior vice president and chief transportation officer. Orr holds a bachelor of arts in environmental studies from University of Waterloo and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

-via Press Release