Freight Railways

 

North Carolina’s Southeast is truly a crossroads for national rail transportation, from the classification yards in Hamlet to the international facilities in Wilmington. Primary North-South and East-West routes cross near the geographic center of the region and include some of the longest sections of straight and level tracks in the nation. The “railroad culture” and availability of high-quality rail services is a major economic feature of the Southeast, which has more than adequate rail service. Two of the nation’s premiere rail companies serve this region:

 

CSX Transportation NC Contact Lyman M. Cooper Regional VP/State Relations Director 5540 Centerview Drive, Suite 425 Raleigh, NC  27606 Phone:  (919) 851-5433 www.csxlines.com or www.csxt.com

CSX Transportation 901 E. Cary Street Richmond, VA 23219 Phone: (804) 782-1400 www.csx.com

Norfolk Southern Railway NC Contact Durwood Laughinghouse Resident Vice President Jim Bowman, Industrial Development Mgr. 1500 Carson Street Raleigh, NC  27608 Phone:  (919) 831-3092 www.nscorp.com

Norfolk Southern Railway Three Commercial Place Norfolk, VA  23510-9227 Phone:  (757) 628-2600 www.nscorp.com

 

CSX Corporation owns one of the nation's leading transportation companies, providing rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck transload services that connect 70 ocean, river and lake ports, as well as 230 short line and regional railroads. Its principal operating company, CSX Transportation Inc., operates the largest railroad in the eastern United States with a 21,000-mile rail network linking commercial markets in 23 states, the District of Columbia, and two Canadian provinces.

In North Carolina, CSXT operates over approximately 1,100 miles of track. Its operations are concentrated over three major and two additional routes. One north-south CSXT mainline connects the Northeast and Florida via Rocky Mount, Wilson, Fayetteville and Pembroke. An east-west mainline connects Wilmington and Charlotte to Atlanta and New Orleans. A second north-south mainline (previously the Clinchfield Railroad) connects Detroit to Atlanta via Marion, N.C. A CSXT local route runs from Rocky Mount eastward, serving Greenville and Plymouth. Another operates as a local-service route between Norlina and Hamlet by way of Raleigh. CSXT’s major North Carolina facilities are freight-classification yards at Hamlet and Rocky Mount, an intermodal terminal in Charlotte, rail to truck metals distribution facilities in Fayetteville and Clinton, and rail to truck TRANSFLO transload facilities in Charlotte, Raleigh, Apex, Winston-Salem and Leland.

Miles of track in North Carolina: 1,200
Annual NC carloads: 170,000
NC industries served: 400

A Virginia-based holding company headquartered in Norfolk – owns and operates Norfolk Southern Railway and a natural-resource company, Pocahontas Land Corporation. The railroad system extends over 21,800 miles in 22 states, D.C. and Canada. Norfolk Southern operates 1,450 miles, or 43%, of North Carolina's rail system.

 

One of Norfolk Southern's north-south mainlines connects the Northeast and Midwest to Atlanta via Danville, Va., Greensboro and Charlotte. This line includes a key classification yard in Linwood, N.C. A second north-south mainline connects Tennessee to Spartanburg, S.C. through Asheville, while an east-west mainline connects Salisbury and Asheville.

 

Two additional routes serve eastern North Carolina. The line serving Goldsboro, Kinston, New Bern and Morehead City (including service to the State Port) is owned by NCRR and leased to NS. Norfolk Southern owns the other line, which serves Wilson, Greenville, Plymouth and Chocowinity.  Five other routes serve central North Carolina. Norfolk Southern leases from the North Carolina Railroad Company the line that serves Durham, Greensboro, High Point and Charlotte. A second route connects Greensboro to Raleigh via Sanford. A major portion of the third route, from Charlotte to Gulf (near Sanford), is leased to the Aberdeen Carolina and Western Railway. A fourth route connects Winston-Salem with Roanoke to the north and Greensboro to the east. The fifth route connects Charlotte and Greensboro via Mooresville and Winston-Salem. Besides the yard at Linwood, NS operates freight-classification yards at Charlotte and Raleigh, intermodal terminals at Charlotte and Greensboro, and an automobile distribution center at Winston-Salem.

 

Miles of track in North Carolina: 1,450
Annual NC carloads:  593,712
NC industries served: 723