CSX Transportation ( reporting mark CSXT ), known colloquially as simply CSX , is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec . Operating about 21,000 route miles (34,000 km) of track, it is the leading subsidiary of CSX Corporation , a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida .
116-397: Interstate 476 ( I-476 ) is a 132.1-mile (212.6 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway of I-76 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania . The highway runs from I-95 near Chester north to I-81 near Scranton , serving as the primary north–south Interstate corridor through eastern Pennsylvania. It consists of both the 20-mile (32 km) Mid-County Expressway , locally referred to as
232-548: A Luzerne and Susquehanna Railway line before it enters Lackawanna County . Here, the route has a bridge over a Luzerne and Susquehanna Railway line and heads through built-up areas of the Wyoming Valley as it skirts around Scranton, passing under I-81 before coming to a bridge over Norfolk Southern's Sunbury Line , the Lackawanna River , and a Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad line. I-476 reaches
348-585: A food court layout and modernized restrooms. The Allentown service plaza was rebuilt between September 2007 and May 2008 while the Hickory Run service plaza was rebuilt between January 2009 and November 2010. The Art Sparks program was launched in 2017 as a partnership between the turnpike commission and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts to install public art created by local students in
464-568: A "Scranton Beltway" to use I-476 as a bypass for I-81 around the heavily congested segment through Scranton and its suburbs. The turnpike between the two I-81 interchanges carries an average of 10,000 vehicles per day vs. 70,000 on the parallel segment of I-81. This project will build two high-speed connections between I-476 and I-81: one south of Scranton in Dupont and one north of Scranton in South Abington Township . Tolls on
580-620: A 1958 location report indicating various proposed geographic configurations of an expressway through Delaware County with lines of various colors on a map. The "blue route" through the Crum Creek valley won out over other contenders, which included a more easterly "red route" and "yellow route" and a more westerly "green route". As one of the most controversial Interstate Highways in Pennsylvania, construction of I-476 began in 1967 but would take decades to build due to litigation between
696-1057: A 20-to-25-mile (32 to 40 km) stretch of the turnpike. Towing services are available from authorized service garages located near the highway. Pennsylvania State Police Troop T patrols the Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension. It has headquarters in Highspire (along the mainline turnpike) and a substation along the Northeast Extension at Pocono. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) broadcasts current roadway, traffic, and weather conditions via highway advisory radio transmitters at each exit. Broadcasts are available on 1640 kHz AM and can be received approximately two miles (3.2 km) away from each exit. The 511PA travel information service provides alerts, an interactive map, weather information, and traffic cameras to motorists. There are variable-message signs located along
812-524: A bill to the vehicle owner, or E-ZPass . Tolls along the section between the Mid-County and Wyoming Valley toll plazas, along with the mainline Pennsylvania Turnpike between Warrendale and Neshaminy Falls, are based on distance traveled. Mainline toll plazas are also located at Keyser Avenue and Clarks Summit, charging a flat rate using toll by plate or E-ZPass. There are no tolls on exit ramps between Wyoming Valley and Clarks Summit. As of 2024, it costs
928-524: A combined NS/Conrail system. The railroad fiercely argued against allowing the sale to go through, even arguing that monopoly concerns precluded a Conrail sale to either NS or CSX. Despite his history in organizing the NS merger while leading the Southern Railway, Crane was a strong advocate for Conrail's independence and proposed an alternative: privatizing Conrail through an initial public offering to
1044-512: A contract with Wabtec for modernizing their fleet of CW44s. The modernized locomotives, nearly thirty in number as of June 2020, are being classified as CM44AC . In February 2024, CSX and Wabtec reached a new agreement, of which, involves the modernization of over 200 locomotives. This accounts for the rest of the active roster of CW44ACs & CW44AHs . The locomotives will be modernized through 2028. On April 30, 2019, CSX unveiled locomotives 911 and 1776, two ES44AH locomotives created to honor
1160-601: A crash safe cab, a new electronic control stand, and Positive Train Control (PTC). In 2019, 25 SD70AC locomotives were rebuilt at the CSX Huntington Heavy Repair Facility, with rebuilt prime movers, in-cab electronic and comfort improvements, New York Air Brake CCB II airbrake systems, and new Mitsubishi drive controls. CSX has also partnered with Wabtec to rebuild GE locomotives at their Fort Worth facility with prime movers upgraded to
1276-651: A mainline all-electronic toll plaza and an exit to Keyser Avenue in Taylor . North of Scranton in Clarks Summit , the route crosses a valley on the 1,630-foot-long (500 m), 163-foot-high (50 m) John E. Fitzgerald Memorial Bridge, passing over Norfolk Southern's Sunbury Line, US 6 / US 11 , and PA 407 . Past the bridge, I-476 comes to a hairpin curve and reaches a mainline all-electronic toll plaza before it ends at an interchange with connections to I-81, US 6, and US 11. US 6 joins
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#17327880847831392-799: A merger in 1960, which was authorized by the Interstate Commerce Commission in late 1963 and finally completed in 1967, forming the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad . The combined company absorbed the Piedmont and Northern Railway in 1969. In the Midwest, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N) went on an acquisition spree, splitting the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad (C&EI) with
1508-422: A passenger vehicle $ 26.20 to travel the length of the Northeast Extension between Mid-County and Wyoming Valley using toll by plate and $ 12.80 using E-ZPass. The Keyser Avenue and Clarks Summit toll plazas cost $ 3.20 using toll by plate and $ 1.50 using E-ZPass for passenger vehicles. Until March 2020, the road used the ticket system method of tolling between the Mid-County and Wyoming Valley toll plazas along with
1624-487: A place where the highway mileage resets to zero. Beltways are also preceded by an even number in the first digit. Some examples of beltways include: CSX Transportation CSX Corporation was formed in 1980 from the merger of Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries , two holding companies that controlled railroads operating in the Eastern United States . Initially only a holding company,
1740-518: A profit for the first time under the leadership of L. Stanley Crane in the wake of the Staggers Rail Act . The Reagan Administration wished to privatize Conrail now that it had shown it could stand on its own and placed it for sale in 1983. While CSX expressed interest, it ultimately did not place a bid for Conrail; Norfolk Southern did, however. When the government identified NS' bid as the winner, CSX realized it faced financial peril from
1856-472: A project which deconstructed the grass median and replaced it with a metallic jersey barrier was completed. In 1974, the roadway was designated PA 9. The tickets along the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike were originally handed out by person. In 1987, machines started to replace humans in distributing tickets. When it first opened, traffic on the Northeast Extension of
1972-474: A result of the COVID-19 pandemic , the all-electronic tolling system on the turnpike will initially use existing toll booths at exits, along with existing equipment at all-electronic tolling interchanges, until mainline toll gantries between interchanges are constructed. Mainline toll gantries are planned to be in operation by 2025. On April 29, 2018, the turnpike commission implemented all-electronic tolling at
2088-487: A seasonal farmers' market . Both plazas offer conventional gasoline and diesel fuel . The Sunoco and 7-Eleven locations are operated by 7-Eleven itself while the restaurants and general upkeep of the service plazas are operated by Applegreen . In 2006, HMSHost was awarded a contract to reconstruct the service plazas along the turnpike. The reconstruction of the service plazas, which was to cost more than $ 150 million (equivalent to $ 218 million in 2023), included
2204-580: A state-of-the-art three-level interchange. This provided direct access to both I-276 east and I-476 north, now on the Northeast Extension. With the redesignation of the Northeast Extension, I-476 surpassed I-495 in Massachusetts as the nation's longest auxiliary Interstate Highway. I-476 was widened to six lanes from the Mid-County Interchange to south of Quakertown between 2011 and 2020. The portion of I-476 between I-95 and
2320-458: A state. There are three states that have no auxiliary Interstate Highways: Alaska, Arizona, and New Mexico. North Dakota has an auxiliary route, but it is unsigned , and Wyoming's does not meet Interstate Highway standards. Auxiliary Interstates are divided into three types: spur , loop , and bypass routes. The first digit of the three digits usually signifies whether a route is a bypass, spur, or beltway. The last two digits are derived from
2436-476: A temporary interchange at Emerald on December 28 of that year. The Northeast Extension was opened between Emerald and Wyoming Valley on April 1, 1957. The entire length of the Northeast Extension was finished on November 7, 1957, with the completion of the northernmost part between Wyoming Valley and Scranton. The part of the Northeast Extension between Scranton and the New York state line was not built as part of
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#17327880847832552-520: A total of 21 heritage locomotives would be painted over the coming months, with the locomotive number coinciding with the year the railroad was founded or the name began being used. In 1995, CSX started a new liability insurance requirement of $ 200 million to introduce their official policy, "no steam on its own wheels", banning the operation of steam locomotives and other antique rail equipment on their trackage due to safety concerns, and increased risk. In hump yards , trains are slowly pushed over
2668-492: A week later. Construction along the northern section was originally planned to finish by the end of 2016 but was delayed until mid-2017. Construction was substantially completed, with all six lanes open, by August 31, 2017. Once widening was completed from Mid-County to Lansdale, a similar project began on the next segment of highway, from Lansdale to Quakertown. As done on the first project, the Lansdale–Quakertown segment
2784-555: Is designated as local O823. CSX operates Coke Express unit trains . They carry coke for steelmaking , power generation and other various uses, running between Pittsburgh and Chicago , and other places in the Rust Belt . CSX has rebuilt a significant number of locomotives. Some of their EMD GP38-2 , GP40-2 , and SD40-2 locomotives have been rebuilt to Dash 3 standards with updated Wabtec Electronically Controlled Air Brakes, air conditioning, automated starting controls,
2900-982: Is part of the Philadelphia Main Line suburbs, reaching an interchange with US 30 west of Villanova . Stone monuments, including a large stone cairn atop a hill and a large crushed-stone image of a mythological griffin on a hillside, were constructed at the US ;30 interchange to commemorate Radnor's history as part of the Welsh Tract . Proceeding northward, the road passes over SEPTA's Norristown High Speed Line before it crosses under Amtrak 's Keystone Corridor rail line. The route enters Montgomery County and comes to an interchange with I-76 ( Schuylkill Expressway ) in West Conshohocken that also has access to PA 23 . After crossing over Norfolk Southern 's Harrisburg Line ,
3016-469: Is used for southbound traffic while the original tube carries northbound traffic. The newer tunnel is wider, higher, and brighter than the original. On February 1, 1995, the Keyser Avenue interchange near Scranton was opened at a cost of $ 22.4 million (equivalent to $ 40.9 million in 2023). Construction of this interchange also involved constructing a new mainline flat-rate toll barrier near
3132-583: The Interstate Highway System , the project was transferred to the Pennsylvania Department of Highways to be built as part of the system, designating it first as Interstate 495 ( I-495 ) and later as Interstate 480 ( I-480 ), as I-76 was designated as I-80S at the time. The present-day I-476 designation was assigned on February 6, 1964, when I-80S was renumbered as I-76. The road received its nickname from
3248-617: The Lehigh Valley metropolitan area, past the PA ;663 interchange. The road passes over Norfolk Southern 's Reading Line . The route has ramps to the dual-access Allentown Service Plaza in Upper Macungie Township , and, just north of it, I-476 reaches an interchange with US 22 (Lehigh Valley Thruway) west of Allentown , which offers an indirect connection to I-78 and PA 309 . North of Allentown,
3364-831: The Missouri Pacific Railroad in 1969. This was followed in 1971 with the acquisition of the Monon Railroad , which had complained bitterly about the C&;EI split. The L&N also purchased a portion of the Tennessee Central Railway in 1969. While still independent, the L&;N had long standing links to the Atlantic Coast Line, and other railroads in the region began to worry about a combined L&N/SCL system. In 1969,
3480-827: The New York Central (NYC) and Pennsylvania (PRR) railroads in November 1957 that they were considering combining set off discussions between the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) on a merger. Ultimately, the financially stronger C&O took control of the B&;O in December 1962, though the two railroads kept their separate identities. The NYC and PRR ultimately formed Penn Central Transportation Company in 1968, which by 1970
3596-454: The Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway unveiled their own plans for a merger. The Southern was opposed to the planned CSX merger, but soon came to terms with Chessie and SCL and dropped its objections. On November 1, 1980, following ICC approval, CSX Corporation officially came into being as the successor of Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries. In 1982, N&W and
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3712-730: The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and several communities in the road's path over environmental concerns. Two sections of the road in Radnor Township and in Lower Merion Township were built in 1970 but remained closed to traffic as they did not connect to any other roads. The section of I-476 between I-76 and Chemical Road opened to traffic in 1979 while the section between I-95 and MacDade Boulevard opened to traffic in August 1988. The road opened between Chemical Road and Plymouth Road in August 1991 while
3828-721: The Pennsylvania Turnpike ( I-276 ) runs north–south through Delaware and Montgomery counties and is officially known as the Mid-County Expressway and the Veterans Memorial Highway, as well as by the nickname the "Blue Route". The road's southern terminus is at a directional T interchange with I-95 near Chester , southwest of Philadelphia in Delaware County, near Philadelphia International Airport . Heading north,
3944-722: The Schuylkill River , SEPTA's Manayunk/Norristown Line , and the Schuylkill River Trail on the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge , the freeway heads into Plymouth Township . In Plymouth Township, the route has interchanges with Ridge Pike and Chemical Road before passing over Norfolk Southern's Morrisville Line and reaching an interchange serving Germantown Pike and Plymouth Road in Plymouth Meeting . The entire length of
4060-643: The Surface Transportation Board . The STB approved the purchase on April 14, 2022. As part of the acquisition, Norfolk Southern Railway will gain trackage rights over several CSX lines, and Pan Am Southern , 50 percent owned by Pan Am Railways, will be operated by the Berkshire and Eastern Railroad , a new Genesee & Wyoming subsidiary formed explicitly for this purpose. CSX completed the purchase on June 1, 2022. On June 28, 2023, CSX and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) announced
4176-531: The Three Rivers Railway as a subsidiary and purchased several key P&LE lines through it. CSX did not want the entire railroad, so some lines and company assets were instead retained by the P&;LE's parent company, which ultimately sold them off. The company introduced its current slogan, "How Tomorrow Moves", in 2008. In 2014, Canadian Pacific Railway approached CSX with an offer to merge
4292-667: The " Blue Route ", through Delaware and Montgomery counties in the suburban Philadelphia area, and the tolled , 110.6-mile (178.0 km) Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike , which connects the Delaware Valley with the Lehigh Valley , the Pocono Mountains , and the Wyoming Valley to the north. The Mid-County Expressway passes through suburban areas, while the Northeast Extension predominantly runs through rural areas of mountains, forest, and farmland, with development closer to Philadelphia and in
4408-401: The 1990s, and Q740 in the 2000s. The Juice Train has previously been studied as a model of efficient rail transportation that can compete with trucks and other modes in the perishable-goods trade. In 2017, the train was abolished from north of Tampa, Florida , and now mixed freight trains deliver the cars to their respective destinations. It still operates between Bradenton and Tampa however, but
4524-402: The 2000s, the road underwent a rehabilitation project, including paving, bridge repair, and ramp maintenance of the entire length of the freeway between I-95 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The section between I-95 and PA 3 was repaved in 2005 while the section between PA 3 and I-76 was repaved in 2007. The section between I-76 and I-276, which was completely reconstructed, was finished in
4640-455: The 50.4 miles (81.1 km) miles of line between Myrtlewood and Meridian. The agreement became effective 16 November, 2024. Initially, and for the next five years, CSX and CPKC will interchange across the line an average of two trains per day in each direction. In turn, the Board also required CSX to maintain its Selma, AL , gateway open and to provide one shipper access to the NS at Selma at
4756-519: The 50.4 miles (81.1 km) segment of the line between Myrtlewood and Meridian. MNBR will cease operations between Montgomery and Myrtlewood although it may continue to operate between Myrtlewood and Meridian, and continue to serve existing customers on that segment of the line. If the STB approves the purchase, it will provide a connection between the two companies' networks and allow CSX traffic destined for Mexico to be delivered directly to CPKC, eliminating
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4872-553: The Arts in Education residency program in service plazas along the turnpike over the next five years. The public art consists of a mural reflecting the area where the service plaza is located. Originally planned as far back as 1929, the Mid-County Expressway was later proposed by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission as the "Chester Extension" of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in 1954. After the advent of
4988-541: The B&O merged into the C&O. With the Western Maryland having already merged into the C&O, this left the C&O as the sole operating railroad under the Chessie System banner. Finally, on August 31, 1987, C&O/Chessie System merged into CSX Transportation, bringing all of the major CSX railroads under one banner. Government formed Conrail began to show promise in the early 1980s, showing
5104-536: The Blue Route is designated the Blue Route Scenic Byway, a Pennsylvania Scenic Byway . In Plymouth Meeting, I-476 comes to the Mid-County Interchange, where it enters the Pennsylvania Turnpike system and has a mainline toll plaza before coming to an interchange with I-276 , which follows the mainline of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, heading north from here as the six-lane Northeast Extension of
5220-758: The Conrail network on June 1, 1999. CSX now serves much of the Eastern United States , with a few routes into nearby Canadian cities. The two competitors were unwilling to give one company full control of busy industrial areas in Detroit , Philadelphia , and northern New Jersey (the Chemical Coast ). A compromise solution was reached by creating Conrail Shared Assets Operations , a jointly owned switching and terminal railroad which would operate in these areas on behalf of both CSX and NS. Virginia shortline Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad (RF&P)
5336-617: The FDL Advantage spec and new electronic controls such as the Wabtec Trip Optimizer Zero-to-Zero system. CSX has also obtained a few EMD F40PH -2s—nos. 9992, 9993, 9998, and 9999 (All locomotives except 9999 have been renumbered to CSX 1, 2, and 3 and were repainted into a heritage Baltimore and Ohio Railroad scheme)—that were retired from Amtrak for executive office car service and geometry trains . Another locomotive, ex- MARC GP40WH-2 no. 9969
5452-405: The Keyser Avenue and Clarks Summit toll plazas. All-electronic tolling was originally scheduled to be implemented on the entire length of the Northeast Extension in the later part of 2021. The Northeast Extension formerly had a call box every mile (1.6 km) for its entire length. In September 2017, the turnpike commission began removing the call boxes due to increased mobile phone usage making
5568-543: The Lehigh River and coming to an interchange with PA 115 in Bear Creek that provides access to nearby Wilkes-Barre . The route comes to a mainline toll plaza near Pittston that marks the northern end of the closed toll system along the Northeast Extension. A short distance later, an interchange with PA 315 provides indirect access to I-81 and Scranton . Past this interchange, I-476 crosses under
5684-750: The Lehigh Valley and the Wyoming Valley. I-476 intersects many major roads, including I-76 ( Schuylkill Expressway ) in West Conshohocken , I-276 (Pennsylvania Turnpike) in Plymouth Meeting , U.S. Route 22 (US 22) near Allentown , and I-80 near Hickory Run State Park . At its opening in 1979, I-476 was a three-mile-long (4.8 km), four-lane spur expressway connecting the Schuylkill Expressway with Chemical Road in Plymouth Meeting. The highway expanded
5800-529: The M&;B rate for five years, subject to reasonable cost escalation. It also includes conditions protecting employees affected by the line sale, and requires noise mitigation efforts regarding the CSX portion. A few days before CSX and CPKC officially took over the former M&B line, Schneider National , CSX's one of major intermodal partners and CPKC's main partner, announced that a new interline service connecting
5916-479: The Pennsylvania Turnpike system but rather the Interstate Highway System as I-81. At the northern terminus, the Northeast Extension narrowed to two lanes along the northbound offramp at Scranton to come to its northern terminus, with an abandoned short spur of the mainline heading north. A pair of trumpet interchanges were built to connect the Northeast Extension and I-81. On April 14, 1969,
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#17327880847836032-471: The Pennsylvania Turnpike was light. By the 1970s, traffic along the roadway increased with the completion of the connecting I-80 and the rising popularity of the Pocono Mountains as a vacation destination. As a result, the two-lane Lehigh Tunnel faced serious congestion. Plans were made to either bypass the tunnel or add a second tube. The turnpike commission decided it would build a second tunnel as
6148-652: The Pennsylvania Turnpike. The route continues through the Philadelphia suburbs, passing over CSX's Stony Creek Branch rail line, and reaches an interchange with PA 63 west of Lansdale that serves the North Penn Valley region. Past this interchange, the route enters a more rural setting of woods and farms, narrowing to four lanes before crossing into Bucks County and coming to an interchange with PA 663 west of Quakertown . The Northeast Extension continues northwest into Lehigh County , part of
6264-496: The STB approved the CSX–NS application and set August 22, 1998, as the effective date of its decision. CSX acquired 42 percent of Conrail's assets, and NS received the remaining 58 percent. As a result of the transaction, CSX's rail operations grew to include some 3,800 miles (6,100 km) of the Conrail system (predominantly lines that had belonged to the former New York Central Railroad ). CSX began operating its trains on its portion of
6380-482: The Seaboard Coast Line created Seaboard Coast Line Industries as a holding company. The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad had already held some of L&N's stock, but the new holding company began buying up as much as it could find and held nearly total control of shares by 1971. With this also came control of the Clinchfield Railroad and Georgia Railroad , both of which were nominally jointly owned by SCL and L&N. The resulting railroad conglomerate began operating under
6496-417: The Southeast (Florida and Georgia) with the Texas and Mexico markets via the route between Montgomery and Meridian will be launched beginning in December. CSX operated the Juice Train which consisted of Tropicana cars that carried fresh orange juice between Bradenton, Florida , and the Greenville section of Jersey City, New Jersey . The northbound train was originally designated on CSX as K650 during
6612-443: The Southern completed their merger and formed Norfolk Southern Railway , creating a competitor to CSX. One of the first issues the new railroad grappled with was the choice of name. Chessie and SCLI leadership agreed that, as a merger of equals, neither of the existing names could be used. A call for suggestions went out to employees of both railroads, who responded with a wide variety of initialisms combining C and S in some form. At
6728-399: The State of Virginia, which held partial ownership of the RF&P, was displeased with the merger agreement created by CSX. In particular the status of Potomac Yard , then a major classification yard in the RF&P system, was a matter of disagreement. The yard had potential for redevelopment, and as part of negotiations with the state, CSX ultimately agreed to decommission the rail yard by
6844-554: The areas served by the roadway. This extension resulted in I-476 surpassing the 120-mile (190 km) I-495 in Massachusetts as the longest auxiliary Interstate Highway, though it could be contested for this title in the future by I-369 in Texas . In 1990, an electronic toll collection system was proposed for the Pennsylvania Turnpike, where a motorist would create an account and use an electronic device that would be read from an electronic tollbooth. The motorist would be billed later. The multi-state electronic tolling system, which
6960-414: The call boxes obsolete. Motorists may also dial *11 on their mobile phones. First responder services are available to all turnpike customers via the GEICO Safety Patrol program. The safety patrol program, which is free, looks for disabled motorists, debris, and accidents along the roadway and provides assistance. The patrol service is available 24 hours every day of the year. Each patrol vehicle covers
7076-471: The capacity for travel between King of Prussia , the Schuylkill Expressway, the Philadelphia Main Line , and Philadelphia suburbs to the city's north and in South Jersey . The highway was initially planned to connect down to I-95 in Delaware County. This portion of the highway opened in 1991. In 1996, the I-476 designation was affixed to the preexisting Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, replacing Pennsylvania Route 9 ( PA 9 ). This
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#17327880847837192-471: The car is owned by a leasing company or private car owner. Chessie's public relations staff drafted a number of possible logos for the new railroad, but continued to strike out until it was suggested to combine the letters "C" and "S" in the shape of an X. Despite the merger in 1980, CSX was a paper railroad (meaning no CSX painted locomotives or rolling stock) until 1986. In that year, Seaboard System changed its name to CSX Transportation. On April 30, 1987,
7308-444: The competitors struck a deal to split Conrail between them. On June 23, 1997, CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) filed a joint application with the Surface Transportation Board for authority to purchase, divide, and operate the assets of the 11,000-mile (18,000 km) Conrail, which had been created in 1976 by bringing together several ailing Northeastern railway systems into a government-owned corporation . On June 6, 1998,
7424-521: The connections will be paid with E-ZPass or toll by plate. Construction of this project is expected to cost $ 160 million. In 2021, design work on the project resumed, with construction expected to begin in 2025. Auxiliary Interstate Highway Auxiliary Interstate Highways (also called three-digit Interstate Highways ) are a subset of highways within the United States' Interstate Highway System . The 323 auxiliary routes generally fall into three types: spur routes , which connect to or intersect
7540-419: The contract but was sued by the original contractor. This dispute delayed the construction of the interchange. The contract was rebid in November 1989 after the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania permitted it. The interchange between I-476 and the turnpike mainline was completed in November 1992; the ramps to the Northeast Extension opened a month later. An official ribbon-cutting took place on December 15, 1992. In
7656-427: The cost of the tunnel by $ 5 million to $ 6 million (equivalent to $ 11.1 million to $ 13.3 million in 2023). It was the first tunnel in the US to use this construction method. The second tube at Lehigh Tunnel opened on November 22, 1991, with Governor Casey in attendance leading a line of antique cars. Construction of the tunnel cost $ 45 million (equivalent to $ 89.8 million in 2023). The new tube
7772-417: The cost was lower than building a bypass. In 1988, a $ 37-million (equivalent to $ 82.3 million in 2023) contract was awarded to build the second tube. Groundbreaking for the tunnel took place on February 14, 1989, with Governor Robert P. Casey in attendance. Excavation of the new tunnel began in July of that year. Construction of the second tube utilized the New Austrian tunneling method , which reduced
7888-451: The day before Thanksgiving , 2,000 Teamsters Union employees went on strike , after contract negotiations failed. This was the first strike in the history of the roadway. As this is usually one of the busiest traffic days in the US, to avoid traffic jams, tolls were waived for the rest of the day. Starting on November 25, turnpike management personnel collected flat-rate passenger tolls of $ 2 and commercial tolls of $ 15 from cash customers on
8004-428: The decades of opposition it garnered. Plans to build an interchange connecting I-476 (Mid-County Expressway) to the Pennsylvania Turnpike were made; the turnpike commission approved a contract to build the interchange in March 1989. That June, a losing bidder decided to challenge the turnpike commission, saying it violated female and minority contracting rules regarding the percentage of these employees that were used for
8120-435: The end of 2011. PennDOT has plans to improve I-476 to reduce traffic congestion. Smart technology will be added to detect traffic congestion. The first phase will add variable speed limits that can change based on weather and congestion, new ramp meters, and electronic signs. The left shoulders of the roadway between I-95 and PA 3 will be widened and used as a third travel lane during peak traffic periods. Construction on
8236-559: The entire freeway portion. The Radnor Gateway Enhancement Strategy was implemented to install large scale sculpture elements by artist William P. Reimann , most notably the stone griffin and cairn at exit 13. While the redesigned highway was largely well-received, the constriction to four lanes has led to bottleneck conditions in the area, and many communities that originally opposed the road have now called for its widening. The Philadelphia Inquirer dubbed I-476 "the most costly, most bitterly opposed highway in Pennsylvania history" due to
8352-434: The final section of I-476 between MacDade Boulevard and I-76 was opened in December 1991. An agreement in 1985 led to many environmental compromises in the road's design, including a downsized four-lane design south of PA 3 (although a part of the span between exits 9 and 5 has a third truck lane on the southbound side), ramp meters , and scenic route status, prohibiting the erection of advertisement billboards along
8468-481: The first responders and veterans respectively. Another special unit, ES44AH 3194, was unveiled on August 22, 2019, in honor of the law enforcement. On September 13, 2022, CSX unveiled SD70AC 4568 painted in honor of Operation Lifesaver's 50th anniversary. In May 2023, CSX unveiled their heritage unit program, beginning with ES44AH No. 1827 being painted for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad . CSX then stated that
8584-579: The freeway crosses over SEPTA's light rail Media–Sharon Hill Line and continues north to Springfield, where it meets US 1 at a three-level diamond interchange . Past US 1, the parallel Crum Creek splits to the northwest and I-476 continues through wooded suburban areas. Along this stretch, the road briefly gains a southbound truck lane . The freeway comes to a partial cloverleaf interchange with PA 3 in Broomall , where it widens to six lanes. The route continues to Radnor Township , which
8700-528: The general public. Crane's solution was ultimately adopted in 1987, keeping Conrail independent. This was not the end of CSX and NS interest in Conrail, and attempts by both competitors resumed in the 1990s. This time, CSX struck first, announcing a surprise deal to purchase Conrail in October 1996. NS promptly made an offer of its own and began a bidding war with CSX that was only resolved in January 1997 when
8816-546: The intention to purchase Meridian and Bigbee Railroad (MNBR). The MNBR creates a connection 168 miles (270 km) between CSX in Burkville, Alabama near Montgomery , and Meridian, Mississippi , where it joins the Meridian Speedway heading west. Under the proposed agreement, CSX will resume operations between Montgomery and Myrtlewood, terminating the lease currently in place with MNBR, while CPKC will acquire
8932-399: The line and sparked an interest in purchasing it outright. An initial attempt to buy out the P&LE in partnership with an employee buyout by P&LE employees in 1988 failed when negotiations between CSX and the other railroad's unions could not come to an agreement. CSX instead purchased the P&LE main line outright in 1991, leasing it back to the P&LE. The next year, CSX formed
9048-562: The main Interstate Highway. For instance, I-115 contains an odd number in the first digit (1), which indicates that this freeway is a spur. The last two digits signify the highway's origin. In this case, the "15" in I-115 shows that it is a supplement to I-15 . Exceptions to the standard numbering guidelines exist for a number of reasons. In some cases, original routes were changed, extended, or abandoned, leaving discrepancies in
9164-431: The mainline Pennsylvania Turnpike between Warrendale and Neshaminy Falls. With the ticket system, a motorist received a ticket upon entering the turnpike at an interchange and paid the fare and surrendered the ticket upon exiting. If a motorist lost the ticket, the turnpike charged the highest fare to the exit where the motorist left. Cash, credit cards, and E-ZPass were accepted at traditional toll plazas. In March 2020, as
9280-474: The mountainous terrain it passed through, a large amount of earthwork was necessary to build the road along with the construction of large bridges. Among the bridges built was the 1,630-foot-long (500 m) Clarks Summit Bridge (since renamed for John J. Fitzgerald, Turnpike engineer and superintendent) over US 6/US 11, which at the time was the tallest bridge on the Pennsylvania Turnpike system at 135 feet (41 m). The Northeast Extension also included
9396-545: The name "Family Lines". Despite this wave of mergers, one more was yet to come - the combination of Chessie System and the Family Lines. To this end, the CSX Corporation was organized on November 14, 1978, as a future vehicle for such a merger. Chessie and SCL Industries formally applied for ICC approval of their merger plans in January 1979, causing a rapid reaction from the region's other railroads. By April,
9512-630: The need for a third intermediate railroad to move such traffic. Currently, CSX traffic bound for Mexico is exchanged with the Union Pacific Railroad in New Orleans , who then takes it to the cross-border gateway in Laredo, Texas , where it is delivered to CPKC. In October 2024, the STB approved CSX's resumption of operations on the 93.7 miles (150.8 km) leased from M&B between Burkville and Myrtlewood and CPKC's purchase of
9628-565: The new interchange. On November 1, 1996, the Northeast Extension was added to the Interstate Highway System as a northern extension of I-476, replacing the PA 9 designation along the road. The addition of the second tube at the Lehigh Tunnel along with new guardrails and line striping was necessary for the toll road to become an Interstate. It was hoped that the Interstate designation would bring economic development and tourism to
9744-542: The parent route at one end; bypasses , which connect to the parent route at both ends; and beltways , which form a circle that intersects the parent route at two locations. Some routes connect to the parent route at one end but to another route at the other end; some states treat these as spurs while others treat them as bypasses. Like the primary Interstate Highways , auxiliary highways meet Interstate Highway standards (with rare exceptions ). The shorter auxiliary routes branch from primary routes; their numbers are based on
9860-489: The parent route's number. All of the supplement routes for Interstate 95 (I-95) are designated with a three-digit number ending in "95": I-x95. With some exceptions, spur routes are numbered with an odd hundreds digit (such as I-395 ), while bypasses and beltways are numbered with an even hundreds digit (such as I-695 ). Because longer Interstates may have many such supplemental routes, the numbers can repeat from state to state along their route, but they will not repeat within
9976-426: The project. Under this rule, bidders were supposed to have at least 12 percent of contracts to minority-owned companies and at least four percent to female-owned companies. The losing bidder had 12.4 percent of the contracts to minority companies and 4.2 percent to female-owned companies while the winning bidder had 6.1 percent and 3.7 percent respectively. The turnpike commission decided to rebid
10092-498: The road passes under CSX 's Philadelphia Subdivision rail line and has an interchange with MacDade Boulevard in Woodlyn , where it narrows to a four-lane parkway that runs parallel to the Crum Creek . It winds through the western Philadelphia suburbs of Wallingford and Swarthmore , where I-476 passes under SEPTA 's Media/Wawa Line and comes to a diamond interchange with Baltimore Pike just west of Springfield . From here,
10208-515: The roadway between Lansdale and Quakertown, with completion expected in early 2025. The turnpike commission has stated its intention of continuing the widening effort past Quakertown all the way north to the Lehigh Valley interchange at milepost 56, although it will take until the late 2020s to get it done. In 1990, plans were made to build an interchange at PA 903 in Carbon County. A bill authorizing construction of this interchange
10324-644: The roadway that provide information to motorists such as accidents, construction, weather, and traffic congestion. The Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike has two service plazas at Allentown and Hickory Run, which are accessible by both northbound and southbound traffic. The service plazas offer multiple fast-food restaurants , a Sunoco gas station, and a 7-Eleven convenience store. Other amenities are available such as an ATM, E-ZPass sales, free cellphone charging, Pennsylvania Lottery sales, picnic areas, restrooms, tourist information, Travel Board information centers, and Wi-Fi. The Allentown plaza contains
10440-566: The route crosses under Norfolk Southern's Catasauqua and Fogelsville Railroad line and runs through farmland with some development. The road passes under Blue Mountain in the Lehigh Tunnel and enters Carbon County in the Pocono Mountains region. Here, I-476 crosses over the Lehigh River and Norfolk Southern's Lehigh Line before it has an interchange with US 209 east of Lehighton . Continuing through mountainous areas,
10556-399: The route has ramps to the dual-access Hickory Run Service Plaza prior to coming to a diamond interchange with PA 903 . Past here, I-476 cuts through Hickory Run State Park before reaching an interchange with PA 940 providing a connection to I-80 just to the north of the state park. The route continues through mountainous terrain, heading into Luzerne County at a crossing of
10672-415: The same Interstate, some states treat these as bypasses while others treat these as spurs—see Spur route above. A beltway (also known as a loop route ) completely surrounds a metropolitan city, and it is often connected with multiple junctions to other routes. Unlike other auxiliary Interstate Highways (and by extension, all primary Interstate Highways ), beltways do not have termini; however, they have
10788-517: The same time, the two companies' lawyers needed a name to use as part of their proceedings with the ICC. "CSC" was chosen but belonged to a trucking company in Virginia . "CSM" (for "Chessie-Seaboard Merger") was also taken. Needing some sort of identifier for the new railroad, the lawyers decided to use "CSX", and the name stuck, despite only being intended as a placeholder. In the public announcement, it
10904-747: The smart technology is underway while construction of the third lane is expected to begin in 2026. This improvement project is planned to be completed in 2030. In 1953, an extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike from the mainline near Plymouth Meeting north through Northeastern Pennsylvania to the New York state line near Binghamton, New York , was proposed. Groundbreaking for the Northeastern Extension occurred on March 25, 1954, in White Haven , with Governor John S. Fine and commission chair Thomas J. Evans present. The Northeast Extension
11020-448: The southern section began in January 2008 with the replacement of two bridges over the Northeast Extension to accommodate the widened highway. Construction on the actual widening phase commenced in January 2011. Completion was originally planned in 2013; however, construction fell a year behind schedule. Construction on widening the northern section started in May 2014, while work on widening
11136-473: The southern section finished up in October of that year. By this point, the project scope was expanded to include the Lansdale interchange itself, the roadway to a point one mile (1.6 km) north of the interchange, and two new E-ZPass-only ramps at the Lansdale interchange to relieve congestion at the toll plaza. This new northbound exit ramp opened December 4, 2016, and the companion southbound onramp opened
11252-442: The steel industry in the 1980s crippled the railroad. As local traffic dried up, conditions reached the point that the B&O was running as many as 20 trains per day on the P&LE main line versus just one run by the line's owner. When P&LE employees went on strike to protest a change in ownership of the railroad, the company cut maintenance and reduced its main line to one track to cut costs. This adversely affected CSX usage of
11368-442: The subsidiaries that made up CSX Corporation completed merging in 1987. CSX Transportation formally came into existence in 1986, as the successor of Seaboard System Railroad . In 1999, CSX Transportation acquired about half of Conrail in a joint purchase with competitor Norfolk Southern Railway . In 2022, it acquired Pan Am Railways , extending its reach into northern New England . Norfolk Southern remains CSX's chief competitor;
11484-516: The system. In other cases, it may not be possible to use the proper number because the limited set of available numbers has been exhausted, causing a "non-standard" number to be used. A spur route 's number usually has an odd number for its first digit. It is usually one of the following: Examples include: Sometimes, a three-digit Interstate Highway branches off from another three-digit Interstate Highway. These spurs do not connect directly with their parent highways, but are associated with them via
11600-472: The three-digit highways they do intersect with. Examples include: A bypass route may traverse around a city, or may run through it with the mainline bypassing. In a typical 3-digit Interstate Highway, bypasses usually have both its two termini junctioned with another Interstate highway. Bypass routes are preceded by an even number in the first digit. Examples include: In the case of an auxiliary Interstate highway which has both ends at Interstates but not
11716-454: The ticketed system, while E-ZPass customers were charged the lesser of the actual toll or the same flat rates. The strike ended after seven days when both sides reached an agreement on November 30, 2004. Normal toll collection resumed December 1, 2004. In 2007, the turnpike commission announced plans to widen the Northeast Extension to six lanes between Mid-County and Lansdale. The project divided this stretch of highway into two sections. Work on
11832-572: The time a deal was reached in October 1991 whereby CSX and the State of Virginia each purchased part of the RF&;P. From the 1930s, the B&O had used part of the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad (P&LE) main line from McKeesport, Pennsylvania , to West Pittsburg via a trackage rights agreement. The P&LE remained healthy enough to escape inclusion in Conrail, but a severe downturn in
11948-479: The turnpike for less than 0.25 miles (0.40 km) to connect between I-81 and US 11. As this is beyond the Clarks Summit toll plaza, no toll is collected on this short segment. The Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike uses all-electronic tolling , with tolls payable by toll by plate , which uses automatic license plate recognition to take a photo of the vehicle's license plate and mail
12064-593: The two companies, but CSX declined, and in 2015 Canadian Pacific made an attempt to purchase and merge with Norfolk Southern , but NS declined to do so as well. In 2017, CSX announced Hunter Harrison would become its new chief executive officer; a settlement with activist investor Paul Hilal and Mantle Ridge. CSX added five new directors to their board, including Harrison and Mantle Ridge founder Paul Hilal. Mantle Ridge owns 4.9% of CSX. Harrison quickly moved to convert CSX rail operations to precision railroading . On December 14, 2017, CSX announced that Hunter Harrison
12180-490: The two share a duopoly on transcontinental freight rail lines in the east half of the US. CSX is the result of a number of mergers among railroads operating in the eastern United States, the earliest among them the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) which formed in the 1820s. Many of the competing railroads along the east coast began merging from the 1950s onward as part of a broader trend of consolidation. An announcement from
12296-410: The two-lane Lehigh Tunnel under Blue Mountain. The tunnel was originally going to be named for commission chair Evans but was changed when he was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the commission of $ 19 million (equivalent to $ 133 million in 2023). The roadway opened between Plymouth Meeting and the Lehigh Valley interchange near Allentown on November 23, 1955. The highway was extended north to
12412-686: Was acquired by CSX in February 1990. The RF&P had historically been jointly owned by a number of connecting railroads through a holding company and operated as a bridge line . All of these owners except the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Southern Railway eventually became part of CSX, and the PRR stake was given up during the bankruptcy of Penn Central. This purchase added a new connection between Alexandria and Richmond , linking former B&O lines with those of C&O and Seaboard. However,
12528-459: Was acquired for the same purpose. With the arrival of Hunter Harrison , CSX began to store many locomotives. Following Harrison's death, his replacement James Foote largely continued his policies. The company had over 900 locomotives in storage in January 2018. CSX ordered ten SD70ACe-T4s in August 2018, which were delivered in July the following year. They are classified as ST70AHs. CSX also has
12644-410: Was an older four-lane pre-Interstate limited-access highway that opened in sections between 1955 and 1957. Of earlier design, its cross section was very narrow, with only 4 feet (1.2 m) between opposing lanes of traffic in places. This extended I-476 north of Plymouth Meeting to Clarks Summit (near Scranton) as a part of the Pennsylvania Turnpike system. I-476 connected to the Northeast Extension at
12760-693: Was bankrupt. The combined C&O/B&O purchased stock in the Western Maryland Railway until it was able to take full control in February 1967, bringing a third railroad into the combined entity, which in 1973 became formally known as the Chessie System after the C&O's historic cat mascot Chessie. While the railroads in Appalachia were merging, southern railroads (and historical competitors) Seaboard Air Line Railroad and Atlantic Coast Line Railroad decided to pursue
12876-734: Was on medical leave. Two days after the announcement, Harrison died, one day after being hospitalized for complications of an ongoing illness. CSX initially saw a 10% drop in its stock price, but turned around to hit a new 52-week high less than a month later (January 2018). Harrison's successors have continued the shift to precision railroading, with most hump yards converted to flat yards, low volume shipping lanes eliminated and reductions in rolling stock and work force. On November 30, 2020, CSX Transportation's parent company CSX Corporation announced on social media that they had come to an agreement with Pan Am Systems to purchase New England based Class II Pan Am Railways , pending regulatory approval from
12992-527: Was planned to run from the mainline Pennsylvania Turnpike in Plymouth Meeting north to a temporary terminus at Scranton. In April 1954, $ 233 million (equivalent to $ 2.1 billion in 2023) in bonds were issued to build the Northeastern Extension along with the Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge on the mainline Pennsylvania Turnpike. The Northeast Extension was built with a four-foot (1.2 m) median in order to save money. Due to
13108-404: Was rebuilt in two sections, with a southern half started in late 2017, widening the road to six lanes with full shoulders. Advance work began in early 2013 with replacement of several bridges in this area north of Lansdale, with work on the actual widening beginning in late 2017. Widening of this section was completed in late 2020. In April 2022, construction began on widening the northern section of
13224-458: Was said that "CSX is singularly appropriate. C can stand for Chessie, S for Seaboard and X, the multiplication symbol, means that together we are so much more." However, an August 9, 2016, article on the Railway Age website stated that " ... the 'X' was for 'Consolidated' ". A fourth letter had to be added to CSX when used as a reporting mark because reporting marks that end in X mean that
13340-505: Was signed into law by Governor Casey in July of that year. Plans for this interchange were cancelled by the turnpike commission in 1995. In 2006, plans for an interchange at PA 903 were resurrected, with the proposed interchange to be all-electronic, in that it will only accept E-ZPass. Construction on the $ 23-million (equivalent to $ 32 million in 2023) interchange began in the middle of 2008. The interchange opened to traffic on June 30, 2015. On April 28, 2016, plans were announced for
13456-491: Was to be called E-ZPass, was planned to be implemented by 1998. The planned installation date was later pushed back to 2000. On December 2, 2000, E-ZPass debuted along the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike between Mid-County and Lehigh Valley. On December 15, 2001, E-ZPass was extended to include the entire length of the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Commercial vehicles were allowed to start using E-ZPass on December 14, 2002. On November 24, 2004,
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