CALGARY, Alberta – Norfolk Southern Corporation and Canadian Pacific Railway announced that CPR has granted Norfolk Southern Railway Company trackage rights between Sunbury, Pa., and Mechanicville, N.Y.
The granting of trackage rights is part of a continuing joint effort by both companies to improve freight service to upstate New York, northern Pennsylvania and New England.
“This agreement is part of our mission to build strong strategic partnerships with North American railways that deliver value to customers and shareholders alike,” said Fred Green, CPR’s Senior Vice President of Marketing & Sales. “The agreement is in line with CPR’s strategy to maximize the value of its network in the Northeastern U.S. by creating additional traffic density on our Delaware & Hudson lines, which will aid in improving the financial performance of the D&H substantially.”
“This agreement further improves our competitive routes between New England and the Midwest and Southeast,” said Jim McClellan, Norfolk Southern’s senior vice president Strategic Planning. “We also gain a new, direct and efficient route between central New York state and points south.”
To accommodate the increase in traffic, a new passing siding will be constructed on CPR’s D&H line at Clarks Summit, Pa. CPR, NS and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will jointly fund the $2 million project. Additionally, the new agreement modifies existing trackage and haulage agreements.
The agreement expands on the successful partnership between NS and CPR in the Northeast. In 1998, NS and CPR completed a $12 million upgrade of the Sunbury Line between Sunbury and Scranton. In 2001, CPR and NS introduced a new intermodal service between the Port of New York/New Jersey, Montreal and Toronto.
