G&W-served transload facility opens in Maryland
12/10/2021
By Jeff Stagl, Managing Editor
When a transload facility launched operations in early December in Thurmont, Maryland, a couple of firsts were achieved. It’s the first transload facility in northcentral Maryland and the first transload/reload facility in the state that’s not operated by a railroad.
The facility is owned and managed by Maryland Transload Logistics LLC, which worked with Maryland Midland Railway (MMID), the short line’s owner Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W), CSX and the state to develop the project.
Maryland Transload Logistics and MMID held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Dec. 2 in Thurmont that was attended by Maryland Economic Development Senior Business Development Representative Tamar Osterman, Thurmont Mayor John Kinnaird, CSX Head of Business Development Tom Tisa, G&W Senior Vice President of Northern Region Railroads Leonard Wagner and G&W Assistant VP of Government Affairs Joe Arbona.
The transload facility covers more than 7 acres and features 25,000 square feet of indoor stage area. The facility is served by MMID, which interchanges traffic to and from the Thurmont site with CSX at two Maryland points: Emory Grove near Baltimore and Highfield near Hagerstown.
Construction began about a year ago, but the facility — which state officials refer to as an inland port — took eight years to develop, says Maryland Transload Logistics General Manager Eric Welch.
“We tried to get railroads on board and get governments together,” he says.
The project finally came to fruition because of growing interest in another modal option for moving lumber besides trucking, says Welch.
Maryland Midland Railway operates 81 miles of track in the state and interchanges with CSX in Emory Grove and Highfield. Genesee & Wyoming Inc. The facility’s first customer is Georgia-Pacific Corp., which is using the transload site to source lumber materials for shipments to points in Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states.
“As we developed this, we found there are other companies that need a rail option in the area,” says Welch.
The facility is scalable for future expansion. Maryland Transload Logistics owns about 40 acres at the site and plans to enlarge the facility, depending on demand.
The current facility is just the project’s first phase, says Jon Rudman, G&W’s director of sales and marketing-northern region railroads. G&W became involved in the project about two years ago.
The site in northcentral Maryland had long been on G&W’s radar because of its proximity to U.S. Route 15, good location on the MMID, and hour or so drive from Baltimore and Washington, D.C., says Rudman.
The facility accesses high-traffic areas in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and New England, and is near major transportation corridors in Baltimore; Washington D.C.; Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and New Jersey.
Maryland Transload Logistics touts the benefits of transloading at the site: the ability to ship heavier and larger loads at a lower cost, transport three to four truckloads of freight on a single rail car, bypass tolls and load fees, and save on fuel and maintenance expenses.
The facility can handle just about any commodity besides lumber, such as road salts, electrical transformers and heavy machinery, says Rudman. Other potential freight includes building materials, pipe, rebar, brick, stone, sheetrock, plastics, sand, minerals, grain, fly ash, general merchandise, small appliances and boxes.
G&W expects MMID to handle hundreds of rail cars annually at the facility, starting with the Georgia-Pacific lumber business, says Rudman. But due to its location, the facility is poised for traffic growth, he believes.
“We see tens of thousands of carloads down the road,” says Rudman.
Another transload facility in the state might be in the offing at some point for Maryland Transload Logistics, as well.
“We will look to develop another similar facility in Maryland after we get our feet wet and if we do well in Thurmont,” says Welch.
