CSX announced plans to develop a major freight rail infrastructure project in Johnston County that will spur economic development in the region and help position eastern North Carolina as a major transportation logistics hub. Once operational, the terminal will serve as an intermodal transportation hub in the South, transferring a broad range of goods – from food to furniture to appliances – between trucks and trains. Intermodal transportation combines the fuel efficiency and cost-effectiveness of rail and the door-to-door flexibility of trucks, thereby reducing transportation costs for businesses in the region while alleviating congestion on North Carolina roads and highways.

Total estimated project costs for CCX are $272 million. CSX is committed to investing $150 million – the majority of funds needed to complete the project. The execution of the project is contingent on securing $100 million in infrastructure investment funds that have been proposed in the state of North Carolina's Strategic Transportation Investment (STI) process.

The balance of the funding will come from other infrastructure and investment programs that are currently in place.