(The following story by Christopher Dinsmore appeared on The Virginian-Pilot website on March 12, 2009.)
NORFOLK, Va. — Federal rail regulators approved a deal that will give Norfolk Southern Railway Co. a 50 percent stake in a rail network between Albany, N.Y., and suburban Boston, the Norfolk-based railroad announced Wednesday.
The U.S. Surface Transportation Board approved the proposal, announced in May, for Norfolk Southern to create joint venture with Pan Am Railways of North Billerica, Mass.
Norfolk Southern will invest $137.5 million in cash and property in the joint venture, $87.5 million of which would be used over three years to improve the main line from from Albany to Ayers, Mass., 30 miles west of Boston, by expanding terminals and upgrading tracks and signals to increase capacity. Pan Am Railways will contribute its 155-mile main line – dubbed the “Patriot Corridor” – plus 281 miles of secondary and branch lines in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont.
To be called Pan Am Southern, the joint venture will begin operating on or about May 1, Norfolk Southern said.
“Pan Am Southern will bring immediate benefits to shippers doing business in upstate New York and New England,” said David Fink, Pan Am Railways’ president, in a statement. “The Patriot Corridor will revitalize freight rail in the region, reducing highway congestion and improving air quality.”