Robert Barnes Email & Phone Number

In everything I do, whether it be working on and around railroad equipment, enjoying the outdoors in any number of ways, or participating in shooting sports, I always do it with safety as priority number one. Over the past four years working with Norfolk Southern, I have earned a reputation as such with my peers, and it’s something I cherish and strive to grow. The one thing I consistently hear from engineers is that when I’m on the job, they don’t have to worry. Whether it’s coordinating with other jobs, kicking cars, rolling them by, switching ethanol plants, spotting auto-racks with a tape measurer, etc., the only way it's going to happen with me on the job is safely. When the trains I’m on are often in excess of two miles, twenty-five thousand tons, and littered with an assortment of hazardous cars and position in train restrictions, there simply is no other way to operate. The safety of our crews and the communities we serve depends on it. Not only is safety important in my professional life, but also in my personal interests. A large part of my youth was spent on our family farm. So, while other kids were on the playground or playing video games, I was learning to operate, maintain, and repair tractors, trucks, ATVs, firearms, and other assorted equipment. I’m immensely thankful that I had the opportunity to grow up in this environment because it gave me an appreciation for hard work and the outdoors. It also demanded from me a level of responsibility and autonomy that few my age had the opportunity to experience, and instilled in me from a very young age the importance of doing things the right way. It also helped me develop an insatiable curiosity for understanding how things work and why. Planes, trains, and automobiles only just scratch the surface of what I find fascinating. Not only do I enjoy taking things apart and putting them back together, but finding ways to put them back together better.