NS breaks ground on $95-million intermodal terminal in Greencastle, Pa.

Siemens rüstet das zukünftig größte Express- und Logistikzentrum Asienes mit Sortiertechnik aus Norfolk Southern CEO Wick Moorman was joined by Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, Federal Railroad Administration Deputy Administrator Karen Rae, Rep. Bill Shuster and other state and local dignitaries to officially break ground for the new Franklin County Regional Intermodal Facility in Greencastle, Pa.

The $95-million facility,
part of the railroad’s multi-state Crescent Corridor initiative to establish an
efficient, high-capacity intermodal freight rail route between the Gulf Coast
and the Northeast, occupies a 200-acre site adjacent to the planned Antrim
Commons Business Park and is expected to open in 2012.

This groundbreaking is for
the first of four new Crescent Corridor intermodal terminals Norfolk Southern
plans to construct over the next two years.

"The Franklin County
Regional Intermodal Facility is ideally located to serve the Mid-Atlantic
region and is a critical component of our Crescent Corridor," said
Moorman. "We commend Governor Rendell for his dedication and commitment to
improve transportation infrastructure not only in the commonwealth but
throughout the U.S. We also want to thank Representative Shuster for his
involvement in our efforts to form public-private partnerships to create jobs
and economic development opportunities throughout Pennsylvania. Finally, we
must recognize the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the Franklin
County Area Development Corporation, and Antrim Township for their active
participation in the planning of this project."

The Crescent Corridor is a
program of improvements to infrastructure and other facilities geared toward
creating a high capacity 2,500 mile intermodal route spanning from New Jersey
to Louisiana that touches 26 percent of the nation’s population and 30 percent
of the nation’s manufacturing output. It provides the shortest intermodal
double stack route between the South and the Northeast. When fully operational
it will handle more rail freight traffic faster and more reliably, creating or
benefiting more than 70,000 green jobs by.

The Crescent Corridor
program of projects is estimated to cost $2.5 billion for full development. In
addition to the Greencastle facility, Crescent Corridor projects currently
planned for development include new independent intermodal facilities at
Birmingham, Ala., Charlotte, N.C. and Memphis, Tenn.; the expansion of
intermodal terminals in Harrisburg and Philadelphia, Pa.; and the addition of
freight rail capacity in Virginia and Mississippi. In addition to facility
investments, the program includes significant investments in rail route
improvements consisting of additional passing tracks, double track projects,
improved signaling systems, and other track speed enhancements.

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 in gate and terminal automation technology, which shortens
the waiting time for trucks entering the terminal, thereby reducing exhaust
emissions and improving truck driver productivity. Four intermodal trains daily
will serve the terminal.