Norfolk Southern is honoring Executive Vice President Planning and Chief Information Officer Deborah Harris Butler, who is retiring Oct. 1, 2015, by renaming its classification and intermodal yard in Memphis, Tenn., “Harris Yard.”
“Consistently during her 37-year career, Deb envisioned and championed systems and technology that keep the freight moving,” said NS President and CEO Jim Squires. “Her name on a key yard that handles important segments of our business—in her own hometown—is apt and well-deserved recognition. Deb’s contributions in technology, the environment, and employee development have made a lasting difference. Our board, officers and employees are grateful for her vision and leadership.”
Joining Norfolk Southern predecessor railroad Southern Railway in 1978 as a customer account auditor, Butler was named to positions of increasing responsibility in operations, including Assistant Vice President Transportation Customer Services in 2000 and Vice President Customer Service in 2002, before being named EVP Planning and CIO in 2007.
Butler “is recognized for her expertise in car management and distribution,” NS noted. “Early in her career, she oversaw modernization of many of NS’s core transportation systems, such as ITMS for transportation information sharing, TYES for yard management and inventory, RIT for remote work orders, and the Pacesetter customer portal. More recently, her tenure saw implementation of the optimized dispatching system to improve network velocity, significant progress toward installation of Positive Train Control systems, successful negotiation to purchase 282 miles of Delaware & Hudson Railway Co. lines [from Canadian Pacific] to support rail service in the Northeast, and a growing commitment to sustainable business practices. Butler also is known for her work in mentoring new railroaders: She helped start WiNS (Women in Norfolk Southern), the railroad’s first official employee resource group.”
Harris Yard is situated on the NS Birmingham-Chattanooga main line from and is located in the midtown area of Memphis, near the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium and not far from Graceland, Elvis Presley’s home. The facility is a focal point for eastbound and westbound traffic, as NS interchanges in Memphis with UP, BNSF, and CN. Harris Yard also is home to NS’s 38-acre truck-to-rail transfer facility that connects Memphis-based intermodal shippers to global markets via six-days-per-week rail service to and from the major container port facilities on the U.S. Southeastern coast.