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Intermodal Opportunities in Appalachia (cont.)
Strategic intermodal opportunities
in the ARC region
The geographic location of the ARC region,
combined with the continued densification of
both north-south and east-west trade lanes, positions
the region to become a land bridge by providing
intermodal freight movements into the
nation’s hinterlands. Commodity flow analysis
and forecasts, combined with an inventory of
the region’s existing intermodal facilities, have
revealed numerous intermodal opportunities.
Ranging from full implementation to early conceptual
stages, the seven examples below all are
designed to create important new transportation and
economic development benefits.While they do not
represent all of the intermodal possibilities in the region,
they are meant to serve as a cross-section of transportationrelated
investments.
Trans-Tennessee Railroad: The Trans-Tennessee
Railroad calls for the completion of a freight rail corridor
connecting Knoxville to Memphis via Nashville.
The plan essentially would create a direct rail corridor
between the three cities that roughly parallels I-40
through the center of the state.
Central Corridor Doublestack Initiative (Heartland
Corridor): Creating doublestack capability along the
Norfolk Southern (NS) route through the heart of the
Appalachian region (connecting the region to
Columbus, Ohio and Norfolk, Virginia) will require a
substantial investment to the railroad’s infrastructure.
Such an investment would strengthen the region’s
transportation infrastructure and better connect area
businesses to the global marketplace.
Virginia Inland Port: The objective of an inland port is
twofold: alleviate container and associated traffic congestion
around a given seaport and move transportation
and distribution infrastructure closer to inland
commerce. This concept has been successfully put into
practice at the 161-acre Virginia Inland Port, located 70
miles west of Washington, D.C., in Front Royal,
Virginia. The VIP effectively brings the Port of Norfolk,
Newport News and Hampton Roads 220 miles inland,
to the doorstep of Appalachia.
South Carolina Inland Port: The primary objective of a
South Carolina Inland Port (SCIP) would be to alleviate
congestion at the Port of Charleston and to assist in
accommodating future volume growth. As the Port of
Charleston has developed, issues regarding traffic congestion
and safety, port expansion, compatible land-use
and environmental impact have clouded the Port’s
growth potential.
Port of Huntsville: The Port of Huntsville, as noted
above, is an inland port comprised of Huntsville
International Airport (HSV), the International
Intermodal Center (IIC) and Jetplex Industrial Park.
Huntsville International Airport, in conjunction with
the IIC, provides the Appalachian Region with air, rail,
road and sea connections to the rest of the world.
Port of Pittsburgh, Container-on-Barge: The Port of
Pittsburgh container-on-barge (COB) inland waterway
network embraces the concept of containerized transport
of commodities (that traditionally move via road
or rail) via flat-deck barge. Currently, commodities
transported by barge tend to be low-value bulk goods.
However, the use of container barges, capable of carrying
large numbers of containers and being loaded and
unloaded quickly at port, has the potential to change
the dynamics of barge transport and bring competitive
advantages to area businesses.
Erie Cross-Lake Ferry: The Erie-to-Nanticoke Freight
Ferry will provide scheduled, containerized waterborne
freight service between the Port of Erie in northern
Pennsylvania and Nanticoke in southern Ontario,
Canada. The concept is designed to take advantage of
increasing trade and associated commodity flow
between Canada and the United States and establish
Erie as a new gateway of international trade.
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