(The following appeared on the Progressive Railroading website on August 12, 2009.)
On Friday, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, CSX Corp. Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Ward, and other dignitaries will break ground on an intermodal terminal west of North Baltimore, Ohio.
The Northwest Ohio Intermodal Terminal will be part of CSX’s proposed National Gateway, a double-stack route between Midwest markets and mid-Atlantic ports and metropolitan areas. The Class I is pursuing the gateway as a public-private partnership to improve the nation’s freight flows, provide additional transportation options and stimulate the economy through increased use of double-stack trains.
Proposed to run through Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia, the National Gateway also would include upgrades to track, bridges and tunnels — including D.C.’s Virginia Avenue Tunnel — and new intermodal terminals in Pittsburgh and Columbus, Ohio.