Ask an expert about the Crescent Corridor

A Series of Conversations with Transportation Experts

George PomeroyQuestion: Norfolk Southern Corp. is working to expand the rail capacity of its Crescent Corridor, a 2,500-mile route that carries domestic intermodal freight from the Southeast to Northeast markets, including along the I-81 corridor. Do you view this as a positive thing for the I-81 corridor?

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Mark BurtonQuestion:
What kind of economic benefits will communities near NS’ planned intermodal facilities in Tennessee experience?

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The relative location of Interstate 81, particularly in south central Pennsylvania running down into Virginia, offers an optimal juncture with respect to populations, markets, and existing infrastructure. But when the interstate itself is so congested with trucks, along with the associated negative environmental and safety impacts, that congestion threatens to choke access – the very thing that brings our success.    

If you have more freight going to rail instead of being camped out all along the corridor in trucks – and in some cases several miles off the corridor – the impacts would be more localized rather than spread throughout the corridor. The more freight we have moving by rail, the more local communities along that corridor stand to benefit – it’s a no brainer.

There are plenty of win-wins with the Crescent Corridor. You can tabulate that by the jobs to be created, the tax revenue generated, the reduction in carbon-dioxide emissions, or the improvements in safety and lives saved. Those are all tangible benefits that everybody’s going to see – it doesn’t matter whether they view this from an environmental perspective, from a health perspective, from a rail perspective, or from a transportation industry perspective. Maybe certain individual trucking operators might pay the price of not being nimble enough to make the adjustments, but I can’t think of any losses.

George SchoenerQuestion: From a transportation policy perspective, what value do you see for such intermodal projects as Norfolk Southern’s Crescent Corridor?

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Samuel AddyQuestion: Norfolk Southern plans to construct an intermodal rail terminal outside Birmingham, Ala., as part of improvements to increase capacity and transit times on its Crescent Corridor, which extends from New Orleans and Memphis to northern New Jersey.  How do you view Alabama benefiting from the improved corridor?

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Ben TaubeQuestion: SEEA supports a cleaner, greener transportation vision that addresses the needs of passenger and freight traffic while reducing congestion, fuel use, and air pollution.  How does Norfolk Southern’s Crescent Corridor Intermodal Freight Project fit into that vision?

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Dexter MullerQuestion: Norfolk Southern is planning to construct a major intermodal terminal in Fayette County, Tenn., adjacent to Memphis, as part of its Crescent Corridor rail network.  How do you think the Memphis region will benefit from the new intermodal facility and the improved rail corridor?

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Kathleen SnyderQuestion: How will improvements to Norfolk Southern’s 2,500-mile Crescent Corridor rail network enhance the transportation supply chain for Maryland’s business community?

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Jim FlanaganQuestion:  As part of its Crescent Corridor improvements, Norfolk Southern plans to construct a $112 million regional intermodal freight facility just across the state line in Tennessee near Memphis. What benefits do you expect residents and businesses in DeSoto and surrounding counties in Mississippi to derive from this facility?

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U.S. Rep. Nick RahallQuestion:  You support Norfolk Southern’s Heartland Corridor initiative, a public-private partnership that will expand rail freight capacity and improve delivery time of intermodal goods moving between Virginia port terminals and consumer markets in the Midwest. It is a model for the railroad’s Crescent Corridor project, which is designed to improve the flow of consumer goods between the U.S. Southwest and Northeast. In your view, what are the primary public benefits of these rail infrastructure projects?

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Bill MobleyQuestion:  Norfolk Southern plans to build an intermodal freight facility near Memphis, just north of Marshall County, Mississippi, as part of its Crescent Corridor project.  What kind of economic impact do you expect the terminal to have on your county?

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