Norfolk Southern and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are investing $11 million in the railroad's Philadelphia Navy Yard intermodal facility to expand track and parking capacity, the railroad announced on Nov. 2. The railroad will contribute $6 million and the state $5 million to create the capacity to handle more than 72,000 containers and trailers annually. Construction on the expansion, which is part of Norfolk Southern's Crescent Corridor initiative, is scheduled to begin in mid-2010.
"Because of its strategic location to Southeastern Pennsylvania, South Jersey, and Delaware, expansion of the Philadelphia Navy Yard intermodal facility is critical to the success of our Crescent Corridor," said Wick Moorman, Norfolk Southern's chief executive officer.
Norfolk Southern's Crescent Corridor initiative is a multi-state network of infrastructure improvements and facilities intended to enhance Norfolk Southern's 2,500-mile rail network from the Gulf Coast and Memphis to Harrisburg, Philadelphia, and the New York metropolitan area and enable it to handle more freight traffic faster and more reliably. The railroad is in the process of implementing corridor projects, including straightening curves, adding passing tracks, improving signal systems, and building new terminals.
Nearly $2.5 billion in Crescent Corridor projects have been identified. In addition to the Philadelphia Navy Yard improvements, Norfolk Southern is constructing a new $95 million intermodal facility in Franklin County, Pa., and has $52 million in projects planned for its existing Harrisburg intermodal terminal, along with $27 million in track and signal upgrades in Berks, Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lebanon, Lehigh, Montgomery, and Northampton counties.