Class I Briefs: CPKC, NS
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
“I said from the beginning that Norfolk Southern would be here for the long haul and we will be here to see this community through,” NS CEO Alan Shaw told attendees of a Nov. 30 economic development roundtable discussion in East Palestine, Ohio. (NS Photograph)
Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) in November unloaded its first 8,500-foot grain train in the U.S. Also, Norfolk Southern (NS) late last month held a roundtable discussion in East Palestine, Ohio, with local officials, focusing on long-term economic opportunities for businesses and residents.
The Morrow County (Ore.) Grain Growers (MCGG) last month reported on Facebook that the first 8,500-foot CPKC High Efficiency Product (HEP) train was unloaded at its grain shuttle facility at the Port of Morrow in Boardman, Ore. The train included 140 cars of corn, and the Growers’ plan was to ship out the majority of the 560,000 bushels into the local livestock market.
“[I]t took four high-horsepower, mainline locomotives to move these cars around on our loop track,” said MCGG, which noted that the train originated from Farmers Elevator Co. in Honeyford, N.D., a locally owned farmer cooperative like MCGG. “The vision and foresight of … the entire group of POM [Port of Morrow] Commissioners through the years to build this type of loop track capacity was not lost upon us as we were unloading the train. All of it done by a very strategic partner in the Port of Morrow. We just couldn’t have tackled something of this magnitude without the excellent infrastructure that’s been built and put in place for us to utilize. The Final acknowledgement goes to the Morrow County Grain Growers Board of Directors, past and present. Without their execution of the long-term vision behind bringing this transloading and feed grain workhorse to life at Boardman, we wouldn’t be in the position that we’re currently in today of even considering these types of incredible opportunities.”
According to MCGG, “North Dakota and Minnesota 8,500’ rail shippers now have a new high-speed unload destination right here in the United States to ship their grain trains into.”
NS on Dec. 2 reported that it helped to convene an economic development roundtable in East Palestine (see video above). It brought together village leaders and local and state officials, as well as Federal Emergency Management Agency Recovery Coordinator Jim McPherson and NS CEO Alan Shaw for a discussion focused on economic recovery in the region following the Feb. 3, 2023, NS train derailment.
“I said from the beginning that Norfolk Southern would be here for the long haul and we will be here to see this community through,” Shaw told attendees, according to NS. “Norfolk Southern will continue to provide assistance, its resources and its economic development arm to help East Palestine. Folks here are ready to take their energy and put it toward a positive direction.”
The Class I said the dialogue was led by Ohio-based firm Bricker Graydon, which was hired by the village to create an economic development plan for East Palestine, using NS-provided grant funding.
“Bricker Graydon representatives gave an overview of their assessment of the current state of the village’s economy and their initial recommendations for how to proceed with revitalization,” NS reported. “The aim, they said, is not just to fully recover from the train derailment, but also to tackle some of the economic challenges the region faced long before Feb. 3.”
Other participants were representatives from the Columbiana County Port Authority, JobsOhio, Team NEO, and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. The group is expected to reconvene in early 2024, along with local businesses, to continue the discussion. In January, it will issue an executive summary outlining the work needed, NS said.
In related developments, work on NS’s new regional first-responder training center in East Palestine got under way Sept. 21, and the railroad has teamed with RapidSOS to help “make it quicker and easier” for first responders to access cargo and hazardous materials information.
