Norfolk Southern is to break ground Oct. 19 for its new intermodal facility near Greencastle, Pa., the Chambersburg Public Opinion reports. NS CEO Wick Moorman, Gov. Ed Rendell, Federal Railroad Administration Deputy Administrator Karen Rae and U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Hollidaysburg, are expected to take part in a ceremony at the site of the new rail-truck yard.

The $95-million facility, which will rival CSX Corp.'s rail yard in Guilford Township, is expected to open in 2012.

Norfolk Southern will build on a nearly 200-acre site next to the Antrim Commons Business Park near Interstate 81's Exit 3 in Antrim Township. The business park is being developed by Baltimore-based Atapco Properties. Conceptual drawings show room for large warehouses next to the rail facility.

The existing rail crossing at Milnor Road will be removed and Milnor Road will come to a cul-de-sac on both sides of the railway. The at-grade crossing at Hykes Road will be replaced with a bridge.

Franklin County Regional Intermodal Facility will be able to handle four trains per day and more than 85,000 containers and trailers a year. It is among a long list of projects Norfolk Southern plans to complete to increase rail capacity along its Crescent Corridor, which stretches from New Jersey to Louisiana.

The Greencastle facility is designed to improve intermodal service between the Gulf Coast and Northeast and is first of four new intermodal terminals Norfolk Southern plans to construct over the next two years. A similar facility in Front Royal, Va., resulted in 27 companies locating nearby and about 7,000 new jobs.

Norfolk Southern said upgrades along the Crescent Corridor, which parallels much of Interstate 81, would take long-haul trucks off the interstates.