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City's New $100 Million Shipping Facility "Soft Launches"

A more than $100 million project to speed shipments from Charlotte to East Coast sea ports has begun operation. The intermodal facility is an “inland port” that allows transfer of shipments between bus, train, and airplane. The 200-acre site at the airport is still under construction, but Charlotte aviation director Brent Cagle says it sent out its first shipment Monday by train.

“That’s a soft opening,” Cagle says. “They will continue to increase operations at the facility over the next four months until the facility is at full operations.”

Cagle says the joint project between the City of Charlotte and rail company Norfolk Southern is ahead of schedule. Norfolk Southern currently has a smaller facility northeast of Uptown between Davidson and Brevard Streets. The city estimates the new site, with its increased access to air, will attract businesses and generate more than $7 billion of economic development. Officials say it will also remove tractor-trailers from Uptown streets.