Chattanooga paper reports on proposed NS freight terminals in East TN

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Chattanooga: Railroad terminal in question
Sunday, August 17, 2008 
 
By:
Cliff Hightower (Contact) 
Possible plans for a major railroad freight terminal at Enterprise South may be getting scaled back or dropped entirely, officials said.

Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey said last week he could not give details about a proposed Norfolk Southern railway terminal at the industrial park where Volkswagen is building an auto plant.

But "we're probably looking at a smaller one," he said.

Norfolk Southern has said it wants to build a terminal somewhere in East Tennessee within six years. Enterprise South, Knoxville and Bristol, Tenn., have been listed as possible sites, according to media reports.

U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., said last week while visiting Chattanooga that he has talked to Norfolk Southern officials about acquiring federal money for the project, which would be a public-private partnership. He said he has not heard anything about a terminal locating at Enterprise South.

"I've been briefed on Knoxville," he said, "not on Chattanooga."

Last year, Mr. Ramsey and other officials said they gave a tour to Norfolk Southern officials and told them they would " like to see it here," he said.

Norfolk Southern officials said they want to build two freight terminals - one in East Tennessee and the other in Maryland - as part of a $2 billion upgrade of its "Crescent Corridor" railroad, which runs from New Jersey to Louisiana. The terminals would be "intermodal," where cargo containers can be transferred between rail cars and trucks.

The upgrade would increase connections in the Southeast as auto manufacturers such as VW move into the region, said Norfolk Southern spokeswoman Susan Terpay. East Tennessee lies halfway between the rail line's anchors, making it a prime area for loading and unloading freight bound for areas in between, she said.

Jill Bratina, spokeswoman for VW, said it is still too early in the process to be discussing the company's railroad needs.

"We've just begun discussions with Norfolk Southern, CSX and Hamilton County," she said.

Ms. Terpay said the project has not moved forward significantly because Norfolk Southern officials still are trying to acquire funding.

"Mostly federal funding," she said.

Edward Lee Pitts, spokesman for Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said talks about federal funding have been in progress with Norfolk Southern officials. He said the investment could bring as much as $1 billion in new infrastructure to Tennessee.

"We are still in discussions as to what type of federal support would be needed and, although no final decisions have been made, those ongoing talks have included such topics as funding amounts and right-of-way issues," Mr. Pitts said in a prepared statement.

Repeated calls to Tim Andrews, director of the Hamilton County Railroad Authority, were not returned.

Hamilton County and Chattanooga officials have said they plan to spend more than $3 million to upgrade rail lines at Enterprise South for VW. The Hamilton County Railroad Authority owns the tracks. The rail line connects to both the Norfolk Southern and CSX rail lines, city officials said.
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