Shenandoah Valley Railroad to serve new InterChange Cold Storage site

InterChange Cold Storage LLC has plans to build a new cold storage and blast freezing facility in Virginia that will include new rail service, which will be provided by the Shenandoah Valley Railroad LLC.

The 250,000-square-foot facility, which will be built in Rockingham County, will provide cold-chain warehousing and value-added services to the region's food and beverage manufacturers, company and state officials said in a press release issued by Gov. Ralph Northam's office.

Owned by InterChange Group Inc., InterChange Cold Storage will invest $41.6 million to build the structure, which will be constructed along the Shenandoah Valley Railroad. The short line has connections to Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX.

Road improvements and the new rail service will connect the facility to area manufacturers, as well as the Port of Virginia, enhancing the potential for exporting the region's food products overseas, state and company officials said.

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Shenandoah Valley Partnership worked with Rockingham County to secure the project for Virginia. Northam approved a $300,000 grant from the Governor's Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development Fund to assist Rockingham County with the project.

The county also will receive $650,000 from the Virginia Department of Transportation's Economic Development Access Fund and $450,000 in funding from the Rail Industrial Access Program administered by the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transit.

Funding and services to support the company's employee training activities will be provided through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program. Rockingham County is providing $300,000 in local matching funds for making rail and road improvements at the site.

"Enhancing our service offerings and investing in new technology is what our customers require," said InterChange Group President Devon Anders. "The integration of advanced warehousing, renewable energy, blast freezing, repackaging, product tracking, and asset-based, multimodal transportation provide the safe and efficient cold chain demanded by today's consumer."