Norfolk Southern Opens $97-Million Rail Truck Facility

GREENCASTLE, PA- Just after a year of breaking ground, Southern is open for business with their new freight train terminal.

"This stands to be a major economic development project not only for Franklin County but for the four-state region," says Mike Ross, president of the Franklin County Area Development Corporation.

The Greencastle facility sits on about 200 acres of land and connects central Pennsylvania, western Maryland and northern Virginia.

"It's really remarkable and it put us on the map," says Ross. "We believe as other distribution centers pop up it'll create more job opportunities here."

The new facility has already created more than 100 jobs and county officials say that number is going to increase.

"Those opportunities will range from trucking operations, who will locate here, to people working in the various distribution centers to working in retail, environment," says Ross.

This terminal is part of the 2,500 mile Crescent Corridor and is said to alleviate truck traffic and reduce carbon emissions.

"It'll take about a million trucks off of the interstate," says Ross.

County officials say the terminal will probably need to expand within the next five years.

"The long-term impact will be in the billions of dollars," says Ross.

Franklin County has had several economic development projects in the past year, including the Target and Ulta distribution centers.