ACC E S S I B I L I T Y
highway, railway and port Mexico City, Toronto and Montreal. The full air-cargo service handles about 185,000 tons of cargo annually. Increased capacity via new $66 million intermodal facility slated for 2007. highway access: CharlotteUSA counts four interstate highways: I-40, I-77, I-85 and I-485. Not coincidentally, it is the 8th largest trucking center in the U.S., with 450 motor freight firms operating in the region, including the nation’s top 10. railway access: The Charlotte region is at the center of the country’s largest consolidated rail system. It is served by CSX and Norfolk Southern which, between them, operate on more than 46,000 miles of track. Lancaster & Chester rail systems and a number of other short lines connect the region to the points
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Charlotte Douglas International Airport was created to make travel efficient and affordable. My bet is that once all is said and done, Charlotte will be one of two major airports left in the Southeast. It’s a great airport. I’ve seen none better.
– Jerry Orr, aviation director, Charlotte Douglas International Airport
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FEW PLACES ARE EASIER TO GET INTO AND OUT OF THAN CharlotteUSA. Charlotte is equidistant from New York and Miami. More than 60 percent of the U.S. population and its industrial base lie within a two-hour flight or a day’s motor freight delivery. The region is within 200 miles of three major seaports, including Charleston, S.C., the second largest on the eastern seaboard. But CharlotteUSA isn’t content to rely on location alone. Consider: air access: Charlotte Douglas International Airport boasts 500+ flight departures daily, more per capita than any other U.S. region. There is direct, non-stop service to 123 destinations, including Frankfurt, Munich, London,
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these two giants serve in the South, East, Midwest and Canada. More than 200 trains rumble through Charlotte weekly. port access: Rail connections to points on the Southeastern coast make Charlotte an inland port and the region is home to an inland intermodal terminal. The deep-sea ports of Charleston, S.C., Wilmington and Morehead City, N.C., and Savannah, Ga., are accessible via rail or truck within four hours. time difference: CharlotteUSA is in the U.S. Eastern Time Zone. The time difference between Charlotte and the United Kingdom is minus 5 hours, compared to minus 8 hours between the U.K. and the west coast. Between Charlotte and mainland Europe, the time difference is
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