Norfolk Southern's Crescent Corridor Has Wide Bipartisan Support on Capitol Hill

/PRNewswire/ -- In recognition of the critical importance freight rail transportation offers shippers throughout the U.S., Norfolk Southern's (NYSE:NSC) Crescent Corridor program has been endorsed by 60 legislators on Capitol Hill as 2010 begins.

"Norfolk Southern's Crescent Corridor program comes at a critical time for our nation's economy, environment, and transportation infrastructure," said NS CEO Wick Moorman. "The Crescent Corridor will stimulate job growth, economic development, and local tax revenues, while delivering substantial public benefits for communities and shippers. We are grateful for the wide bipartisan support the Crescent Corridor is receiving on Capitol Hill."

Members of the U.S. Congress supporting the Crescent Corridor are:

Alabama: Sens. Shelby and Sessions. Reps. Rogers, Aderholt, Griffith, Bachus, and Davis.

Delaware: Sens. Carper and Kaufman. Rep. Castle.

Georgia: Sens. Chambliss and Isakson. Reps. Westmoreland, Johnson, Deal, Gingrey, and Scott.

Maryland: Rep. Bartlett.

Mississippi: Sens. Cochran and Wicker. Reps. Childers and Harper.

New Jersey: Reps. LoBiondo, Garrett, Lance, Pascrell, Payne, Rothman and Sires.

North Carolina: Sens. Burr and Hagan. Rep. Myrick.

Pennsylvania: Sens. Specter and Casey. Reps. Brady, Fattah, Gerlach, Murphy, Shuster, Schwartz, Dent, Holden, and Platts.

Tennessee: Sens. Alexander and Corker. Reps. Roe, Duncan, Wamp, Gordon, Davis, and Cohen.

Virginia: Sens. Webb and Warner. Reps. Wittman, Nye, Scott, Perriello, Goodlatte, and Boucher.

West Virginia: Rep. Capito.

The Crescent Corridor is an existing 2,500-mile rail network supporting the supply chain from Memphis and New Orleans to New Jersey designed to handle more rail freight traffic faster and more reliably, creating or benefiting some 73,000 jobs by 2030, and producing these estimated annual benefits:

-- $326 million in tax revenues to states and communities
-- 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


This past September, lead state Pennsylvania, joined by Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Virginia, applied for federal stimulus money under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Program. The application seeks $300 million in support of new independent intermodal facilities at Memphis, Birmingham, and Franklin County, Pa.; and the expansion of intermodal terminals in Harrisburg and Philadelphia. Track improvements in the five partner states will include 10 passing tracks, 557 individual speed improvements, and 393 miles of track improved with upgraded rail.

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