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Heartland Corridor is Open for Business!
Norfolk Southern's Heartland Corridor officially opened to double-stack intermodal traffic on Thursday, September 9th 2010.
The Heartland Corridor is a public-private partnership between NS and Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, and the federal government to create the shortest, fastest route for double-stack container trains moving between the Port of Virginia and the Midwest. As a result, we are now able to route 100% of the traffic moving between Norfolk and Chicago over the corridor, significantly reducing transit times to just under 48 hours. New Schedules are now available.
To achieve that, NS raised vertical clearances on 28 tunnels and removed 24 overhead obstacles on one of its main lines connecting the Mid-Atlantic to the Midwest. Construction began in Oct. 2007 and involved modifying 5.7 miles of tunnels through roof excavation and liner replacement, arched roof notching, and track lowering and realignment.
Besides being one of the most ambitious railroad engineering projects in the last century, the Heartland Corridor also demonstrates the effectiveness of public-private partnerships to improve America's rail infrastructure. To learn more, check out the three video links below that tell the story of the corridor's purpose, construction, and economic benefits. Also, check back often as we update our service schedules to reflect the improvements.
"Norfolk Southern's Heartland Corridor" is an overview of the project: How it was conceived, why it was undertaken, how it was funded, and how it will benefit the company and society.
"Raising the Roof" explains the process - the different methods used to increase tunnel clearances, the engineering challenges involved, and how NS kept trains rolling through the corridor while the work was being done.
"Economic Powerhouse" describes how the ability to move double-stack trains through the corridor will stimulate economic growth for the Port of Virginia, for the communities served, for customers, and for Norfolk Southern. It features comments from prominent public and industry officials and NS executives who explain what the project means to a wide variety of stakeholders.