While the accident was the public crisis that grabbed national headlines, a board battle posed the most danger to Shaw's standing as CEO. Shaw survived a three-month proxy fight in early 2024 from activist investor Ancora Holdings, which resulted in the ousting of then chair Amy Miles and the installation of three new board members. At the time, Ancora sought to replace Shaw with former UPS chief operating officer Jim Barber and wanted to change the company's operating infrastructure to support precision scheduled railroading (PSR). After the board fight concluded, Norfolk Southern said it planned to reach a sub-60 percent operating ratio—an industry measure for profitability of a railroad company—within three to four years. As of the second quarter ended June 31, operating ratio was 62.8 percent. For the quarter, Norfolk Southern generated $3 billion in revenue, up 2 percent from the year prior, while net income more than doubled to $737 million.