Norfolk Southern Railway is launching in mid-October a new double-stack rail service that will connect Virginia’s ports to central North Carolina.
The service will operate six days a week between the NS intermodal terminal in Norfolk and Greensboro, N.C., with an emphasis on textile, furniture, retail, chemical, and agricultural goods. Containers will be available at the Greensboro rail ramp seven days per week, with round-the-clock availability Monday through Friday.
“Many North Carolina-based cargo owners have expressed a very genuine interest in this service because of the economics of bringing their cargo through our port and into this market by rail,” said Jerry A. Bridges, the Virginia Port Authority’s executive director. “
Bridges also said he sees an opportunity to test the “big-ship, big-reach theory.” As the frequency of big vessels calling Virginia increases, much of their cargo will be heading to new markets, he said.
He said opportunities may exist to extend the Port of Virginia’s reach to Charlotte and Atlanta and beyond.
The service is already supported by two ocean carriers and is attacting interest from others, too, according to the authority. Train schedules for Norfolk Southern’s Norfolk intermodal terminal are available online.
Source: RailResource
