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On July 3, Canadian National Railway Co. and CSX Intermodal concluded an agreement with the city of Memphis, Shelby (Tenn.) County and the Memphis & Shelby County Port Commission to develop and operate the Memphis Super Terminal, a 155-acre railroad-truck intermodal facility in southwest Memphis.



To be built in the Frank C. Pidgeon Industrial Park — a "greenfield" site that is jointly owned by the city of Memphis and Shelby County — the terminal will offer an annual capacity of 200,000 container/trailer lifts and parking spots for 1,800 trailers or container chassis. It'll feature five tracks, with a total pad length of 20,000 feet, for trailer/container movement on and off rail cars.



To prepare the industrial park for development, the Port of Memphis and Shelby County already have invested $28 million in infrastructure improvements, such as roads and utilities. Private rail investment will total $25 million, according to a CN statement. The industrial park represents the largest urban site available in the United States for development as an intermodal terminal, said Shelby County Port Commission Chairman Thomas Fisher in a prepared statement.



The Tennessee Department of Transportation also has agreed to begin necessary roadway work to improve terminal access. State discretionary funds will be used to modify the Interstate 55-Mallory Road interchange, and make improvements over Riverport Road, a three-mile corridor between the Super Terminal and I-55.



CN and CSXI plan to select an operator for the terminal, which will replace a facility CN owns and CSXI uses immediately adjacent to CN's Johnston Yard in Memphis. CN and CSXI currently move containers between Memphis and numerous ports, with steamship companies providing the ocean-going connection.



"The Memphis Super Terminal will be a modern facility that will enhance our ability to provide shippers the predictable and reliable movement of goods demanded by today's just-in-time logistics," CN President and Chief Executive Officer E. Hunter Harrison said. "The shippers using the Super Terminal will also benefit from the added efficiency of railroads sharing assets in a single facility."



Added CSX Corp. Chairman and CEO Michael Ward: "CN and CSXI jointly designed the Memphis Super Terminal to be the premier intermodal terminal in the Memphis market. Intermodal business in this market is growing and the new Memphis Super Terminal will provide our customers with an excellent location, superior service and capacity for business growth."



Construction is scheduled to begin in September. The facility could be operational by fall 2004, CN and CSXI said.