National Gateway is a multi-stage
railroad
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
construction project in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
promoted by
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
, a unit of
CSX Corporation
CSX Corporation is an American holding company focused on rail transportation and real estate in North America, among other industries. The company was established in 1980 as part of the Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries merger. T ...
. It is designed to improve rail connections between ports in the U.S.
mid-Atlantic seaboard and the
Midwest
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...
by upgrading bridges and tunnels to allow taller
freight train
Rail freight transport is the use of railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers.
A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (International Union of Railways) haul ...
s (ones carrying
double-stack intermodal container
An intermodal container, often called a shipping container, is a large standardized shipping container, designed and built for intermodal freight transport, meaning these containers can be used across different Mode of transport, modes of trans ...
s). In 2008 the company announced its plans to invest $300 million, and is seeking investment from state governments and the U.S. federal government of an additional $400 million as a
public-private partnership. Phase 1 of the $850 million project, between CSX’s existing terminal in
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
Chambersburg is a borough in and the county seat of Franklin County, in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley, and north of Maryland and the Mas ...
, and its hub facility in Northwest Ohio. was completed in September 2013.
Unrelated project
An unrelated project with the same name was founded in 2001 as an engineering test between global communication networks.
Completed railway improvement projects
*
Northwest Ohio Intermodal Terminal
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
in
North Baltimore, Ohio
North Baltimore is a village (United States)#Ohio, village in Wood County, Ohio, Wood County, Ohio, United States and is part of the Toledo, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,432 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. T ...
. Funded completely by CSX. Opened February 2011. A number of tunnels were open cut for the project including:
*
Shoo Fly Tunnel(2012)
*
Pinkerton Tunnel(2012)
*
Benford Tunnel(2012)
*
Virginia Avenue Tunnel in
Washington, DC
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
(2018). Tunnel rebuilt using cut-and-cover to double track and allow for double-stacked containers.
Projects under construction or funded
* Rail corridor parallel to
Interstate 70
Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 in ...
and
Interstate 76
Interstate 76 may refer to:
Interstate Highways in the United States
* Interstate 76 (Colorado–Nebraska)
* Interstate 76 (Ohio–New Jersey), running through Pennsylvania
Video gaming
* ''Interstate '76
''Interstate '76'' is a vehicular ...
between
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
and northwest
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, via
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
. Federal funding approved in December 2010.
* Lowering track on the
Capital Subdivision
The Capital Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of Maryland and the District of Columbia. The line runs from near Baltimore, Maryland, southwest to Washington, D.C., along the former Baltimore ...
in
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
.
[CSX (2011-05-18)]
"CSX Commits Additional $160 Million to National Gateway."
Press release.
* Replacing bridges and modifying tunnels on the
Metropolitan Subdivision
The Metropolitan Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the District of Columbia and the U.S. state of Maryland. The 79-mile line runs from Washington, D.C., northwest to Weverton, Maryland, along the form ...
in Maryland.
Proposed projects
* Rail corridor parallel to
Interstate 95
Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...
between
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
and
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, via Washington, D.C.
** Lowering track and modifying the
Long Bridge
Long may refer to:
Measurement
* Long, characteristic of something of great duration
* Long, characteristic of something of great length
* Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate
* Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...
on the
RF&P Subdivision
The RF&P Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation. It runs from Washington, D.C., to Richmond, Virginia, over lines previously owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad. ...
in Washington
** Replacing a bridge on the RF&P Subdivision in
Woodbridge, Virginia
Woodbridge is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince William County, Virginia, United States, located south of Washington, D.C.. Bounded by the Occoquan and Potomac rivers, Woodbridge had 44,668 residents at the 2020 census.
Woodbridge o ...
* Washington, D.C. - Ohio rail corridor
** New intermodal terminal in western
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
.
** New
intermodal rail yard
A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock or u ...
in
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
.
* Carolina Corridor between
Wilmington and
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...
See also
*
National Docks Secondary
National Docks Secondary is a freight rail line within Conrail's North Jersey Shared Assets Area in Hudson County, New Jersey, used by CSX Transportation. It provides access for the national rail network to maritime, industrial, and distributio ...
and
Long Dock Tunnel
The Long Dock Tunnel is a freight rail tunnel in Jersey City, New Jersey that is part of the North Jersey Shared Assets Area and used by CSX Transportation on the National Docks Secondary. The single track (formerly dual track) tunnel runs thro ...
*
List of CSX Transportation lines
CSX Transportation owns and operates a vast network of rail lines in the United States east of the Mississippi River. In addition to the major systems which merged to form CSX – the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroa ...
*
Heartland Corridor
The Heartland Corridor is a public-private partnership between the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) and the Federal Highway Administration and three U.S. states to improve railroad freight operations.
The $150 million plan was developed to fa ...
– Norfolk Southern Railway improvement project
*
Norfolk Southern Crescent Corridor
The Crescent Corridor is a railroad corridor operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS). The project, first proposed in 2007, and scheduled for completion by 2020, spans 13 states from New York to Louisiana. It is a private-public partnersh ...
*
Virginia Port Authority
The Virginia Port Authority (VPA) is an autonomous agency ( political subdivision) of the Commonwealth of Virginia that owns The Port of Virginia, a group of facilities with their activity centered on the harbor of Hampton Roads, Virginia.
The pri ...
*
Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery
Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE), previously called
Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD), and Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER), is a supplementary ...
, a stimulus program providing some of the funding
*
MidAmerica Corridor[http://www.nscorp.com/content/nscorp/en/news/cn-and-norfolk-southernannouncemidamericacorridorinitiativetospe.html]
References
*
*
*
* Maryland Department of Transportation, Hanover, MD (2008)
"Maryland Freight Project List - Rail."Accessed 2009-12-05.
* Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, Washington, DC (2009)
"CSX National Gateway Projects in the Washington Region."Accessed 2009-12-05.
{{refend
External links
National Gateway- Official site of National Gateway, a CSX Transportation project
National Gateway page at Ohio DOT TIGER grants
CSX Transportation
Rail infrastructure in Maryland
Rail infrastructure in North Carolina
Rail infrastructure in Ohio
Rail infrastructure in Pennsylvania
Rail infrastructure in South Carolina
Rail infrastructure in Virginia
Rail infrastructure in Washington, D.C.
Rail infrastructure in West Virginia
Rail freight transportation in the United States
Transportation planning