A story from The Memphis News

On newsstands throughout the city

Rail Yard Backers Tout Economic Benefits

ERIC SMITH | The Daily News

Print | Front Page | Email this story | Email reporter

To:
 
From:
 
Message:

From (email): 

Message: 

Ahost of heavy hitters back Norfolk Southern Corp.’s plan for a $112 million intermodal facility in Fayette County, but many of those in the private sector declined to comment here.

The Memphis Regional Intermodal Terminal is slated for 570 acres on rural land recently annexed by Rossville. The facility will be a key component of Norfolk Southern’s “Crescent Corridor,” a 2,500-mile rail network extending from the Southeast to the Northeast.

The project got a boost last month with $105 million in U.S. Department of Transportation funding.

The railroad will use half that money, $52.5 million, for the Rossville facility, slated to open in January 2012. The other half will be used for an intermodal facility in Birmingham, Ala.

Despite receiving plenty of public and private support, Norfolk Southern lacks nearly $30 million for the project, which calls on extensive road and utility infrastructure.

But as news about the federal money spread, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Memphis) sent out a press release championing the project.

“This infusion of federal funding will extend Memphis’s prominence as America's Distribution Hub and give us a rail system that rivals Chicago,” Cohen said in the release. “By investing in our rails, rivers, runways and roads, Memphis will continue to play a vital role in keeping people and commerce moving throughout our nation for many years to come.”

Another prominent supporter of the project is Tennessee governor Phil Bredesen, who spoke in Fayette County last summer when the railroad announced where it would build the facility.

“The greater Memphis region is home to the world’s largest cargo airport and one of the nation’s biggest cargo river ports,” Bredesen said in a release. “The Crescent Corridor and the Memphis intermodal terminal will expand the role of freight rail, further enhancing our competitiveness and spurring economic growth.”

The 60 U.S. legislators who endorsed the Crescent Corridor include plenty of local politicians such as U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker of Tennessee, and Cohen.

The railroad’s full list of businesses, municipalities and politicians supporting the project can be found at

www.thefutureneedsus.com, and then by clicking on “Crescent Corridor” and “Tennessee.”