NORTH BILLERICA, Mass. and NORFOLK, Va., May 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
-- Pan Am Railways (PAR) and Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NS) have
agreed to create an improved rail route between Albany, N.Y., and the
greater Boston, Mass., area called the "Patriot Corridor." Investments in
the Patriot Corridor are expected to improve track quality and customer
service, boost train speed and reliability, and increase capacity on the
route. PAR and NS each will have a 50 percent interest in the newly formed
railroad company, called "Pan Am Southern."
PAR has agreed to transfer to the joint venture its 155-mile main line
track that runs between Mechanicville (Albany), N.Y., and Ayer, Mass.,
along with 281 miles of secondary and branch lines, including trackage
rights, in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and
Vermont. NS has agreed to transfer cash and other property valued at $140
million to the joint venture, $87.5 million of which is expected to be
invested within a three-year period in capital improvements on the Patriot
Corridor, such as terminal expansions, track and signal upgrades. The
companies also anticipate the construction of new intermodal and automotive
terminals in the Albany area. PAR's Springfield Terminal Railway subsidiary
has agreed to provide all railroad services for the joint venture.
"We are excited to partner with Norfolk Southern on the Patriot
Corridor. Since the Conrail transaction was implemented in 1999, both Pan
Am Railways and Norfolk Southern have been working to bring additional high
quality rail transportation options to our New England customer base. This
joint venture is the culmination of those efforts," said David Fink, Pan Am
Railways' president. "With energy prices continuing to rise, the Patriot
Corridor will give our customers additional capacity and speed to get their
products to market."
"Norfolk Southern has been working with Pan Am Railways to improve rail
service and increase transportation options between the Norfolk Southern
system and the Boston area," said Wick Moorman, Norfolk Southern's chief
executive officer. "The Patriot Corridor creates a new level of rail
competition in upstate New York and New England by improving train speed,
reliability, and capacity, as well as strengthening connections between the
region's short line and regional railroads and Norfolk Southern's 22-state
network."
The parties will seek approval for the transaction with the U.S.
Surface Transportation Board. Additional materials describing the
transaction will be posted on Norfolk Southern's Web site,
http://www.nscorp.com, and will be furnished to the SEC as part of a
Current Report on Form 8-K.
Norfolk Southern is currently improving the Heartland Corridor, a
high-capacity rail route linking the Port of Virginia (Norfolk), Columbus,
Ohio, and Chicago, and has announced the Crescent Corridor, an initiative
to divert freight traffic from highways to rail between New Orleans,
Memphis, and the Northeast.
Pan Am Railways is the Northeast's largest regional railroad. It
operates over 2,000 route miles in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts,
Vermont, Connecticut, New York and Atlantic Canada. Pan Am Railways
interchanges traffic with fifteen railroads throughout its network.
Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) is one of the nation's premier
transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary operates
approximately 21,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia,
serving every major container port in the eastern United States and
providing superior connections to western rail carriers. Norfolk Southern
operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is North
America's largest rail carrier of metals and automotive products.
Any statements contained in this news release which are not related to
historical facts are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking
statements are subject to risks and uncertainties (noted in Norfolk
Southern's filings with the SEC) which could cause actual results to
differ.
SOURCE Norfolk Southern Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.nscorp.com
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/626525.html /
CONTACT:
Cynthia Scarano of Pan Am Railways,
+1-978-663-1028, +1-978-423-2231 (cell),
cscarano@panamrailways.com; or Media, Rudy Husband,
+1-610-567-3377, rudy.husband@nscorp.com, Investors, Leanne
Marilley, +1-757-629-2861, leanne.marilley@nscorp.com, both of
Norfolk Southern Corporation
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