Meeting set on possible lease of W.Va. intermodal gateway

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia regulators will consider a proposal to lease a state-owned railroad facility to a private company.

The Herald-Dispatch reports the West Virginia Public Port Authority's board of directors is set to meet Tuesday in Charleston on a proposal for the Heartland Intermodal Gateway facility in Prichard.

The facility opened in 2015 on 76 acres donated by Norfolk Southern railroad. Owned by the Public Port Authority, it is designed to move containers more efficiently by rail through a double-stack method while offering a cheaper alternative to gas-guzzling trucks.

Officials had hoped the terminal could mirror the growth generated by other facilities in places like Front Royal, Virginia, and Greer, South Carolina.

But in the fiscal 2020 budget, Gov. Jim Justice defunded the Public Port Authority, which is part of the state Department of Transportation.

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Information from: The Herald-Dispatch, http://www.herald-dispatch.com