The Crescent Corridor is a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

corridor operated by the

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

(NS). The project, first proposed in 2007, and scheduled for completion by 2020, spans 13 states from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. It is a private-public partnership between Norfolk Southern and the various state and federal governments.

Project overview

Norfolk Southern plans that the project will expand its entire network from the

Northeast 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—eac ...

to the

Southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, ...

regions. It is expected that the majority of

cargo In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in cas ...

along the corridor would be intermodal. Norfolk Southern projects the removal of 1.3 million long-haul trucks annually from

interstate highways The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National H ...

, thereby reducing

traffic congestion Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s, resulting in m ...

and helping the environment. 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 A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of Track (rail transport), tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for k ...

s along the corridor. NS has proposed sharing the costs with federal and

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

agencies in a public-private partnership. The overall project cost estimate is USD$2.5 billion as of 2009.Norfolk Southern Corporation (2009)
"Norfolk Southern Selects Greencastle Site for New Franklin County Regional Intermodal Facility, Supporting Crescent Corridor Initiative."
Press release. 2009-08-12. NS plans to expand and upgrade existing rail lines along the corridor to accommodate fast

freight train A freight train, also called a goods train or cargo train, is a railway train that is used to carry cargo, as opposed to passengers. Freight trains are made up of one or more locomotives which provide propulsion, along with one or more railroad ...

s and also purchase new

locomotives A locomotive is a rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for longer and heavier freight train ...

and

freight car Goods wagons or freight wagons (North America: freight cars), also known as goods carriages, goods trucks, freight carriages or freight trucks, are unpowered railway vehicles that are used for the transportation of cargo. A variety of wagon types ...

s, and build new terminals.

Intermodal facilities

Norfolk Southern opened new terminal facilities for

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

;

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

;

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

and

Greencastle, Pennsylvania Greencastle is a borough in Franklin County in south-central Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,251 at the 2020 census. Greencastle lies within the Cumberland Valley of Pennsylvania. History Indigenous People The region known to ...

. It also upgraded terminals in

Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...

and

Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. Norfolk Southern will expand Croxton Yard in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

.Norfolk Southern Corporation (2009)
"Crescent Corridor project aims to increase capacity for intermodal growth, reduce carbon footprint."
''BizNS'' (magazine). January/February 2009. pp. 6-7.

Project status

Greencastle, Pennsylvania Intermodal terminal dedicated in June 2013. Memphis Regional Intermodal Facility in Rossville, Tennessee opened in July 2012. Birmingham Regional Intermodal Facility in McCalla, Alabama opened in October 2012. Charlotte, North Carolina Intermodal terminal opened in December 2013.

References

{{refend

External links

Map of Crescent Corridor
– Norfolk Southern
Crescent Corridor Brochure
Norfolk Southern Railway Rail infrastructure in New Jersey Rail infrastructure in Pennsylvania Rail infrastructure in Maryland Rail infrastructure in Virginia Rail infrastructure in Tennessee Rail infrastructure in Alabama Rail infrastructure in Mississippi Rail infrastructure in Louisiana Rail freight transportation in the United States Transportation planning

Project overview

Intermodal facilities

Project status

See also

References

External links