The system began in 1982 with the creation of the Norfolk Southern Corporation, a holding company for the southern railway, formed in 1894. The Norfolk & Western Railway was formed in 1881.

With its original road running from Norfolk, Va., to Elizabeth City, N.C. Its predecessor, the Elizabeth City & Norfolk Railroad, chartered in 1870, had completed tracks south to Edenton on the Albemarle Sound in 1881.

The railroad is a Class I freight railroad in the United States. With headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31,250 km) in 22 eastern states including, but not limited to, Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia.