State, industry officials say rail freight future is bright
Saying railroads are the wave of the future sounds contradictory since that industry appears to have peaked and has been on the decline for decades. However, Pennsylvania has more than 5,600 miles of track, 65 regional and short line operators and is served by three world class carriers.
“Railroads are not the old way of doing things but a great way to grow new jobs,’ Larry Larese, Westmoreland County Industrial Corp. executive director, said.
Larese and others gathered to view a new rail freight marketing tool, a video the PennDOT Aviation and Rail Freight division produced.
Showing the history of railroading in Pennsylvania, its heyday, environmental impact and other features, the short visual presentation is designed to build relationships between business, economic development groups and the public.
“Pennsylvania Rail Freight: The best track for our future,’ is a capstone to a series of developments during the tenure of Gov. Tom Ridge aimed at rebuilding rail in the state, making it a key part of an “intermodal’ transportation system.
“Intermodal just means different types of transportation,’ John Brown, PennDOT Bureau of Rail Freight director, said.
“It means that a trailer loaded overseas and brought to a state port via ship can be offloaded to a rail car and taken to a facility where it is picked up by a truck and taken to its final destination.
“This video is not anti-truck. It complements the systems in our intermodal transportation,’ Brown added.
The video discusses the job creation aspects; outlines how it is one of the safest modes of transportation; and shows that trains are environmentally friendly.
Elizabeth Sarge Voras, PennDOT Rail Freight and Aviation deputy secretary, said Pennsylvania is home to 65 regional and shortline freight railroads, to more than 5,600 miles of track and to three class I railroads – Norfolk Southern, CSX Transportation and the Canadian Pacific Railway.
“One of my goals when I took this job in 1995 was to improve the rail freight infrastructure in Pennsylvania,’ Voras said.
“We have accomplished that with outreach to improve the image of rail freight. We have accomplished a lot since 1995,’ she said.
Voras said PennDOT in the past seven years has in its rail bureau created a Rail Freight directory listing 205 rail-served industries; created a pilot course teaching people what rail and aviation transportation can do; completed a comprehensive rail freight survey; divested the state of 12 of 16 state-owned rail lines; completed studies on double-stack rail containers and how tracks can accommodate the heavier loads; increased public appearances to educate the public on rail freight in the state; and developed the first complete map of the rail system in Pennsylvania.
“We also played a role in forming the Keystone Railroad Association and the Pennsylvania Rail Freight Advisory Committee, the first in the country,’ Voras said.
But all of these measures, she added, can be attributed to what she called partnering between PennDOT and the rail freight industry.
“I like railroaders. They are a different type of people. I have always been for the little guy, the underdog. We have been able to help save over 30 (rail) lines in Pennsylvania with the task force. And with the Rail Freight Association and Capital Budget program, we have removed 2.5 million trucks from our roads and helped create 10,000 jobs.
“We have developed a bank of tools for the industry to use to tell its story.
“You are doing a valuable service here in Pennsylvania. You are the best salesmen of your industry,’ Voras said.
Russ Peterson, president of the Allegheny Valley Railroad and operator of the Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad that serves businesses in Fayette County, detailed how his business has grown.
“When we started, we were hauling about 600 cars a year. That’s up to 4,000 and we see that growing even more,’ Peterson said.
In addition, Westmoreland County is building a new intermodal facility near Sony at New Stanton that, Peterson said, should increase the number of cars his trains haul to 5,000 in the first year and 1,000 in each year thereafter.
Voras also played the environmental card in her support of rail.
“Locomotives provide great fuel efficiency and lower emissions more than any other mode of transportation. If 10 percent of the freight shipped by highway were diverted to rail, carbon dioxide emissions would decrease 2.5 million tons and 200 million gallons of fuel would be saved each year,’ she said.
Besides reducing emissions and saving fuel, PennDOT said freight trains can also cut highway congestion. Just one fully loaded train could remove 250 trucks from the roads and cut harmful air emissions by one third.
Using the new doublestack cars can also make a difference in the environment since trains will be able to haul more without the need to create new track or acquire more land.
“The whole point is you gotta have vision. Our view at PennDOT is we are helpers. But you are the ones who make us successful,’ Voras said.
Brown detailed ways the industry and others can use the video presentation.
“You can show this to Rotary Clubs, schools, Boy Scouts, industrial development groups. We even suggest you have a media day and invite the press to tell them what you are doing. “We need to get the word out,’ Brown said. “