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.