Norfolk Southern's Birmingham Regional Intermodal Facility is awarded $52.5 million TIGER grant from U.S. Department of Transportation

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Feb 17, 2010, 04:57 ET

NORFOLK, Va., Feb. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Norfolk Southern's (NYSE: NSC) planned Birmingham Regional Intermodal Facility was awarded $52.5 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Program.

In July 2009, Norfolk Southern announced that it intended to construct a new intermodal terminal in McCalla, Ala., adjacent to the Jefferson Metropolitan Park at McCalla, as part of the railroad's multi-state $2.5 billion Crescent Corridor program of projects to establish a high-speed intermodal freight rail route linking the Gulf Coast and the Northeast.

"Because of its strategic location and the growing intermodal demands in the Southeast, the Birmingham Regional Intermodal Facility will create jobs, eliminate long-haul trucks from highways, and create economic development opportunities in Jefferson County as well as in the surrounding six counties," said Norfolk Southern CEO Wick Moorman. "We offer sincere gratitude to Rep. Artur Davis for recognizing the economic and environmental benefits this project brings to Alabama. We also commend Gov. Bob Riley, Sens. Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions, and Rep. Spencer Bachus for their leadership in this partnership – one in which the public sector and Norfolk Southern are both key contributors. Finally, we must recognize the Alabama Development Office, along with the Alabama Department of Transportation, the Birmingham Business Alliance, the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham, and the Jefferson County Economic and Industrial Development Authority for their tremendous support in moving this project forward."

The Crescent Corridor is an existing 2,500-mile rail network through 13 states from Louisiana to New Jersey that touches 26 percent of the nation's population and 30 percent of the nation's manufacturing output. When fully operational it will handle more rail freight traffic faster and more reliably, creating or benefiting some 73,000 green jobs by 2030, and producing these estimated annual benefits:

1.3 million long-haul trucks diverted from interstates
$146 million in accident avoidance savings
1.9 million tons in CO2 reduction
$575 million in congestion savings
$92 million in highway maintenance savings
169 million gallons in fuel savings

The Crescent Corridor program of projects is estimated to cost $2.5 billion for full development by 2020. Other Crescent Corridor projects currently planned for development include new independent intermodal facilities at Memphis, Tenn., and Franklin County, Pa.; the expansion of intermodal terminals in Harrisburg and Philadelphia, Pa.; and the addition of freight rail capacity in Virginia and Mississippi. In addition to facility investments, the program includes significant investments in rail route improvements consisting of additional passing tracks, double track projects, improved signaling systems and other track speed improvements.

For more information about the Crescent Corridor Intermodal Freight Project, visit www.TheFutureNeedsUs.com.

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) is a leading North American transportation provider. Its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary operates approximately 21,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in the eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other rail carriers. Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal and industrial products.

SOURCE Norfolk Southern Corporation