Norfolk Southern will build a new intermodal terminal in Greencastle, Pa., to serve the Mid-Atlantic region. The terminal project is part of the railroad's multi-state Crescent Corridor initiative to establish a high-speed intermodal freight rail route linking the Gulf Coast and the Northeast.
The $95 million facility, which is expected to open in late 2011, will occupy a 200-acre site adjacent to the planned Antrim Commons Business Park. The proposed investment in the Franklin County Regional Intermodal Facility will create the capacity to handle more than 85,000 containers and trailers annually. The terminal will utilize the latest gate and terminal automation technology to shorten the waiting time for trucks entering the terminal and reduce exhaust emissions and improve truck driver productivity. Four intermodal trains will serve the terminal daily.
"Because of its strategic location to key markets in the Mid-Atlantic region, the new Franklin County terminal is vital to the success of our Crescent Corridor," said Wick Moorman, Norfolk Southern's chief executive officer.
Norfolk Southern's Crescent Corridor initiative is a multistate network of infrastructure improvements and other facilities intended to enhance NS' 2,500-mile rail network that supports the supply chain 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.
NS said that nearly $2.5 billion in Crescent Corridor projects have been identified, and based on the public benefits that stand to be derived in the form of highway congestion relief, it plans to implement the Crescent Corridor initiative through a series of public-private partnerships.
Norfolk Southern also has improvements planned for existing intermodal terminals in Harrisburg and Philadelphia, along with $27 million in track and signal upgrades.