Norfolk Southern Corp. said it completed a reconfigured rail junction in Northern Virginia, part of its “Crescent Corridor” aimed at boosting East Coast freight rail speeds.
The reconfigured rail junction near Front Royal, Va., was the final and most complex of six capacity improvement projects in the region, the Eastern freight railroad said in a statement.
The Crescent Corridor, an estimated $2.5 billion project, is the second public-private intermodal development venture pursued by Norfolk Southern. (Click here for previous story.)
Funded by $43 million from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation and nearly $20 million from Norfolk Southern, the projects lengthened or built new passing tracks between Manassas, Va., and Front Royal, installed five miles of double track near the Virginia Inland Port, improved signal and traffic control systems, and increased train speeds through Riverton Junction near Front Royal.
“The completion of these I-81 corridor improvements will benefit both freight and passenger rail service in Virginia,” DRPT Director Thelma Drake said in a statement. “This capacity will attract more trucks from the highways to trains, as well as facilitate future passenger expansion in Northern Virginia.”
