Railroad Relocates Northern Division Headquarters to Northwest Ohio

Columbus (Wednesday, April 21, 2009) – Even as construction continues on the new, $175-million dollar CSX Intermodal Yard in North Baltimore, the railroad announces its Northern Division Headquarters will be relocated to this Wood County community. The new headquarters will oversee 16 CSX Intermodal terminals currently handling 1.3-million shipping containers over CSX-owned rails in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey.

“The ORDC has worked closely with CSX on the North Baltimore Intermodal yard project as well as well as with our sister states on the necessary rail corridor improvements necessary to create double-stack container clearance from North Baltimore to the Port of Wilmington, North Carolina”, says ORDC Executive Director Matt Dietrich. Dietrich added

Dietrich added that the ORDC was recently awarded $98-million dollars by the federal government as the designated sponsoring agency for the CSX National Gateway Intermodal Corridor. The funding will complete the necessary track & height clearances from North Baltimore to another intermodal yard in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania as the project’s initial phase.

Wood County Commissioner Tim Brown sees great benefits for the region in both the short and long term saying, “This is great news for Wood County; CSX has reinforced their pledge to make the Wood County intermodal facility their premier facility anywhere in the United States. Moving their Northern Division Headquarters from Chicago to Wood County will also mean additional jobs to their already announced 200 direct jobs at the CSX site. Other intermodal facilities around the nation have generated approximately 2,000 additional jobs in warehousing, transportation and distribution. We believe this project and the new announcement will dramatically advance our continued efforts to turn around our economy and spur job growth for our citizens.”

The intermodal yard project has also meant a number of immediate transportation benefits to the North Baltimore area, especially to increase safety and better manage the flow of vehicular traffic, including improvements to grade crossings and a proposed grade separation that eliminates a crossing altogether.

The Ohio Rail Development Commission is a state commission whose mission is to plan, promote, and implement the improved movement of goods and people faster and safer on a rail transportation network connecting Ohio to the nation and the world. The ORDC assists with economic development funding by partnering with local governments, railroads, private businesses and other state agencies on freight, safety and passenger projects.