NY -- Standard&Poor's CreditWire 5/6/97 --Standard&Poor's today has lowered its ratings of Norfolk Southern Corp. and its subsidiaries as listed in the table below. These ratings have been removed from CreditWatch, where they were placed Oct. 30, 1996. The outlook is stable. The downgrade reflects the financial impact of approximately $6 billion of acquisition debt to fund Norfolk Southern's 58% share of the joint Norfolk Southern - CSX Corp. (triple-'B' corporate credit rating) tender offer for Conrail Inc. Norfolk Southern's credit profile will be negatively impacted over the next several years by the acquisition debt, with lease-adjusted debt-to-capital expected to rise to over 60%. This intermediate term impact is offset partly by an improved competitive position,
