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  • Crescent Corridor Status

  • Discussion relating to the NS operations. Official web site can be found here: NSCORP.COM.
Discussion relating to the NS operations. Official web site can be found here: NSCORP.COM.
 #775010  by poppyl
 
I keep hearing quite a lot about the Corridor project to the south of Hagerstown but very little about what is or will be going on between Hagerstown and Harrisburg. Can someone provide some information? Is the issue of the Lemoyne Cutoff coming up again or is the plan to bypass Enola and stay south of the city?

Thanks.

Poppyl
 #789570  by Arlington
 
The governors of the states of AL, MS, VA, PA, and TN are pitching the Crescent Corridor for what ( I think ) is either Phase 2 or Track 2 of the TIGER/Stimulus spending in an op-ed in the Washington Post (Full article here http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 02404.html
Our five states have joined together in a public-private partnership to apply for $300 million in federal funding to develop the corridor, which would dramatically increase rail capacity along the route and represent one of the largest additions of freight transportation capacity since the Interstate Highway System in 1956. The federal money would leverage more than $140 million in state investment and the $264 million that Norfolk Southern Corp., whose freight trains operate along the route, has committed to the project.

A study by the transportation consulting firm Cambridge Systematics estimates that, over the next 30 years, the Crescent Corridor project would return $25 in economic and environmental benefits for every dollar invested.
 #789686  by SecaucusJunction
 
Is there a time line on when this whole project is going to be completed and when trains will start rolling?
 #789841  by Arlington
 
SecaucusJunction wrote:Is there a time line on when this whole project is going to be completed and when trains will start rolling?
Its more like they are doing what they can, when they can. Already working with Virginia, speeded up the process of adding passing tracks and signals its B-Branch (previously dark) which ties between the I-95/85 and I-81 parallel sections at their head in Virginia), and is working all along the I-81 route to add intermodal terminals.

The more help with finance they get, the faster it goes. Reall,y its a question of whether the states want to accelerate the corridor work to the point that they don't have to widen I-81.
 #790509  by Arlington
 
Nexis4Jersey wrote:will this line be Electrified?
All "what's it about?" questions are answered here on NS' official Crescent Corridor site.

To answer your question: No, electrification isn't part of this. This is about making money moving freight, so it focuses on adding intermodal terminals, (passing) tracks, and (double stack) tunnel clearance.

But let's keep this thread devoted to "how quickly is it happening."
 #791387  by SecaucusJunction
 
If Norfolk Southern can convince the states to give them money instead of giving it to the highway funds AND be able to take enough trucks off the road so that they don't have to widen the roads at all, that will probably be one of the biggest accomplishments I've ever seen by a railroad. Even making a small dent in the truck traffic on the roads would be a huge increase in traffic on the railroad.
 #848230  by Arlington
 
Any news on the possibility of a new line from Culpeper to Front Royal (including a 4 mile tunnel under the Blue Ridge?)

As recently as 2009, NS was actively studying cutting off the current "V" shaped routing on the top end of its Piedmont line in the Crescent corridor: where trains coming up the I-95 alignment today pass through Culpeper VA and run northeast to Manassas before turning nearly due west back out to Front Royal.

Under study is a cutoff that would essentially halve the distance and avoid the current and future VRE commuter service in the Manassas area.

The cutoff would run from approximately Culpeper VA northwest to Front Royal through Rappahanock County. Both Culpeper and Front Royal are exurbs of DC and are each at about the theoretical limits of a daily VRE commute (at about 65 miles from DC Union Station). Bypassing both, along with Manassas would not only speed North-South freight routings, it would enable NS to sell the Front Royal-Manassas and Culpeper-Manassas routes to VRE for a handsome price.

http://rappvoice.com/?p=1316
 #848319  by Arlington
 
The Culpeper Cutoff is a concept that should be on the radar screen. It would involve construction of a new double track railroad, engineered for 60 mph intermodal train speeds, between Culpeper (on NS’s Manassas-Charlottesville line) and near Linden (on NS’s Manassas- Front Royal line). At 36 miles in length, the Cutoff would reduce the distance traveled of each Crescent Corridor-Piedmont route train by over 38 miles and reduce running time by more than an hour. Shenandoah route trains using the Cutoff would incur a few more miles in distance, but save running time. The Cutoff – or a comparable infusion of new capacity – will be necessary long term to accommodate NS traffic growth beyond 2035, and it might be needed sooner if I-81 Corridor traffic is consolidated on either the Piedmont or Shenandoah lines.
According to page 4-3 (page 93 in the .pdf) of the Draft Final Report of Feasibility Plan for Maximim Truck to Rail Diversion in Virginia's I-81 Corridor (find it here on the Virginia DPRT website: http://www.drpt.virginia.gov/studies/default.aspx
 #848323  by Arlington
 
Attached to this post is a map showing the Culpeper Cutoff concept (A 60mph intermodal route from Culpeper VA to Linden VA that would shave 38 miles and 1 hour from Piedmont-to-Pennsylvania routings)
Map of the Culpeper Cutoff from 2007 NS presentation
Map of the Culpeper Cutoff from 2007 NS presentation
Culpeper-Cutoff-Map.png (301.37 KiB) Viewed 7790 times
 #1050487  by Arlington
 
Reviving an old thread...On the "thefutureneedsus.com" site, NS has not been doing a good job of updates. But I note that under "Project Status" most of the intermodal facilities are due to come on line in the coming months:

Pennsylvania (Franklin County / Greencastle) opens "2012" (http://www.thefutureneedsus.com/project ... -facility/)
Tennessee (Memphis) opens "late 2012" (http://www.thefutureneedsus.com/project ... -facility/)
Alabama (Birmingham) opens "late 2012" (http://www.thefutureneedsus.com/project ... irmingham/)
N.Carolina (CLT Airport) opens "late 2013 (http://www.nscorp.com/nscportal/nscorp/ ... lotte.html)

Does anyone have more details?
 #1168624  by Arlington
 
I was happy to see that Greencastle PA to Birmingham AL service was inaugurated on Jan 20 2013
NS Inaugurates the Crescent Corridor
Norfolk Southern's Crescent Corridor is now operational, offering truck-competitive service in over 30 new Intermodal lanes stretching across the Northeast & Southeast, plus Texas & Mexico in conjunction with Kansas City Southern. The Crescent Corridor includes faster transit times and 3 brand-new terminals (Birmingham, AL; Greencastle, PA; & Rossville, TN). Watch for additional new lanes later in 2013.
The Crescent service and transit matrix is shown below. Rail and private container service is available in all new lanes, and many lanes also offer service for private trailers.
EMP and TMX containers are now available for reservation at Birmingham & Greencastle through ChannelSpeed.
http://www.nscorp.com/nscintermodal/Int ... 12113.html

Image
 #1168625  by Arlington
 
and here is a nice map showing the extensions:
Attachments:
crescent_corridor_intermodal_map.jpg
crescent_corridor_intermodal_map.jpg (160.05 KiB) Viewed 5723 times