I need to dig up older articles that describe the Heartland Corridor in detail. This enhanced freight rail corridor runs through central Ohio, and the only major upgrades that remain are in West Virginia and Virginia that involve raising tunnel roofs or bypassing them with new cuts. Other improvements included new traffic control mechanisms and lighting, higher overpasses, intermodal facilities and other track improvements.

 

This article deals with an intermodal facility in Prichard, West Virginia, about 20 minutes south of Huntington along US 52.

 

Rail-truck facility targeted for 2010

By Bryan Chambers, Herald-Dispatch, December 24, 2008

 

PRICHARD -- Although it likely won't meet its original completion date of June 2010, a proposed rail-truck transfer facility in Wayne County is moving forward and should open about the same time as the rest of the Heartland Corridor, according to a development official involved with the project.

 

State Sen. Bob Plymale, D-Wayne, and others recently questioned whether the terminal in Prichard will be open for business when container shipments from across the country start moving through the state. Plymale said last month that environmental studies on the land where the terminal will be built are taking longer than expected and could delay the opening.

If you go through the Booming Growth in Freight Railroads thread, you may find more references to the Heartland Corridor project.

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,9389.0.html

 

 

 

 

Yeah, I saw a few mentions for that, but I thought it would be interesting to have a separate thread. I don't know how much is left to do in Ohio, since most of the work is now focusing on West Virginia and Virginia.

NS: New website stresses PPPs 

 

 

With several freight rail corridor development public-private partnerships under way or in planning, Norfolk Southern has launched TheFutureNeedsUs.com, a new website focusing on the public benefits of these projects

 

Read full story at:

http://www.railwayage.com/breaking-news/ns-new-website-stresses-ppps.html

 

Link to website:

 

http://www.thefutureneedsus.com/

Crews enlarge tunnels for taller trains        

Tuesday, October 06, 2009 

 

Opening a new rail gateway for double-stacked containers is taking place across southern West Virginia 20 grueling feet at a time, according to the Charleston Daily Mail. Every weekday, Norfolk Southern shuts down a portion of its main line between the East Coast and the Midwest so crews can raise the roofs in the line's tunnels.

 

Read more at:

http://www.rtands.com/newsflash/crews-enlarge-tunnels-for-taller-trains.html

The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire. We don't need no water....

 

BloodHound Gang - Fire Water Burn(The Roof Is On Fire) Remix

BTW:  Norfolk Southern is reporting that the Heartland Corridor will be complete by July.

Norfolk Southern raises roof on Heartland Corridor

5/30/2010, 4:00 a.m. EDT

ROBERT McCABE

The Associated Press   

 

(AP) — NEAR KERMIT, W.Va. - Floodlights glared deep in a century-old tunnel under an Appalachian hillside. An excavator poked at the arched ceiling like a pterodactyl.

 

Chunks of sandstone shattered and fell thunderously into an empty rail car.

 

Work has gone on like this for nearly a year. Crews begin at 2 a.m. and call it a day about noon.

 

Full story at: http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/national-127/1275208824132730.xml&storylist=cleveland

I'll dig up the article from the Herald-Dispatch; it included photographs they took of the construction along the route, and a map. It's one of the biggest railroading projects undertaken in a very long time.

It's one of the biggest railroading projects undertaken in a very long time.

 

Around this part of the country, yes. But there have been a number of large rail projects in the U.S. in recent years, including Conrail's double-stack clearance project from Cleveland to Philadelphia about 20 years ago.

 

More recently, there is UP's double-tracking from New Orleans to LA (still ongoing due to the massiveness of this project)...

 

Lots of pictures here: http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/p/120779/1851989.aspx Here's one of them...

 

 

BNSF's triple-tracking to and through Cajon Pass in California...

 

 

The Alameda Corridor...

 

 

 

And the CREATE project (actually lots of "little" projects but part of a masterplan) in Chicago...

 

Sorry, I meant in the mid-atlantic. Click through below for a photo gallery and article.

 

Norfolk Southern raises roof

From staff and wire reports, Herald-Dispatch, May 29, 2010

 

NEAR KERMIT, W.Va. -- Floodlights glared deep in a century-old tunnel under an Appalachian hillside. An excavator poked at the arched ceiling like a pterodactyl.

 

Chunks of sandstone shattered and fell thunderously into an empty rail car.

 

Work has gone on like this for nearly a year. Crews begin at 2 a.m. and call it a day about noon.

Yeah but it gave me an excuse to post some cool railroad construction pics...

West Virginia port authority postpones Heartland Corridor terminal plans

 

A proposed intermodal terminal on Norfolk Southern Railway’s Heartland Corridor in Prichard, W.Va., is on hold. Last week, the West Virginia Public Port Authority (PPA) announced it’s delaying development of the facility because of the soft economy and a lack of private developer interest in the terminal.

 

The PPA issued a request for proposals to private developers in April, but only received one proposal by the June 4 deadline.

 

More at: http://www.progressiverailroading.com/news/article.asp?id=23571

Heartland Corridor Extends Reach from Columbus to Cincinnati

Norfolk Southern Gets the Green Signal to Proceed on Double Stack Clearance Project

 

 

COLUMBUS - June 22, 2010--America’s growing economy moves more and more freight on rails and Ohio is increasingly one of the critical links to keep those goods rolling.  Already nearing completion of its Heartland Corridor between Chicago, Columbus and the Port of Norfolk, Virginia, Norfolk Southern (NS) is extending the corridor’s reach to Cincinnati.

 

NS has been given the official notice by the Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) to proceed with engineering and construction on their Columbus to Cincinnati line to accommodate double-stack container trains.

 

The nearly $6.1 million project will involve increasing clearances at five locations between Columbus and Sharonville, and adding tracks at the Rickenbacker intermodal facility. The project is funded in part with $3.6-million from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act, along with matching funding from both Norfolk Southern and the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments.

But the project is about much more than making sure bridges and other structures are at the right height for trains to pass.

 

“The double stack clearance projects are essential because they remove trucks from the I-71 and I-75 corridors in southwest Ohio,” said OKI Executive Director Mark Policinski. “These projects reduce air pollution and congestion while, at the same time, improving our ability to compete in global markets. OKI is proud to have originated the partnership with Norfolk Southern and ORDC that delivers so many benefits.”

 

“It’s this kind of public-private investment in our rail network that enhances Ohio’s already strategic position as a distribution and logistics hub for both North America and the world,” echoed ORDC Executive Director Matt Dietrich. “The return on this investment is the economic development and jobs that grow around these intermodal freight hubs as we have already seen around the NS Rickenbacker Intermodal Yard.”

 

“Ohio is strategically positioned to satisfy the growing demand for high-quality intermodal freight service throughout the Midwest,” said Mike McClellan, NS vice president intermodal marketing. “The Heartland Corridor West extension to Cincinnati leverages our Heartland Corridor and the success of our Rickenbacker intermodal facility in Columbus, creating new opportunities for shippers while at the same time delivering significant economic and environmental benefits throughout Ohio, northern Kentucky and southern Indiana.” 

 

For more information contact:

 

Stu Nicholson, ORDC Communications at 614-644-0513

 

Brian Cunningham, OKI Director of Communications & Legislative Affairs at 513-619-7670

Rudy Husband, NS Corp Director of Public Relations at 610-567-3377

 

###

The Ohio Rail Development Commission is an independent agency operating within the Ohio Department of Transportation.  ORDC is responsible for economic development through the improvement and expansion of passenger and freight rail services and railroad grade crossing safety. For more information about what ORDC does for Ohio, visit our website at  http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/Rail .

 

What is NS's line from Sharonville to Rickenbacker?

It's called the Dayton District. It was part of the Big Four system (Chicago, Cleveland, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railway Co.), then New York Central, then Penn Central, then Conrail. It is the southern half of the proposed 3C Corridor.

The last piece of the puzzle for the NS Heartland Corridor...

 

July 6, 2010

 

Belcher Bridge is coming down for NS Corridor

By BILL ARCHER

Bluefield Daily Telegraph

 

BLUEFIELD — Norfolk Southern Railway contract crews have set up warning signs, and one of Bluefield’s bridges that traverses the NS mainline in the city’s East End will be coming down within the next two weeks.

 

Robin Chapman, NS spokesman said, “the span will come down the week of July 19,” although crews are already working to remove the bridge decking material and preparing the structure for its removal.

 

Full story at: http://bdtonline.com/local/x657355767/Belcher-Bridge-is-coming-down-for-NS-Corridor

 

NS to launch double-stack train operations on Heartland Corridor in September

 

Work is nearing completion on Norfolk Southern Railway’s Heartland Corridor and NS officials expect to begin operating double-stack trains on the 1,200-mile intermodal route next month.

 

Funded through a public-private partnership between NS, the federal government and states of Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia, the corridor project calls for raising clearances on 28 tunnels and removing 24 other obstructions on a route between Norfolk, Va., and Columbus, Ohio.

 

Full story at: http://www.progressiverailroading.com/news/article.asp?id=24116

Some pretty good videos about the Heartland Corridor project....

 

 

And even a music video to comemmorate the official opening of the Corridor this September...

 

NS starts testing on Heartland Corridor   

Friday, August 27, 2010 

 

Norfolk Southern Friday began running test trains on its upgraded Heartland Corridor between Chicago and Norfolk, Va. NS says the upgraded route has been reduced 250 miles, while improvements such as clearances for doublestack intermodal traffic will contribute to reduced fuel costs and travel times as well.

 

“Our goal strategically is to provide as many opportunities for steamship partners,” said Jeff Heller, NS group vice president, International, in an interview.

 

Full story at: http://www.railwayage.com/breaking-news/ns-starts-testing-heartland-corridor-s-capabilities.html

 

Norfolk Southern's Heartland Corridor rail route to Columbus finishes final link

Business First of Columbus - by Adrian Burns

 

Cargo flowing into the Midwest soon will have a major new route that could bring a growing share of it through Central Ohio.

 

Norfolk Southern Corp. plans Sept. 9 to open the Heartland Corridor, a high-capacity cargo corridor linking Columbus and the Port of Virginia. The Heartland Corridor will allow trains pulling cars with cargo containers stacked two high to reach Columbus in 24 hours after leaving the port in Norfolk – a speedy improvement from the circuitous route trains have been forced to take to reach the state.

 

That improvement is significant for Central Ohio’s logistics development efforts because it will provide a more efficient freight pipeline to Norfolk Southern’s $63 million container-transfer terminal near Rickenbacker International Airport.

 

Full story at: http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2010/08/30/story4.html?b=1283140800%5E3863661

 

Map graphic at: http://assets.bizjournals.com/story_image/1283411-0-0-1.jpg

 

Photos & graphics courtesy NS Corp

Norfolk Southern's New Heartland Corridor Cuts Length of Major Route by 250 Miles

by Timothy B. Hurst on August 26, 2010

 

Ten years ago, about 70 percent of the Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) international freight arrived in West Coast ports and was distributed from there.

 

Today, however, the company's East Coast port network got a big shot in the arm as the company began running test trains on its new $261-million Heartland Corridor between the port city of Norfolk and U.S.' national freight rail hub in Chicago, including the construction of a new intermodal terminal in Columbus, Ohio.

 

The new corridor project, which runs on tracks already a part of Norfolk Southern's rail assets for over 100 years, will shorten the length of the trip between Norfolk and Chicago by 250 miles, thereby reducing associated fuel costs and carbon emissions.

 

Full story at: http://earthandindustry.com/2010/08/norfolk-southern-readies-the-rails-for-new-heartland-corridor/

NS schedules ceremony to mark first Heartland Corridor train

 

On Thursday, Norfolk Southern Railway will hold a ceremony at the Cowan Tunnel in Radford, Va., to commemorate the opening of the Heartland Corridor.

 

The first double-stacked train to use the new intermodal route between Columbus, Ohio, and the Port of Virginia in Norfolk will go through the tunnel, which was built in 1906 and is the first and longest — at 3,302 feet — of the 28 tunnels in the Appalachian Mountains that were raised during the project. The event will be attended by NS Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Wick Moorman; Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo; and Virginia Secretary of Transportation Sean Connaughton.

 

Full story at: http://www.progressiverailroading.com/news/article.asp?id=24264

Interesting that the Dispatch "gets" that investing in our rail system to move more freight generates business, jobs and environmental benefits, but take the opposing view when it comes to investing in our rail system to move people.

 

Still, a very good story on the opening of NS's Heartland Corridor...

 

Shipping on track

Rickenbacker terminal part of better rail route to the East Coast

Thursday, September 9, 2010  02:56 AM

By Marla Matzer Rose

 

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Trains are nothing new in central Ohio, but they are poised to play a bigger role in the area's economy.

 

Beginning today, Norfolk Southern will use the revamped Heartland Corridor line, taking advantage of what the company calls the "single biggest railroad engineering project in modern history." It included enlarging tunnels through mountains and raising bridges in other places.

 

The $191 million project will expand the possibilities for shipping from central Ohio to points east and south, as well as to the growing port of Norfolk, Va.

 

Full story at: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2010/09/09/shipping-on-track.html?sid=101

Norfolk Southern opens new $191M route to Midwest

Norfolk Southern opens new route for bigger freight trains to increase shipments to Midwest

 

Matt Leingang, Associated Press Writer,

On Thursday September 9, 2010, 1:58 pm EDT

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Norfolk Southern Corp. on Thursday ran its first train loaded with double-stacked cargo containers through some of the most rugged parts of the Appalachian Mountains, opening a $191 million route made possible by an ambitious tunnel-expansion project.

 

The company raised the heights of 28 tunnels along an old coal route, creating a more direct path for bigger freight trains to travel from an international shipping port in Norfolk, Va., to a transfer terminal in Columbus. The trip is now shorter by 250 miles -- and 24 hours.

 

Norfolk Southern, and eastern rival CSX Corp., want to maximize the amount of consumer goods they can haul on a single train as they compete with the trucking industry to take more freight from the East Coast to the Midwest. They're also preparing for the 2015 expansion of the Panama Canal, which will make it easier for Asian freight to reach eastern U.S. cities.

 

Full story at: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Norfolk-Southern-opens-new-apf-3148711260.html?x=0&.v=1

I thought that the AP article was a lot more professionally written.  The Dispatch reporter didn't seem to add anything to the article stating a lot of very obvious things.  I would think the average reader in Columbus is aware of the Rickenbacker terminal.  Since it has expanded quite a bit it would be pretty hard to get back to capacity again.  By the strong announcements of other railroads doing quite well, I would be surprised if they are "down significantly' still.  If she was putting a local spin on it she didn't flesh out the other nearby cities the freight is coming from or going to as part of this project or how the project is being added onto going to Cinci.  If she was going for the bigger picture overview, she didn't mention the importance of the panama canal project as to how this will become more important in the next few years.  As far as the hyperbole of the "single biggest railroad engineering project in modern history" I would think that the National Gateway project is bigger.

Cleveland Plain Dealer posted the AP story today: http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2010/09/norfolk_southern_opens_new_191.html

I thought that the AP article was a lot more professionally written. The Dispatch reporter didn't seem to add anything to the article stating a lot of very obvious things. I would think the average reader in Columbus is aware of the Rickenbacker terminal. Since it has expanded quite a bit it would be pretty hard to get back to capacity again. By the strong announcements of other railroads doing quite well, I would be surprised if they are "down significantly' still. If she was putting a local spin on it she didn't flesh out the other nearby cities the freight is coming from or going to as part of this project or how the project is being added onto going to Cinci. If she was going for the bigger picture overview, she didn't mention the importance of the panama canal project as to how this will become more important in the next few years. As far as the hyperbole of the "single biggest railroad engineering project in modern history" I would think that the National Gateway project is bigger.

 

Agreed... I though the Dispatch reporter buried the bigger story (Heartland Corridor) behind yet another look at Rickenbacker (which has been open since 2008).  Rickenbacker would not even have happened if not for the earlier planning that went into the Heartland Corridor. 

As far as the hyperbole of the "single biggest railroad engineering project in modern history" I would think that the National Gateway project is bigger.

 

The ignorance and laziness of media astounds me. How hard is it to look up something?? Don't you writers feel uncomfortable writing a statement like "single biggest railroad engineering project in modern history" without confirming it? Railroad engineering project in what country? If limiting this just to the U.S., yes the National Gateway Corridor is larger than the Heartland Corridor. So was CSX's double-tracking of the combined B&O/Conrail lines between Chicago and Cleveland, in 1997-99, which was a $200 million project. The largest railroad engineering project in the U.S. I can think of in recent years is the Alameda Corridor, which was larger and more elaborate, costing $1.75 billion in 2002...

 

http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/alameda/

 

 

Context, people. Context.

Heartland Corridor wins Hay Award   

Monday, November 22, 2010 

 

The American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) has presented the 2010 William W. Hay Award for Excellencein railway engineering to Norfolk Southern’s Heartland Corridor project.

 

The award was presented during the AREMA 2010 Annual Conference and Exposition in Orlando, Fla.

 

Full story at:

http://www.railwayage.com/breaking-news/crescent-corridor-wins-hay-award-for-engineering.html

Hey!

hah

 

The Heartland Corridor is spotlighted in this month's issue of TRAINS. I'm still waiting for them to publish my photo of the B&O St. Louis main at Greenfield, Ohio (today's I&O Greenfield Sub.).

Hey!

Groan. :roll:

Friday June 3, 2011

Contract boosts intermodal terminal

by George Hohmann

Daily Mail Business Editor

Charleston Daily Mail

 

The long-planned Prichard Intermodal terminal in Wayne County received a boost with the announcement that the state has awarded a $6.5 million contract for construction of a bridge that will improve truck access to the site.

 

Acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and state Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox announced the Division of Highways awarded a contract to Wayne Concrete Co. Inc. for construction of a bridge to replace the Gragston Creek Bridge on U.S. Route 52, about four miles north of the intermodal terminal site. The new bridge will be a part of the future four-lane Tolsia Highway.

 

In addition to constructing the bridge, earth removed for a temporary bridge will be used to provide fill material at the intermodal facility site, which is adjacent to the Big Sandy River.

Read more at: http://www.dailymail.com/Business/201106021075

http://www.nscorp.com/nscportal/nscorp/Media/News%20Releases/2011/brunel_award.html

 

August 10, 2011

Norfolk Southern's Heartland Corridor project wins railway design award

 

NORFOLK, VA. - Norfolk Southern has received a technical infrastructure commendation for its Heartland Corridor project in the 2011 Brunel Awards International Railway Design Competition.

 

The Heartland Corridor project, one of the most extensive railroad engineering projects in modern times, was an initiative to raise the vertical clearances of 28 railroad tunnels and remove 24 overhead obstructions in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio to allow the passage of double-stack container trains. The project began in October 2007 and was completed in September 2010. The Brunel Jury was impressed with the overall magnitude of the Heartland Corridor project and the long-term positive impact it will have on the environment by eliminating more than 300 miles of travel between the Port of Virginia and the Midwest.

 

The Brunel Awards are presented tri-annually by the Watford Group of International Railway Designers to recognize the best in railway architecture, engineering, landscape and environmental design, product design, locomotive and car design, graphic arts, and corporate branding among the world's railways.

 

The competition is named after the 19th Century British railroad pioneer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859), founder and builder of the Great Western Railway.

 

Forty-three projects in 11 nations won awards in the competition. The 2011 Brunel awards will be presented Oct. 14, in Washington, D.C.

 

Norfolk Southern Corporation is one of the nation's premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary operates approximately 20,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in the eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other rail carriers. Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal and industrial products.

 

 

Norfolk Southern contacts:

(Media) Robin Chapman, 757-629-2713 ([email protected])

Thursday August 18, 2011

 

Train magazine issue features Heartland Corridor rail

by George Hohmann

Daily Mail Business Editor

 

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The $191 million Heartland Corridor project, which allows Norfolk Southern to ship double-stacked containers between the port of Hampton Roads and Chicago, is featured in the September issue of Trains magazine.

 

The story by Bob Eisthen, titled "Containers through the coal fields," recounts the task of raising the clearance on 28 tunnels, including 23 across southern West Virginia.

 

Earlier this month Norfolk Southern learned it will receive a technical infrastructure commendation for the project in the 2011 Brunel Awards International Railway Design Competition.

 

Read more at: http://www.dailymail.com/Business/GeorgeHohmann/201108171379

Thanks for the heads up, I haven't picked up a copy of Trains in a few years.  I believe the author of that article is a Cincinnati native. 

Anybody out there know if Norfolk Southern has started running double stack freights through its Dayton District (connecting Gest yard in Cinti. with Rickenbacker in Columbus)?  The clearances along the Dayton District were supposed to be raised for double stack so this line could serve as a feeder to the much-praised Heartland Corridor project, which was essentially completed a year or 2 ago.

They just ran the first train late last night, Columbus to Danville I think.  Not sure what time of day the eastbound leg will run.  I got the info from a mailing list. 

 

http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/CincyRails/

 

 

Thanks for info...I live by the line, I think that's the one that woke me up last night  :lol:  I did notice there was a train at a time when we don't usually hear one.

I'm staying in downtown Dayton and heard an odd train horn last night.  It was longer and deeper like a ship maybe. I wasn't sure if different train lines use different horn tones.  It was around 2:30 to 3am i heard the train.

audidave, you heard a CSX freight.  The other company that operates through downtown is Norfolk Southern which has more of a high shrill tone.  If you're staying downtown it seems you're at a hotel on business maybe, try going to the Oregon Express tavern at Brown and East Fifth, it's right by the rr viaduct and they cater to train-watchers.

There is already an active thread for the Heartland Corridor:

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,18048.0.html

 

Please re=post these comments there.

 

Thanks!  :-D

 

Double-stacked trains begin running between Columbus and Cincy

Business First by Adrian Burns, Staff reporter

Date: Wednesday, January 18, 2012, 2:19pm EST

 

 

 

Double stacked NS trains have begun moving between Columbus and Cincinnati.

 

Much of the Heartland Corridor work focused on making way for stacked container trains between Columbus and Norfolk, Virginia.

 

But a key Heartland Corridor component for Ohio was expanding the route between Columbus and Cincinnati, which had been capable of accommodating only single-stacked container cars, even though double stacked cars already were arriving in Columbus from the east.

 

That’s changed, though.

 

Read more at: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2012/01/double-stacked-trains-begin-running.html?ana=RSS&s=article_search&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bizj_columbus+%28Business+First+of+Columbus%29

Wait, what?

 

"Now, those trains can follow a less busy route through Columbus and Sharonville on their way to Detroit."

 

There is no NW route from Columbus to Detroit that accepts double stacked containers?

NS double stack could go from Virginia to Columbus and then north to Detroit, Cleveland or Chicago since the main corridor opened a year or two ago.  The point is now there is this alternative route from the South up through Cincinnati, Dayton to Columbus.  The article we both read wasn't quite clear on this.  The reference to "less busy route" tells me NS probably wanted the Cincinnati-Columbus leg to avoid capacity limitations on the original leg of the corridor.  In case you're interested, just a few months ago Trains magazine published a national map showing all the double stack routes in US.

noozer,

yea thanks just checked it out and found what I was lookin' for, maybe the mod. can merge this into the original thread?

Merged.

Heartland Corridor expands its reach to transport goods from the Midwest to the Atlantic CoastPosted: Jan 19, 2012 5:29 PM EST

 

Norfolk Southern's Heartland Corridor, which runs double-stacked container trains from Norfolk, Va., through southern West Virginia to points in the Midwest, has extended its reach by improving tracks from Columbus to Cincinnati.

 

A statement issued by Norfolk Southern on Jan. 19 said the improvements provide Norfolk Southern with the potential to connect Ohio Valley markets to other major East Coast container ports.

 

"Routing trains over the Heartland Connector improves transit times and allows Norfolk Southern to provide more reliable service and handle additional intermodal freight," said Jeff Heller, NS group vice president international intermodal marketing. "The Heartland Connector is significant for the Port of Virginia because it increases the efficiency of the Heartland Corridor to move goods to and from Ohio and other Midwest consumer markets and adds to the competitiveness of the Hampton Roads region."

 

Read more at: http://www.statejournal.com/story/16558414/heartland-corridor-expands