Thirty-one rail transportation customers of Norfolk Southern Corporation safely handled a combined total of more than 115,000 carloads of hazardous chemicals in 2005, earning the Thoroughbred Chemical Safety Award.

The awards, given annually for the past 10 years, recognize companies that ship more than 1,000 carloads of hazardous chemicals without incident.

"At this time of heightened awareness regarding the safety and security of our national transportation network, these companies have demonstrated the value of rail transportation as the preferred and safest method of delivering potentially hazardous chemicals to communities everywhere,