the "neutral" Commonwealth Railway (CWRY) transports containers from Virginia International Gateway (VIG) to both Norfolk Southern and CSX
Source: Virginia Office of Intermodal Planning and Investment, Master Rail Plan for the Port of Virginia (Figure 2)
The Commonwealth Railway is a short-line Class III railroad servicing primarily the Virginia International Gateway (VIG) container terminal in Portsmouth. From its opening in 2007 until its sale to a new owner in 2014, that terminal was known as the A. P. Moller (APM) terminal.
The rail line runs for 19 miles from Suffolk to the West Norfolk area of Portsmouth. Its major customers include the remnants of the BASF (formerly Ciba) specialty chemicals plant on the Nansemond River in Suffolk, the U S. Amines plant on the Elizabeth River, as well as the Virginia International Gateway (VIG) container terminal operated by the Virginia Port Authority on the Elizabeth River in Portsmouth.
If the proposed Craney Island Marine Terminal (CIMT) is constructed north of the Virginia International Gateway (VIG), the Commonwealth Railway would also carry containers to and from that shipping terminal as well.
The Commonwealth Railway connects to both the CSX and the Norfolk Southern in Suffolk. That flexibility provides shippers using the Virginia International Gateway (VIG) the option of using either Class I railroad to carry containers to their final destination. Dual access and rail competition for shippers was ensured in 2006 when the Commonwealth Railway purchased over 12 miles of track that it had been leasing from Norfolk Southern.
The track was originally built by the Atlantic and Danville Railroad in the 1880's. It was inherited by its successors, the Norfolk, Franklin & Danville Railway and then the Norfolk Southern. Since 1996, the short-line railroad has been part of the Genesee & Wyoming network.
all containers going to or from the Virginia International Gateway (VIG) terminal by rail are carried by the short-line Commonwealth Railway, which connects to the CSX and Norfolk Southern
Source: ESRI, ArcGIS Online
The short-line railroad served two chemical plants located on the Elizabeth River in Portsmouth, until BASF closed its West Norfolk plant in 2007. That industrial site has been used for nearly a century to manufacture, insecticides, refrigerants, and a variety of other chemicals. Most recently, it was the site of BASF's Super Absorbent Polymers Plant, and:1
the now-demolished BASF chemical plant in the West Norfolk portion of Portsmouth was a major shipper on the Commonwealth Railway until it closed in 2007, but the U S. Amines plant remains in operation
Source: ESRI, ArcGIS Online
In 2006, the Commonwealth Railway had only two locomotives, three employees, and just three major customers. All three were chemical production facilities. Until the A. P. Moller Terminal opened in 2007, the Commonwealth Railway carried no container traffic.
When the BASF plant on the Elizabeth River closed, the U.S. Amines plant on the Elizabeth River and the Ciba specialty chemicals plant on the Nansemond River did not generate enough traffic to justify maintaining the railroad. If A. P. Moller/Maersk had not opened its new A. P. Moller (APM) terminal, now Virginia International Gateway (VIG), on the Elizabeth River, the Commonwealth Railway would have shut down operations after the BASF plant closed.2
The Commonwealth Railway is an essential part of the transportation network for the Virginia International Gateway (VIG). The Class III short-line railroad interchanges with two Class I railroads in Suffolk, CSX and Norfolk Southern. Those two lines compete with each other, with trucking companies, and with barge services to haul containers for shippers using the Virginia International Gateway (VIG). Such competition attracts customers to the terminal.
When the shipping terminal first opened in 2007, the Commonwealth Railway still crossed multiple streets at grade in the cities of Portsmouth, Chesapeake, and Suffolk. Long trains (up to 7,500 feet long) moving containers from the terminal would have blocked traffic at those crossings for excessively long periods of time, causing citizen complaints and interfering with the ability of fire/police to respond to events.
The short-term solution was to transport just short trains (up to 3,500 feet) from the terminal. Shorter trains created shorter, but more-frequent, delays at the highway rail crossings.
The track was upgraded so Commonwealth Railway locomotives could double their speed and pull trains at 20 miles/hour. There was little need for speed in the railroad's operations, but faster trains reduced the delays at street crossings.
Short trains are too inefficient for cost-effective, long-distance travel, so the Commonwealth Railway built a new marshalling yard east of Suffolk. Cars from the short trains coming from the terminal were combined at the marshalling yard into the longer trains required by CSX and Norfolk Southern for transport to distant destinations.
The Suffolk Marshalling Yard could be expanded further, but that would require the expensive relocation of two large raw water pipelines constructed by the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth.3
when the APM terminal opened in 2007, the Commonwealth Railway assembled longer trains at a new marshalling yard (yellow line), built northeast of the specialty chemicals plant (red circle) on the Nansemond River at Wilroy
Source: ESRI, ArcGIS Online
The long-term solution for eliminating train-caused congestion at South Hampton Roads street crossings was to abandon much of the old route and construct 4.5 miles of new track within the median strips of the Western Freeway (Route 164) and I-664.
the Commonwealth Railway now curves north to run between the northbound and southbound lanes of I-664, and no longer follows the old straight route to the northeast
Source: ESRI, ArcGIS Online
Those highways had been constructed in the 1980's. Transportation planners reserved space in the highway median for freight rail, in anticipation of the construction of what became the A. P. Moller (APM) terminal. Relocating the Commonwealth Railway track was necessary only because of the container traffic from the shipping terminal. Only a small number of trains serviced the chemical plants, and the delays they caused would not have justified the expense.
The Virginia Port Authority managed the Commonwealth Railway Mainline Safety Relocation Project (Median Rail Project). It removed the rails on the old route and shifted trains to the median strips of the Western Freeway.
Near Virginia International Gateway (VIG), the old route of the Commonwealth Railway was transferred to the Virginia Port Authority. The City of Chesapeake planned to acquire the rest of the old route from the state and incorporate it into the local trail network.4
the Commonwealth Railway was realigned as part of the Heartland Corridor project, eliminating road crossings by moving it from the original route (red line) to the medians of the Western Freeway (VA Route 164) and Interstate 664
Source: Genesee & Wyoming Inc., Commonwealth Railway (CWRY)
The Virginia taxpayer funded the $60 million relocation of the railroad, because eliminating the 14 at-grade street crossings benefitted primarily the general public rather than the Commonwealth Railway. The private railroad did not need to move its line to highway medians for its own purposes, though the relocation provided brand-new track and railbed infrastructure for easier maintenance in the future.
The Commonwealth Railway did invest $14 million in upgrading its other stretches of track and building the new marshalling yard to assemble long trains.5
The state also funded a portion of the cost for the Commonwealth Railway to purchase the Norfolk Southern track connecting to the new shipping terminal. Enhancing competition between CSX and Norfolk Southern at the Virginia International Gateway (VIG) terminal was expected to increase the number of containers transported through the port and spur local jobs.
Ensuring containers could be interchanged equally with either Class I railroad was in the public interest, so the state ensured that the Commonwealth Railway replaced Norfolk Southern as the rail link at the terminal. If the Craney Island Marine Terminal (CIMT) is constructed, plans include building a 2.75-mile rail line within the Craney Island Road & Rail Connector corridor to link up with the Commonwealth Railway.
The Port of Virginia anticipates that 50% of containers from that proposed terminal would be carried inland by train when the first component opens in 2040, in comparison to 34% in 2016 from the existing terminals.6
railroads in southern Hampton Roads
Source: Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, Virginia Rail Map
Containers unloaded from ships are moved initially by the Commonwealth Railway. It assembles trains at Virginia International Gateway (VIG) and pulls them to the Suffolk Marshalling Yard, where Norfolk Southern or CSX locomotives replace Commonwealth Railway locomotives and transport the trains to the separate tracks of those railroads.
If business at the terminal expands substantially or if Craney Island Marine Terminal (CIMT) is constructed, the single-line track between the Virginia International Gateway (VIG) and the Suffolk Marshalling Yard will have to be double-tracked. In addition, increased use of the rail network could require separating car and rail traffic at the current CSX and Norfolk Southern at-grade railroad crossings in Suffolk.
The Norfolk Southern has a competitive edge at the Norfolk International Terminal (NIT). CSX has a competitive edge at the Portsmouth Marine Terminal (PMT), due to the location of the tracks of those two railroads. The "neutral" access provided by the Commonwealth Railway has created a more balanced business environment at the Virginia International Gateway (VIG) terminal:7
the old route of the Commonwealth Railway (straight yellow line) became a rails-to-trails project
Source: City of Chesapeake, Proposed Commonwealth Railway Trail in Western Branch, Phase - I
the Commonwealth Railway was moved to the center of the Western Freeway and I-664, eliminating a dozen road crossings
Source: The Heartland Corridor
the Commonwealth Railway is now located in the median of I-664 where it crosses the boundary between the cities of Suffolk and Chesapeake
Source: ESRI, ArcGIS Online
the Commonwealth Railway (CWRY) and the Chesapeake & Albemarle Railroad (CA) are both owned by Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
Source: Genesee & Wyoming Inc., Commonwealth Railway (CWRY)
the Commonwealth Railway interchanges with the CSX east of Suffolk
Source: ESRI, ArcGIS Online