East Coast Freight Growth Gets Boost as CSX Reopens Tunnel

CSX Corporation CSX announced the reopening of the expanded Howard Street Tunnel, a more than $450 million infrastructure initiative set to modernize freight rail service along the East Coast. The milestone represents decades of collaboration among federal, state and private partners, delivering a long-awaited boost to Maryland’s economy and strengthening the U.S. supply chain.Constructed between 1890 and 1895, the tunnel has served as a vital freight artery for more than 125 years. With its expansion and additional clearance projects scheduled to finish in early 2026, a critical I-95 corridor bottleneck will be removed, enabling double-stacked intermodal trains to move through Baltimore. This upgrade strengthens CSX’s reputation as the fastest and most efficient rail operator along the I-95 corridor, offering shippers a competitive advantage from Florida to the Northeast and creating new opportunities to shift freight from highway to rail.The project was achieved through a public-private partnership involving CSX, the State of Maryland, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Railroad Administration. Together, they modernized a 19th-century structure while preserving its historic character.This latest growth initiative from CSX is its most recent one. The railroad operator, driven by the strong free cash flow generation, has been actively rewarding its shareholders through dividends and buybacks. Highlighting its shareholder-friendly attitude, CSX increased the quarterly dividend by 8% to 13 cents per share in February. Other companies in the Zacks Transportation - Rail industry are Union Pacific UNP and Norfolk Southern NSC.Union Pacific hiked its dividend twice in 2021. In May 2022, UNP increased its quarterly dividend by a further 10% to $1.30 per share. In July 2024, UNP increased its dividend by a further 3% to $1.34 per share. The latest shareholder-friendly move came in July 2025 when UNP increased its quarterly dividend to $1.38 per share. The company has paid dividends on its common stock for 126 consecutive years. Union Pacific has returned $4.3 billion to its shareholders in the first half of 2025, through dividends ($1.6 billion) and buybacks ($2.7 billion).Norfolk Southern returned $1.85 billion to its shareholders through a combination of dividends ($1.225 billion) and share buybacks ($622 million) in 2023. In 2024, NSC paid dividends worth $1.22 billion. The current quarterly dividend is pegged at $1.35 per share (annualized $5.40).Dividend-paying stocks like CSX, UNP and NSC are generally safe bets for creating wealth, as these payouts act as a hedge against economic uncertainty, which characterizes current times. Free Report: Profiting from the 2nd Wave of AI ExplosionThe next phase of the AI explosion is poised to create significant wealth for investors, especially those who get in early. It will add literally trillion of dollars to the economy and revolutionize nearly every part of our lives.Investors who bought shares like Nvidia at the right time have had a shot at huge gains.But the rocket ride in the "first wave" of AI stocks may soon come to an end. The sharp upward trajectory of these stocks will begin to level off, leaving exponential growth to a new wave of cutting-edge companies.Zacks' AI Boom 2.0: The Second Wave report reveals 4 under-the-radar companies that may soon be shining stars of AI’s next leap forward.Access AI Boom 2.0 now, absolutely free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report CSX Corporation (CSX): Free Stock Analysis Report Union Pacific Corporation (UNP): Free Stock Analysis Report Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks