National rail freight company Norfolk Southern  Railway and North Eastern rail line operator Pan Am Railways have announced that the two companies have agreed to improve the rail corridor between Albany, New York and Boston, Massachusetts.

To be known as the “Patriot Corridor”, the route is expected to benefit from significant investment, resulting in improvements to track quality, boosting train speed and reliability, as well as increasing capacity on the route.

The investments in and improvements to the Patriot Corridor com via the formation of a joint venture company.  The new company, Pan Am Southern, will be responsible for the 155 mile main line track that runs between Mechanicville, New York and Ayres, Massachusetts, along with 281 miles of secondary and branch lines, including trackage rights, in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont.

Norfolk Southern Railway and Pan Am Railways will each have a fifty percent interest in the the new company, with Norfolk Southern’s contribution being the transfer of cash and other property valued at $140 million dollars to the new company, $87.5 million dollars of which is expected to be invested within a three-year period on capital improvements to the Patriot Corridor, such as terminal expansions, track and signal upgrades.

Norfolk Southern’s Chief Executive Officer, Wick Moorman speaking on the announcement of the Patriot Corridor said that Norfolk Southern had been “working with Pan Am Railways to improve rail service and increase transportation options between the Norfolk Southern system and the Boston area.”  Moorman also said that “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”

Both companies will submit the joint venture proposal to the United States Surface Transportation Board for approval, the new company, in addition to providing targeted track improvements, is expected to construct new intermodal and automotive terminals in the Albany area.

Source: Norfolk Southern Railway Company

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