Norfolk Southern to open Shelocta Secondary line

Norfolk Southern to open Shelocta Secondary line

   Norfolk Southern will Monday run the first train on its new $44 million Shelocta Secondary railroad in Western Pennsylvania, connecting its Conemaugh Line in Saltsburg, Pa., to the coal-powered Keystone Generating Station in Shelocta, Pa.

   The Shelocta Secondary replaces a limited-capacity route that is 51 miles longer than the new line. Norfolk Southern estimates that more than 3 million tons of coal will move over the Shelocta Secondary each year.

   Construction of the new line began in April 2005 and involved building about five miles of new track and right of way between Saltsburg and Clarksburg and rehabilitating 11 miles of existing out-of-service railroad right of way between Clarksburg and Shelocta.