Norfolk Southern has opened an extension of the Heartland Corridor, a newly improved double-stack rail line between Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio.

This clears the way for more double-stack intermodal trains to use the corridor.

The connector will reduce transit times by one to two days and increase service reliability for double-stack freight traveling to and from the Port of Virginia, Cincinnati and Detroit. The improvements also will provide Norfolk Southern with the potential to connect Ohio Valley markets to other major East Coast container ports.

The $6.1 million project included raising clearances at five locations along the 124-mile route between Cincinnati and Columbus and adding tracks at Norfolk Southern's Rickenbacker Intermodal Terminal near Columbus. Prior to the upgrades, double-stack intermodal trains leaving the Port of Virginia for Cincinnati and Detroit took longer routes through Tennessee or Pennsylvania. Now, Detroit-bound double-stack trains use a route that is 212 miles shorter, and trains traveling to Cincinnati travel 69 fewer miles while saving up to two days transit time.

"The Rail Commission is very happy to have been able to facilitate this very important infrastructure project that builds on previous investments and further solidifies Ohio's position in the global supply chain," says Matthew Dietrich, executive director of the Ohio Rail Development Commission.