Exhibit 23.1

                        Consent of Independent Auditors

We consent to the incorporation by reference in the registration statement (and
the related prospectus and consent solicitation statement) for the exchange of
Consolidated Rail Corporation debt securities for Norfolk Southern Railway
Company debt securities on Form S-4 of Norfolk Southern Railway Company of our
report dated January 27, 2004, with respect to the consolidated balance sheets
of Norfolk Southern Railway Company and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2003 and
2002, and the related consolidated statements of income, changes in
stockholders' equity and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year
period ended December 31, 2003, which report appears in the December 31, 2003
Annual Report on Form 10-K of Norfolk Southern Railway Company. Our report
refers to the adoption by the Company of Financial Accounting Standards Board
Statement No. 143, Accounting for Asset Retirement Obligations, and Financial
Accounting Standards Board Interpretation No. 46, Consolidation of Variable
Interest Entities, effective January 1, 2003.

We also consent to the references to our firm under the headings "Experts" and
"Selected Historical Financial Data" in the prospectus and consent solicitation
statement.


/s/ KPMG LLP
Norfolk, Virginia
April 22, 2004