Companies: railroads, terminals, and coal
To read more about this history, see History of Coal Transport in Hampton Roads.
Railroad Companies in Hampton Roads
CSX
CSX Transportation (CSX) is a Class I freight railroad company operating across the eastern U.S., especially in and out of West Virginia.[1] The company was formed through a wave of railroad mergers, with its parent company, CSX Corporation, now based in Jacksonville, Florida. CXS political contributions are posted on their website as of 2025.
CSX is one part of a duopoly with Norfolk Southern. In 2018, CSX attempted to press monopoly charges against Norfolk Southern based on their attempts to control the crucial Norfolk and Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad (NPBL), of which Norfolk Southern owns a slight majority.[2][3]
Norfolk Southern
Norfolk Southern Corporation Corporation (abbreviated as Norfolk Southern or NS) is a Class I freight railroad operating in the eastern United States. It is one of the five biggest railroad operators in North America by revenue and one part of a duopoly with CSX. Norfolk Southern operates in 22 states and Washington, D.C. Currently headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Norfolk Southern was based in Norfolk, Virginia until 2021. Most of the company's revenue comes from the transportation of coal, coke, and iron ore. Norfolk Southern is connected to the Corporation Political Action Committee (PAC) Norfolk Southern Good Government Fund, which publishes their contributions bi-yearly as of 2025.[4] [5]
Coal Terminals
The Kinder Morgan Bulk Terminals and Dominion Terminal are located in Southeast Newport News. Pier 6 is located between the Norfolk neighborhoods of Lambert's Point and Ghent, with Lambert's Point typically on the downwind side. These terminals export more coal collectively through the Port of Virginia than anywhere else in the U.S.[6] The exported coal is largely metallurgical coal, also known as cooking coal, from Central Appalachia transported by CSX in Southeast Newport News or Norfolk Southern in Lambert's Point.
Kinder Morgan Bulk Terminals and Dominion Terminal Associates
The CSX railroad carries coal down the Peninsula to two privately-owned coal terminals in Newport News. The Southeast Community coal terminals (Kinder Morgan’s Pier IX and X, and Dominion Terminal) began operations in the 1880s and currently have two operators — Kinder Morgan and Dominion Terminal Associates. Kinder Morgan can ship about 16 million tons per year, and the Dominion Terminal (owned by Alpha Metallurgical Resources and Core Natural Resources) moves up to 22 million tons of coal each year.[7]
The company that runs Dominion Terminal, is owned in part (65%) by Alpha and Contura, two coal mining giants that merged in 2018, and 35% by Arch Coal Inc. The terminal is served by CSX Transportation.
Norfolk Southern
Pier 6 at Lamberts Point, in operation since 1885, is the largest coal export facility in the U.S., and owned and operated by Norfolk Southern.
Coal Companies
Core Natural Resources (previously Arch Resources, or Arch Coal) is the second-largest supplier of coal in the United States, with 11 active mines. In August 2024, Arch Resources and Consol Energy announced that they entered into a definitive agreement to combine in an all-stock merger of equals to create Core Natural Resources. source. In January 2025, the merger was successfully completed.[8]
Alpha Metallurgical Resources (formerly known as Contura Energy) is a is a Tennessee-based mining company that extracts, processes, and markets steam and metallurgical coal. It operates across Central Appalachia.[9]
United Coal is a producer of coking coal located in the Central Appalachian region of the United States. United Coal owns several mines in West Virginia, including in Affinity, WV and East Gulf, WV. In 2009, Ukrainian business group Metinvest, controlled by Rinat Akhmetov (a Ukrainian billionaire and businessman), purchased the company for an estimated $1 billion[10].
Documents
- CSX, CSX System Map, 2025
References
- ↑ CSX, CSX System Map, 2025
- ↑ Wilner, For Competing Railroads, What’s New Is Old, Railway Age, Commentary, March 11, 2025.
- ↑ McCabe, CSX Sues Norfolk Southern, Short-Line Railroad Over Alleged Monopoly, The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot, October 9, 2018.
- ↑ Norfolk Southern, Political Activity and Contributions
- ↑ https://www.norfolksouthern.com/en/commitments/in-your-community/government-relations/political-activity-and-contributions
- ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, Virginia: State Profile and Energy Estimates, 2025.
- ↑ http://www.virginiaplaces.org/transportation/private.html
- ↑ https://corenaturalresources.com/products/
- ↑ https://alphametresources.com/about/
- ↑ https://minedocs.com/22/UCC-Metinvest-CP-12312019.pdf