Crescent Corridor
The Crescent Corridor is
a railroad corridor operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS). First
proposed in 2007, it is scheduled to be completed by 2020. The project is a
joint venture between Norfolk Southern and the various state and federal
governments.
The corridor is 1,400 miles (2,300 km) long
and 28 new trains daily would be expected to go into service along with
improvements to rail yards along the corridor. The overall project cost
estimate is $2.5 billion as of 2009.
“The estimated $2.5 billion expansion will
enable shippers and trucking companies to move more of their goods using rail,
instead of relying on trucks, which are more expensive and produce more
pollution. Because of the public benefits of the cleaner air and reduced
highway congestion that will result from the upgrade, the U.S. Department of
Transportation has chipped in more than $136 million to support the project,
with the rest of the funds coming from states and Norfolk Southern itself. The
company hopes to finish the upgrade by 2030 but says the timing depends on how
easily it can obtain enough public funds for the project”. (Governing.com)
A map of the expansion (Image Credits: Wikipedia)
