(Railfanning.org News Wire) — Norfolk Southern and the South Carolina Ports Authority have launched a new daily intermodal rail service linking the Port of Charleston to Huntsville, Alabama.
The lane extends Charleston’s rail reach into north Alabama and middle Tennessee, markets the port hadn’t previously served directly by rail. Rail already carries about a quarter of the port’s container volume, and the new service gives shippers another alternative to trucking to reach fast-growing inland manufacturing hubs.
The service took effect Sept. 11, giving shippers a new rail option for moving containerized cargo between the port and inland Southeast markets.
“The intermodal service between Charleston and Huntsville is a meaningful addition for our customers, as we work with our partners at Norfolk Southern to give shippers greater flexibility and speed to market at the right cost,” SC Ports President and CEO Micah Mallace said in a release. “Strong intermodal connectivity and reliable port service are key to delivering the efficiency and consistency our customers need, and this service between Charleston and North Alabama and Middle Tennessee markets delivers on all fronts.”
It’s the latest in a string of intermodal expansions NS has rolled out this year, following a new Cincinnati-Atlanta domestic lane launched in May and the January debut of its East Edge double-stack corridor linking Chicago and New England. NS says its intermodal volumes rose 5% in the second quarter of 2026, which it credited to steady consumer demand and a favorable trucking market.
The railroad has also been investing in port and terminal capacity across its 22-state network, including Georgia’s new Gainesville Inland Port, which it exclusively serves and which opened in May, and expansion projects at terminals in Toledo, Charlotte, Chicago and elsewhere. NS says those investments have helped raise its asset utilization by about 15% since 2023.
SC Ports President and CEO Micah Mallace said the new lane gives shippers more flexibility and faster, lower-cost access to inland markets, calling reliable rail connectivity central to serving customers well. Norfolk Southern’s vice president of intermodal automotive, Shawn Tureman, called Charleston a gateway to one of the country’s fastest-growing regions and said the new service gives shippers another dependable option for moving freight across the Southeast.
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