March 20, 2024
Freight

Industrial Development Briefs: Cathcart, Buffalo, Virginia CTB

Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor

Cathcart, which operates Belpre Industrial Parkersburg Railroad (pictured), is investing more than $10 million to expand its Kansas City, Mo., railcar repair facility. Belpre Industrial Parkersburg Railroad was a Railway Age 2021 Short Line of the Year Honorable Mention. (Photograph Courtesy of Belpre Industrial Parkersburg Railroad)

Cathcart Rail (Cathcart) is expanding its railcar repair facility in Kansas City, Mo. Also, Buffalo Rail & Infrastructure Corporation (Buffalo) acquires Canfor Pulp Products’ pulp mill assets, including 300-plus acres of heavy industrial land, in Taylor, B.C.; and the Virginia Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) approves increasing the Rail Industrial Access fund.

Cathcart

Cathcart will invest more than $10 million to expand its Kansas City facility (M-1002 / M-1003 Repair Facility, Tank Railcar Cleaning), according to FOX 4, part of the Nexstar Media Group. “This two-phase capital investment will renovate the existing location near the Missouri River Terminal (MRT)”; Cathcart says MRT “is slated for over a $500 million expansion over four phases beginning in 2024,” FOX 4 reported.

Cathcart not only will grow its repair operations and rail services, but also will bring more than 20 new jobs to the Kansas City location, where it already employees 33 people.

Columbus, Ohio-based Cathcart is a freight rail services and transportation company. It operates 18 repair facilities and more than 75 field services locations, as well as a rail services division that includes three short line railroads and 12 contract switching and transloading sites, among other services, such as railcar storage, track maintenance, and railcar parts.

Buffalo

Calgary, Alberta-based Buffalo has reported its C$7 million acquisition of Canfor Pulp Products’ pulp mill assets, including more than 300 acres of heavy industrial land, in Taylor, B.C. The property will be repurposed over time into a multi-use industrial distribution and logistics hub that Buffalo said will focus on serving the region’s energy, agricultural and forestry industries.

With an estimated $50 million-plus capital investment, Buffalo said the first phase of the development is expected to “relieve energy industry bottlenecks impacting industrial participants in Northeast B.C. and Northwest Alberta regions.” Phase I will see approximately 100 construction jobs and 30 full time permanent jobs on the site, which is slated to become operational around second-quarter 2025.

“We appreciated working with Kevin Edgson and the fine folks at Canfor Pulp Products Inc. on this transaction,” Buffalo Chief Financial Officer Robert Reimer said during the March 19 announcement. “We’re pleased that we were able to establish new uses for the former mill that optimize some of the critical features of this site to meet key infrastructure gaps, enabling Western Canada’s resource industries to keep pace with evolving global supply chain shifts.”

Virginia CTB

***At the Ashton Creek Industrial Park in Virginia (pictured), Commonwealth Building Materials will use a 2023 DRPT grant-supported rail spur to grow capacity for 1,365 new annual carloads.***

The Virginia CTB has signed off on a grant funding increase for the Rail Industrial Access program, according to the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT), which administers the program. The program will see its maximum grant amount rise from $450,000 to $750,000. This is the first adjustment to the amount available per project since 1995, Virginia DRPT reported. Applicants are required to provide a 30% match.

The Rail Industrial Access program aims to support economic development on short line and Class I railroads by offering grant funding to build or rehabilitate rail spurs. By connecting new or expanding businesses to the freight rail network, the fund also promotes truck diversion, reducing congestion on roadways. Since 2018, the CTB has awarded funding to 23 projects that have added nearly 3,400 jobs to Virginia’s economy and diverted more than 70,000 trucks throughout the commonwealth, according to Virginia DRPT.

“This increase in funding for the Rail Industrial Access grants will further enhance economic development opportunities across the state,” said DRPT Director Jennifer DeBruhl, who will retire at the end of June. “By investing in rail infrastructure, we are creating more efficient transportation options for businesses and reducing congestion on our roadways.”