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Today, Norfolk Southern Corp. and Pan Am Railways (PAR) announced plans to build a terminal to anchor the Patriot Corridor's western end.

The $40 million intermodal and automotive rail logistics center — which will serve as the corridor's primary distribution hub for consumer products and finished vehicles — will be built on the site of a former rail yard in Halfmoon, Mechanicville and Stillwater, N.Y. Construction will begin in first-quarter 2009 and conclude in April 2010. The state of New York will provide $3 million for the facility.

In May, NS and PAR created joint venture Pan Am Southern and launched plans to establish the Patriot Corridor, a 155-mile high-speed freight-rail route between Mechanicville and Ayer, Mass. The corridor will include 281 miles of PAR's secondary and branch lines, including trackage rights, in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont.

"This new terminal will add much-needed freight capacity to the Capitol Region, and is critical to the success of our Pan Am Southern joint venture," said PAR President David Fink in a prepared statement.

NS and PAR are seeking Surface Transportation Board approval to form the Pan Am Southern joint venture. The board is expected to issue a decision in October.