The Commonwealth Railway Mainline Safety Relocation Project (CRMSRP), also known as the Median Rail Relocation consists of the relocation of 4.5 miles of the West Norfolk Spur of the Commonwealth Rail Line to the medians of the Western Freeway (Route 164) and Interstate 664 through Chesapeake and Portsmouth.
Moving the rail line away from densely populated areas provides a safer, cleaner environment for citizens by eliminating the potential for rail accidents at fourteen at-grade crossings and limiting the noise and pollution emissions from the automobiles idling at those railroad crossings. It also ensures that emergency vehicles can respond to neighborhoods by the most direct routes. At the state level, the project enhances the vitality of our Port and our region by allowing commercial trains to move cargo to and from the Port more quickly and efficiently. At the national level, the new rail corridor will provide more secure transportation of strategically important goods to and from the affected port facilities
