The agreement culminates years of planning. This project was first envisioned in 1997 in the airport's Strategic Development Plan, a process that included several Charlotte businesses.

The facility, which will be built by NS, is scheduled to open in 2014. It will replace the existing 40-acre intermodal facility along North Davidson and North Brevard Streets in uptown. By relocating to the airport, NS is able to expand to 200 acres and remove trucks off busy city streets.

Land has already been graded for the intermodal facility that will sit along the southern end of CLT's center parallel runway and 40 feet underneath two taxiway bridges. The tracks will extend a mile along the airfield. For passengers landing at CLT, they will likely only see the tops of cranes. Daily operation at CLT will not be impacted once the facility is fully operational.

The $90 million facility will be constructed with the assistance of $15.7 million in federal and state funds. In addition, the Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, North Carolina Department of Transportation and the City of Charlotte provided extensive help in planning the facility.