NS selects Memphis regional terminal site

NS selects Memphis regional terminal site    Norfolk Southern said Thursday it will construct a new intermodal terminal in Rossville, Tenn. to serve the Memphis region, as part of its Crescent Corridor initiative.
   The $129 million rail-truck terminal will occupy a 570-acre site and is expected to open in January 2012. It will be able to handle more than 327,000 containers and trailers annually.
   The Crescent Corridor will be a high-speed intermodal rail route connecting the Mid-South, Gulf Coast and Northeast that will allow NS to handle more freight traffic faster and more reliably.
   The railroad is implementing Corridor projects, including straightening curves, adding passing tracks, improving signal systems, and building new terminals. It said nearly $2.5 billion in Crescent Corridor projects have been identified, and based on the public benefits that stand to be derived in the form of highway congestion relief, the railroad plans to implement the Crescent Corridor initiative through a series of public-private partnerships.
   “If and when the Crescent Corridor initiative is fully implemented, it is anticipated that more than one million truckloads of freight will be absorbed from the highways to the rails annually, saving the U.S. more than 170 million gallons of fuel per year,” the railroad said.