![NS on Jan. 22 reported via Facebook: “Chicago [to] New England, now 10 hours faster. East Edge is our newest double-stack intermodal service, replacing a slower, single-stack operation with a modern, high-efficiency connection between Chicago and Ayer, Mass. Built for faster transit times, added capacity, and long-term growth for our customers. Did you catch the first train last week? Our D&H and Conrail heritage units led the way—history pulling the future forward!” (Screen Grab from NS Video)](https://www.v2.railwayage.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/NSleadEE.png.avif)
Norfolk Southern (NS) on Jan. 21 reported launching East Edge, a newly cleared double-stack intermodal corridor connecting Chicago and New England. It replaces a single-stack route, reducing transit times by up to 10 hours and adding “substantial” network capacity.
According to the Class I railroad, “[r]ising consumer demand, the surge in e-commerce, and expanding distribution hubs have long outpaced freight rail capacity in New England, pushing many shippers to rely heavily on trucking.” The $64 million investment in East Edge, it explained, directly addresses that challenge by delivering:
- “A high-capacity rail gateway in Ayer, Mass., New England’s primary intermodal hub.
- “A faster, more resilient supply chain connection between Chicago and the Northeast.
- “Significantly greater load flexibility and balanced network flows in the region.”
East Edge enables 9,000-foot trains to run fully double-stacked, “a shift that dramatically increases the number of containers that can move through Ayer,” according to NS, which projects “significant intermodal growth” in this new lane over the next two years.
To institute East Edge service, NS worked with multiple partners, such as state transportation agencies, CSX, and Genesee & Wyoming Inc.’s Providence & Worcester and Berkshire & Eastern, which in September 2023 took over as the neutral operator of Pan Am Southern, nearly 18 months after CSX acquired Pan Am Systems, Inc. and its short line subsidiaries.
The acquisition expanded CSX’s reach in Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts, while adding Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine to its existing network. Pan Am Systems had owned and operated a nearly 1,200-mile rail network across New England, with a partial interest in Pan Am Southern that it had jointly owned with NS (see map below). Pan Am Southern comprises 400-plus miles of rail lines and trackage rights routes, including main lines between Ayer and Albany, N.Y., that provide both CSX and NS access to the Boston area.
A point of contention had been who would operate Pan Am Southern, which gave NS access to New England via trackage rights on the former Boston & Maine Mechanicville, N.Y.-Ayer main line, strengthening competition with CSX.
In signing off on the acquisition, the Surface Transportation Board allowed Berkshire & Eastern to replace Pan Am Systems affiliate Springfield Terminal as the operator of Pan Am Southern. STB also allowed NS to acquire trackage rights over certain lines of CSX, Providence & Worcester, Boston & Maine, and Pan Am Southern.
East Edge Project Work
According to NS, the East Edge route was modernized end-to-end through:
- Track and Infrastructure Upgrades: 15 miles of track was rebuilt, including 13,600-plus new crossties; 14 crossings were renewed, seven greaser pads were installed, and 15 miles of brush/ditch was cleared; and new crew-change walking pads were added “for safer, more efficient operations.”
- Clearance and Structural Improvements: Three bridges in Massachusetts were raised by 12-18 inches; 150 bridge ties and 27 culverts were replaced; and 2,000 feet of tunnel clearance was engineered in Worcester, Mass., using “a specialized direct–fastened floor system typically reserved for passenger rail.”
- Safety and Signal Work: Nine crossings were reactivated with renewed protections; one new crossing was installed; a new Automatic Equipment Identification reader was installed for car and locomotive tracking; a new approach signal was added in Delanson, N.Y.; and there was end-to-end modernization of safety systems “to support predictable, high-capacity double-stack operations.”
According to NS, the project also bolstered the Pan Am Southern network, which is already seeing 22% year-over-year growth under Berkshire & Eastern’s operation.
“This is a capstone moment in our effort to fully clear the NS network for double-stack intermodal freight,” NS Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Mike McClellan said. “Double–stack clearances drive terminal efficiency, double train capacity, and reduce operating costs. With East Edge, we’ve unlocked faster service and created room for long–term growth in one of the most important and historically constrained regions in our network. It reflects decades of persistence, problem-solving, and partnership, and I’m incredibly proud of our NS team and other partners who delivered it.”
“East Edge gives NS customers faster, more reliable service, and greater optionality across the Northeast,” added Ed Elkins, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at NS. “We’re always looking for ways to add value to our customers’ supply chains, and this is a smarter, more sustainable way they can grow with rail.”
NS reported that the final phase of its multi-decade investment to expand double-stack clearance across its entire network is under way in Western Pennsylvania and scheduled for completion by 2028.
