NS opens Birmingham Regional Intermodal Facility

Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor
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NS/TheFutureNeedsUs.com

Norfolk Southern has officially opened the $97.5 million Birmingham Regional Intermodal Facility in McCalla, Ala.

The facility, located on a 316-acre site adjacent to the Jefferson Metropolitan Park, is a critical component of Norfolk Southern’s multi-state Crescent Corridor initiative to establish an efficient, high-capacity intermodal freight rail route between the Gulf Coast and the Northeast.

“There is no other intermodal rail public-private project today that compares with the magnitude of the Crescent Corridor in terms of job creation or environmental benefits,” NS CEO Wick Moorman said. “Because of its strategic location and the growing intermodal demands throughout the country, the Birmingham terminal will serve as a major gateway for truck-competitive freight moving between the South and Northeast and enable NS to launch new service from Birmingham to the Northeast and to Mexico.”

The Birmingham terminal is the second of four new Crescent Corridor terminals to open. The Memphis, Tenn., facility began operations in July and the Birmingham regional facility’s sister terminal at Greencastle, Pa., is scheduled to open in January. Construction began earlier this year for a new terminal in Charlotte, N.C. In addition, significant expansions of two existing intermodal terminals in Harrisburg, Pa., are underway.

NS constructed the main administrative building to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification standards. The facility also will use the latest in gate and terminal automation technology, which shortens the waiting time for trucks entering the terminal and improves truck driver productivity and air quality. Additionally, low emission cranes and hostler tractors will operate within the terminal.

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