Norfolk Southern opened its third Crescent Corridor intermodal facility, a new $97 million terminal in South Central Pennsylvania that advances the company's multi-state rail infrastructure initiative connecting the Southeast and the Northeast.

The Franklin County Regional Intermodal Facility, located on 200 acres south of Greencastle and less than a mile from I-81, will connect Central Pennsylvania, Western Maryland, and Northern Virginia to domestic and world markets while creating some 126 jobs at the site.

The facility, a public-private partnership involving $52 million in NS funds and supported by a $45 million investment by Pennsylvania, is part of railroad's Crescent Corridor series of projects, a 2,500-mile network of rail and terminals that helps moderate truck traffic on congested roadways and reduce carbon emissions.

"The Crescent Corridor provides tremendous public benefits such as job creation, reduced long-haul truck traffic, and a cleaner, more efficient way to move freight," Norfolk Southern CEO Wick Moorman said.

The new terminal, with its 670 paved trailer/container parking spots, will be a major gateway for freight in the Mid-Atlantic. NS projects with this facility combined with other NS terminals in the state, as many as 800,000 long-haul trucks in Pennsylvania will be diverted off roadways in the commonwealth and onto trains by 2020.

Pennsylvania has long backed NS' efforts to expand intermodal opportunities in the commonwealth. In addition to the $45 million for the new Franklin County facility, Pennsylvania also has provided or pledged a total of $30 million for expanded operations at NS' Harrisburg and Rutherford intermodal terminals. Additionally, the commonwealth successfully applied for a $15 million U.S. Department of Transportation TIGER grant to further support the Rutherford expansion project.

NS constructed the facility's administration building to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification standards. The railroad is incorporating low-emission cranes and hostler tractors as well as the latest gate and terminal automation in order to maintain air quality and support truck drivers.

The Franklin County Regional Intermodal Facility is the third Crescent Corridor intermodal terminal NS has opened since mid-2012, with facilities in Birmingham, Ala., and Memphis, Tenn., having started operations within the past six months. Construction of a fourth Crescent Corridor-related intermodal terminal, located in Charlotte, N.C. is underway.