Pennsylvania OKs freight-rail projects for state funding

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced yesterday the approval of 26 freight-rail improvement projects, along with the state's share of the cost.

The projects are designed to improve freight mobility while creating or sustaining more than 390 jobs, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).

"These investments underscore our continued commitment to building a world-class infrastructure system that supports the business community and the creation of new jobs," Wolf said in a press release.

PennDOT works with private rail operators and rail-served businesses to construct new rail lines and assist in maintaining and improving the 5,600 miles of freight lines in Pennsylvania, PennDOT officials said. There are 65 operating railroads in Pennsylvania.

Following are some of the funding recipients, their projects and state share of funding:
• CSX, $14.4 million, to lower tracks under nine overhead obstructions to permit routing of double-stack container and multilevel auto rack traffic to and from Port of Philadelphia;
• R. J. Corman Railroad Group, $3 million, to replace 25 linear miles of rail and 4,800 ties and to construct a 4,000-foot siding and two turnouts on its Cherry Tree Subdivision to support export metallurgical coal;
• SEKISUI SPI, $2.7 million, to construct two spur tracks and install unloading equipment at its manufacturing plant;
 • Allegheny Valley Railroad, $2.5 million, to repair a bridge located on a route used by three railroads;
• Arcelor Mittal Plate, $2.2 million, to rehabilitate 2 miles of track, turnouts, and private crossings serving its rolling mill and electric melt shop sites;
• Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad Co., $1.9 million, to install new bridge timbers, walkways and handrails, as well as super-elevation correction involving three bridges;
• Strasburg Rail Road Co., $1.7 million, to construct less than 1 mile of track by extending interchange track and constructing new bulk, ladder, and lead tracks to more than double current yard capacity;
• Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway Co., $1.1 million, to repair structural and drainage issues in State Tunnel to bring it into a state of good repair in Washington County;
• Union Tank Car Co., $1 million, to rehabilitate the transfer table pit retaining walls;
• North Shore Railroad, $813,834 to construct 1,350 ft. of track and install three turnouts to develop a multipurpose transload site;
• Pittsburgh Intermodal Terminals Inc., $700,000, to rehabilitate approximately 1 mile of track in critical operations areas, including replacement of ties and switch timbers, new ballast and surfacing;
• Freeport Terminals, $699,999, to construct and rehabilitate less than .5 mile of track and install new transloading equipment to expand capacity at its Allegheny River barge/rail/truck transload site;
• United States Steel Corp., $689,500, to complete various track upgrades to accommodate increased rail volume from USS’s new hot rolling mill in Braddock; and
• Standard Steel LLC, $529,890, to replace a 50-foot scale to accommodate 60-foot rail cars and replace two No. 6 turnouts and 900 feet of track.