Norfolk Southern To Invest $11m In Philadelphia Navy Yard Intermodal Facility
Published:02-November-2009
By Staff Reporter
To handle more than 72,000 containers and trailers annually
Norfolk Southern and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are investing $11m in the railroad's Philadelphia Navy Yard intermodal facility to expand track and parking capacity.
The expansion is part of Norfolk Southern's multi-state Crescent Corridor initiative to establish a high-speed intermodal freight rail route between the Gulf Coast and the Northeast. The proposed investment, of $6m from Norfolk Southern and $5m from Pennsylvania, will create the capacity to handle more than 72,000 containers and trailers annually. Construction is scheduled to begin in mid-2010.
Mayor Michael Nutter, said: "With this $11m investment, Norfolk Southern's intermodal terminal at the Navy Yard will benefit shippers and consumers in the city and lead to further economic development opportunities in the Philadelphia area."
Norfolk Southern's Crescent Corridor initiative is a multistate network of infrastructure improvements and facilities intended to enhance Norfolk Southern's 2,500-mile rail network that supports the supply chain from the Gulf Coast and Memphis to Harrisburg, Philadelphia, and the New York metropolitan area and enable it to handle more freight traffic faster and more reliably. The railroad is in the process of implementing corridor projects, including straightening curves, adding passing tracks, improving signal systems, and building new terminals.
When the Crescent Corridor is fully operational, annual benefits to Pennsylvania are expected to include nearly 700,000 long-haul trucks diverted to rail, almost 10 million gallons of fuel saved, carbon dioxide reduction of 110,000 tons, more than $44m in traffic congestion savings, and avoidance of an estimated $8.5 million in accident costs. Over the next 10 years 26,000 jobs in Pennsylvania are expected to be created or enhanced by the Crescent Corridor.
Norfolk Southern is constructing a new $95 million intermodal facility in Franklin County Pennsylvania, and has $52m in improvements planned for its existing Harrisburg intermodal terminal, along with $27m in track and signal upgrades in Berks, Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lebanon, Lehigh, Montgomery, and Northampton counties.
