New short line to take over NS's Delmarva Secondary

WASHINGTON — Rumors you may have heard are true: Norfolk Southern will lease 162 miles of its Delmarva Secondary line in Delaware and Maryland to short line operator Carload Express. The new railroad, the Delmarva Central will be the fourth Carload Express short line, and doubles the mileage under the company's control.

The new railroad comprises two segments of the former Pennsylvania Railroad on the Delmarva Peninsula. The main track runs from Porter, Del., about eight miles south of Newark, Del., to Pocomoke City, Md. The second line branches at Harrington, Del., and runs to Frankford, Del. Delmarva is short for the three states that occupy the peninsula between Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean: Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.

An NS spokesman says the Class I railroad selected Carload Express because of its ability to turn around underperforming lines, with a carload growth of 40 percent in the past six years. The spokesman says Norfolk Southern executives expect to file documents on the deal with the Surface Transportation Board by the end of 2016.

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