Norfolk-Southern plans to greatly increase capacity at Enola Yard

Norfolk Southern Corporation has announced plans to quadruple the switching capacity of Enola Yard, near Harrisburg.

The project will enable Norfolk Southern to streamline routings between certain origins and destinations, while enhancing the quality of service Norfolk Southern offers, the company says.

Work will begin immediately and take approximately two months to complete.

Currently, Enola Yard is able to sort 125 rail cars daily. Following completion of the project, the yard will process 600 rail cars daily.

The project involves rehabilitating nearly 28 miles of track and replacing 10 miles of railroad ties. The project cost of $1.9 million is included in Norfolk Southern’s 2001 capital improvement program.

The Enola Yard was built in 1905 by the Pennsylvania Railroad, a Conrail predecessor, and at one point was the largest rail freight classification yard in the U.S. Traffic through the yard reached its peak in the 1940s.

Enola’s role as a major railroad classification facility ended in 1993, when Conrail ceased hump operations. Since then, Enola has been used for switching railroad cars for customers in the Harrisburg, Lancaster and York areas, and for storage.

Since acquiring its portion of Conrail in 1999, Norfolk Southern has committed more than $340 million to projects throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, including approximately $47 million in the Harrisburg area.