Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO)

Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO) is the present-day form of Conrail. When Conrail's network was divided between CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern in 1999, a portion of the system was not split between the two carriers. Instead, three densely served terminal regions were kept under the Conrail name as neutral, jointly owned operations, because both CSX and NS needed access to the shippers and yards there and neither was given exclusive control.

The Shared Assets Areas

CSAO operates three Shared Assets Areas:

• North Jersey - the heavily industrialized corridor around Newark and the surrounding northern New Jersey region.
• South Jersey / Philadelphia - southern New Jersey and the Philadelphia area on both sides of the Delaware River.
• Detroit - the metropolitan Detroit, Michigan region.

How It Works

Within these areas, CSAO acts as a neutral local and switching carrier. It performs the local switching, industry service, and terminal movements, while CSX and Norfolk Southern - the two owners, which hold CSAO jointly - run their through trains and compete for the long-haul traffic. This arrangement lets shippers in these congested areas be served on common terms by an operator that favors neither owner.

Relationship to Conrail

CSAO is jointly owned by CSX and Norfolk Southern and continues to use the Conrail name and reporting marks. It is the reason Conrail did not disappear in 1999: while the through routes became part of CSX and NS, the Consolidated Rail Corporation lives on as the operator of these three shared terminal networks.