Shippers can once again put containers on a train in Charleston and send them straight to Huntsville, Alabama.
Norfolk Southern began daily direct intermodal service between the Port of Charleston and Huntsville on Sept. 11, the South Carolina State Ports Authority announced. The service took effect immediately.
It is a return, not a debut. Norfolk Southern stopped its international intermodal service between the two markets in May 2025 as part of cuts to several East Coast routes, Logistics Management reported. The new service ends a gap of about 16 months.
SC Ports said the link extends the port’s reach into the growing North Alabama and Middle Tennessee markets and gives importers and exporters another rail option.
“The intermodal service between Charleston and Huntsville is a meaningful addition for our customers,” SC Ports President and CEO Micah Mallace said in the announcement.
Shawn Tureman, Norfolk Southern’s vice president of intermodal automotive, said the route “gives shippers another reliable, cost-effective option for moving cargo throughout the Southeast.”
About 25% of SC Ports’ container volume moves by rail, according to the authority. It offers daily express intermodal service, direct rail links to its inland ports in Greer and Dillon and connections to intermodal hubs in Memphis, Atlanta, Birmingham, Nashville, Charlotte and Louisville.
Norfolk Southern provides daily and overnight service to Inland Port Greer, where SC Ports finished a $55 million expansion in 2025 that raised cargo capacity by 50% and added 9,000 feet of track, the authority said.
Rail volume has been falling with the port’s overall business. Rail moves at Inland Port Greer dropped 33.6% from July through September compared with a year earlier, according to SC Ports.
