Norfolk Southern Crescent Corridor
Encyclopedia
The Crescent Corridor is a railroad corridor expansion program that will be operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway
(NS). The line, proposed by NS in 2007, will run along Interstate 81
. It will be a major intermodal
corridor running between Louisiana
and New Jersey
.
along the corridor would be intermodal. The improvements are projected to remove over hundreds of thousands of truckloads from the interstate highways
. This would reduce traffic congestion
and help the environment by removing trucks from long-haul transport.
The corridor is 1,400 miles (2,300 km) long and 28 new trains daily would be expected to go into service along with improvements to rail yard
s along the corridor. NS has proposed sharing the costs with federal
and state
agencies in a public-private partnership
. The overall project cost estimate is $2.5 billion as of 2009. NS plans to expand and upgrade existing rail lines along the corridor to accommodate fast freight train
s and also purchase new locomotives
and freight cars, and build new terminals
.
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...
(NS). The line, proposed by NS in 2007, will run along Interstate 81
Interstate 81
Interstate 81 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Island at the Canadian border, where the Thousand Islands Bridge connects it to Highway 401, the main freeway...
. It will be a major intermodal
Intermodal freight transport
Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in an intermodal container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation , without any handling of the freight itself when changing modes. The method reduces cargo handling, and so improves security, reduces damages and...
corridor running between Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
and New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
Project overview
NS plans for the project to expand its entire network from the Northeast to the Southeast U.S. It is expected that the majority of cargoCargo
Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...
along the corridor would be intermodal. The improvements are projected to remove over hundreds of thousands of truckloads from the interstate highways
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...
. This would reduce traffic congestion
Traffic congestion
Traffic congestion is a condition on road networks that occurs as use increases, and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. The most common example is the physical use of roads by vehicles. When traffic demand is great enough that the interaction...
and help the environment by removing trucks from long-haul transport.
The corridor is 1,400 miles (2,300 km) long and 28 new trains daily would be expected to go into service along with improvements to rail yard
Rail yard
A rail yard, or railroad yard, is a complex series of railroad tracks for storing, sorting, or loading/unloading, railroad cars and/or locomotives. Railroad yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock stored off the mainline, so that they do not obstruct the flow of traffic....
s along the corridor. NS has proposed sharing the costs with federal
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
and state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
agencies in a public-private partnership
Public-private partnership
Public–private partnership describes a government service or private business venture which is funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or more private sector companies...
. The overall project cost estimate is $2.5 billion as of 2009. NS plans to expand and upgrade existing rail lines along the corridor to accommodate fast freight train
Freight train
A freight train or goods train is a group of freight cars or goods wagons hauled by one or more locomotives on a railway, ultimately transporting cargo between two points as part of the logistics chain...
s and also purchase new locomotives
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
and freight cars, and build new terminals
Goods station
A goods station is, in the widest sense, a railway station which is exclusively or predominantly where goods of any description are loaded or unloaded from ships or road vehicles and/or where goods wagons are transferred to local sidings.A station where goods are not specifically received or...
.
Planned facilities
- NS is planning new terminal facilities for Charlotte, North CarolinaCharlotte, North CarolinaCharlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
; Memphis, TennesseeMemphis, TennesseeMemphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
; Birmingham, AlabamaBirmingham, AlabamaBirmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
and Greencastle, PennsylvaniaGreencastle, PennsylvaniaGreencastle is a borough in Franklin County in south-central Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,722 at the 2000 census.-History:...
. - Upgrades are planned for terminals in HarrisburgHarrisburg, PennsylvaniaHarrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
and BethlehemBethlehem, PennsylvaniaBethlehem is a city in Lehigh and Northampton Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 74,982, making it the seventh largest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie,...
, PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. - NS will expand Croxton YardCroxton, Jersey CityCroxton is a section of Jersey City, New Jersey roughly bounded by Secaucus at Penhorn Creek , The Riverbend of the Hackensack River and the Hudson Generating Station and the Marion Section to the south and Truck 1-9 and Western Slope to the east...
in New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
Project status
Construction on the project began in northern Virginia in 2008. The Charlotte terminal is under construction, and the entire corridor is expected to be completed by 2013.See also
- Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency ProgramChicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency ProgramThe Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program is a project to improve the efficiency of the rail network in the Chicago area by building, amongst other things, flyovers to separate rail traffic on conflicting lines...
(CREATE) - Heartland CorridorHeartland CorridorThe Heartland Corridor is a public-private partnership between the Norfolk Southern Railway and the Federal Highway Administration and three US states to improve railroad freight operations....
- NS rail improvement program between Norfolk and Chicago - National GatewayNational GatewayNational Gateway is a multi-stage railroad construction project in the United States promoted by CSX Transportation, a unit of CSX Corporation. It is designed to improve rail connections between ports in the U.S. mid-Atlantic seaboard and the Midwest by upgrading bridges and tunnels to allow taller...
- CSX Transportation rail improvement program
External links
- Map of Crescent Corridor - Norfolk Southern
