Palmetto State Relying on Freight Rail to Meet Growth Challenges
Daily express rail service from CSX and Norfolk Southern helps the Port of Charleston take advantage of the deepest water in the southeast region. Freight rail service also helps the South Carolina Inland Port in Greer boost efficiency between the Port of Charleston and companies across the Southeast while bringing new economic investment in South Carolina Upstate. Freight rail service maximizes tonnage moved per gallon of fuel for importers and exporters, while reducing the number of trucks that would otherwise be required to move freight inland and creating economic development across the state.
South Carolina’s 11 freight railroads operate over 2,278 miles of track and employ 1,615 in the Palmetto State.* It would have taken approximately 3.7 million additional truckloads to move the 67.2 million tons of freight that moved by rail in South Carolina in 2017. Intermodal and chemicals comprise the majority of freight rail shipments beginning in South Carolina. Intermodal and coal are the largest rail imports to the state.
*2017 data
