WHITSON, Ala. — Norfolk Southern’s export metallurgical coal business is getting a significant boost with the completion of Warrior Met Coal’s Blue Creek Mine near Whitson, Ala., northwest of Birmingham. The $1 billion longwall mine and balloon loadout track has the ability to load up to 10 unit trains per week and produce up to 6 million tons of coal per year. The majority of unit trains loaded at Blue Creek will be delivered to the Port of Mobile’s McDuffie Coal Terminal for export.
The new business is a drastic turnaround for Norfolk Southern’s 25.7-mile Berry Branch, dormant for much of the past decade. In late 2024 and in anticipation of the new mine, NS started laying unit trains of ballast along the branch between Parrish, Ala., and at the loadout near Whitson.
In May 2025, for the first time in 10 years, NS loaded its first train at the mine and in early January 2026, a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the mine signaled that operations have fully commenced and rail traffic is ramping up…