The New Orleans Public Belt Railroad (NOPB) is a Class III switching railroad with the primary mission of serving the Port of New Orleans and local industries. Learn more about our system and services.
The New Orleans Public Belt Railroad (NOPB), upgraded its locomotive fleet with the arrival of eight new locomotives to replace aging engines, improve efficiency, and lower overall emissions. Recognizable by their bright blue color, the new locomotives provide reliable service and support the short-line railroad’s commitment to integrating more sustainable business and operational practices.
Today, Sharonda Williams was sworn in as a member of the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) at the May 19, 2022, board meeting. Appointed by Governor John Bel Edwards, Williams succeeds Darryl D. Berger as one of four Orleans Parish representatives on the seven-member regional board and will serve a five-year term.
The New Orleans Public Belt Railroad Commission (NOPB), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA), has named Tomeka Watson Bryant as its General Manager effective June 1, 2022. With this promotion, Watson Bryant, who has received industry-wide recognition, becomes the first African American woman to lead a short line railroad in the United States.
Governor John Bel Edwards issued a posthumous pardon of Homer Plessy, undoing his conviction 130 years ago for boarding a "whites only" rail car in New Orleans bound for Covington.
Making its way to the Supreme Court, the Plessy case set the “separate but equal” precedent for decades in America until it was reversed by Brown v Board of Education in 1954.
The New Orleans Public Belt was proud to play a role in the pardoning ceremony, alongside elected officials and descendants of both Plessy and Judge Howard Ferguson, who issued the original conviction.
