Norfolk Southern has opened its East Edge double‑stack intermodal corridor, a 9,000‑foot route that links Chicago to New England and allows fully double‑stacked trains to run without speed restrictions. The new lane cuts transit times by up to ten hours and increases the number of containers that can move through the corridor each year.
The project cost $64 million and included 15 miles of rebuilt track, the raising of three bridges, tunnel‑clearance engineering, and upgrades to safety and signal systems. These improvements are part of a 40‑year effort to clear Norfolk Southern’s 22‑state network for double‑stack service.
A single 9,000‑foot double‑stack train on the corridor can support up to 200,000 loads per year—more than double the historical peak of about 80,000 lifts—while the new route eliminates bottlenecks that previously limited capacity in the Northeast.
The corridor is a capstone to decades of infrastructure modernization. Pan Am Southern traffic grew 22 % year‑over‑year, and final double‑stack clearance work in Western Pennsylvania is slated for completion in 2028. The launch strengthens Norfolk Southern’s position against trucking and other rail carriers and positions the company to capture growing e‑commerce and distribution demand in a historically constrained region. Industry analysts note that the corridor also dovetails with ongoing discussions about a potential merger with Union Pacific, which could reshape the competitive landscape in the eastern United States.
Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Mike McClellan said the corridor “is a capstone moment in our effort to fully clear the Norfolk Southern network for double‑stack intermodal freight. Double‑stack clearances drive terminal efficiency, double train capacity, and reduce operating costs. With East Edge, we’ve unlocked faster service and created room for long‑term growth in one of the most important and historically constrained regions in our network.”
Shares of Norfolk Southern rose 1.9 % in morning trading on the day of the announcement, reflecting investor enthusiasm for the expanded capacity and the strategic importance of the corridor.
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