(The Associated Press circulated the following on September 8, 2010.)
NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern is getting ready to celebrate the completion of a rail corridor that’s expected to increase freight traffic and reduce travel times.
After sunset on Wednesday, Norfolk Southern Train 233 will leave Hampton Roads pulling double-stacked cargo containers headed to Chicago and Ohio.
The double-stacking is possible because of a $320 million project that involved the widening, raising and the height of 28 tunnels in Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky.
Planning for the project started a decade ago, and the tunnel project took nearly three years to complete.
Upgrading the tunnels means trains will be able to shave about 230 miles and nearly two days of transit time from Hampton Roads to Chicago.