Norfolk Southern Blue Creek Mine ramps up rail coal flows

Norfolk Southern Blue Creek Mine traffic is set to add to the railroad’s export metallurgical coal volumes after Warrior Met Coal completed its Blue Creek Mine near Whitson, Alabama, northwest of Birmingham.

The $1 billion longwall mine includes a balloon loadout track that can load up to 10 unit trains per week and produce up to 6 million tons of coal annually. Most trains loaded at Blue Creek are expected to move to the Port of Mobile’s McDuffie Coal Terminal for export.

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For Norfolk Southern, that marks a big change on the 25.7-mile Berry Branch, which was dormant for much of the past decade. In late 2024, as the mine neared startup, the railroad started laying unit trains of ballast along the branch between Parrish, Alabama, and the loadout near Whitson.

Service returned in May 2025 when Norfolk Southern loaded a train at the mine for the first time in 10 years. In early January 2026, a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the site signaled that operations had fully commenced and rail traffic was ramping up.

Norfolk Southern Blue Creek Mine moves into full operations

On Norfolk Southern’s earnings call on Jan. 29, Chief Commercial Officer Ed Elkins said the railroad was proud to partner with Warrior Met Coal in serving the Blue Creek facility in Alabama. He noted that in 2024 the company had discussed the mine while it was in development, and said that with the mining operations, belts, and rail loadout now fully operational, Norfolk Southern was ramping up rail service and delivering high-quality metallurgical coal to markets around the world.

3-B Corridor upgrades to support coal and merchandise growth

Norfolk Southern is investing $200 million in improvements to its 3-B Corridor between Norris Yard, on the outskirts of Birmingham, and Mobile, a package described by Railway Supply. The work includes 21 miles of new track, new passing sidings, a yard expansion in Wilton, Alabama, and grade crossing upgrades. The corridor improvements started in 2024 and are scheduled for completion in 2027.

The 319-mile corridor is not only handling Warrior’s new seaborne metallurgical coal trains; it is also moving a variety of other freight, including agricultural products, autos, chemicals, forest products, and steel.

Port of Mobile McDuffie Coal Terminal capacity and other routes

Separately, the Alabama Port Authority has a $200 million commitment to enhance logistical capacity at the McDuffie Coal Terminal, as outlined on the Port of Mobile’s McDuffie Coal Terminal page. Additional context on the 3B investment is also available from Norfolk Southern.

In addition to the new Norfolk Southern-served Blue Creek Mine, CSX serves three separate Warrior Met coal mines at Blue Creek — Nos. 4, 5, and 7 near Brookwood, Alabama, west of Birmingham — with those trains also going to the Port of Mobile. Warrior Met also relies on river barges for additional tonnage moving to Mobile.

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