PA Approves $31.3MM Rail Infrastructure Investment
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
With funding through Pennsylvania's Rail Transportation Assistance Program (RTAP) and Rail Freight Assistance Program (RFAP), railroads and shippers will advance 26 improvement projects across the state.
The Pennsylvania State Transportation Commission has approved distribution of $31.3 million for 26 freight rail improvement projects through the Rail Transportation Assistance Program (RTAP) and the Rail Freight Assistance Program (RFAP).
The funding recipients include:
• Boyd Station, $2.6 million, for construction of four new tracks and installation of unloading equipment.
• Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad, $700,000, for replacement of some 44,000 feet of rail and 2,500 ties, and the line surfacing.
• Corsa Coal Corp., $246,434, for rehabilitation of about 10 miles of track from its Coleman Junction to the Cambria Plant.
• CSX, $8.4 million, for a tunnel replacement project that will permit routing of double-stack container and multi-level auto rack traffic to/from the Port of Philadelphia.
• Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad, $1.3 million, for the construction of a 3,900-foot siding and replacement of approximately 7,440 feet of rail and 1,550 ties.
• Dyer Quarry, $192,150, for a locomotive storage expansion project, including track re-alignment.
• East Penn Railroad, LLC, $500,500, for the replacement of about 4,500 ties on the Wilmington Northern line and 2,000 ties on the Quakertown line.
• Gettysburg and Northern Railroad, $1.5 million, for replacement of approximately 2,600 ties and 3,315 feet of main line rail, and for improvements to three at-grade crossings.
• Lehigh Railway, LLC, $506,100, for replacement of approximately 4,900 ties.
• New Castle Industrial Railroad, Inc., $262,500, for construction of a 3,200-foot siding to accommodate increased interchange traffic with CSX and Norfolk Southern.
• Oil Creek Titusville Lines, Inc., $140,000, for a 1,000-foot siding extension.
• P and S Railyard, $227,658, for transloading project work.
• Pennsylvania Northeastern Railroad, $483,000, for replacement of approximately 6,000 ties on its Stony Creek and Bethlehem branches.
• Procter & Gamble Paper Products Co., $246,886, for turnout replacement work.
• Redevelopment Authority of Luzerne County, $276,500, for replacement of about 1,500 ties and surfacing 5 miles of track.
• Redevelopment Authority of the County of Berks, $991,250, for construction of about 1,200 feet of yard tracks at the Boyertown Transload Facility.
• RJ Corman Railroad, $3 million, for replacement of approximately 7,500 ties and 74,000 feet of rail on its Cherry Tree and Cresson subdivisions.
• SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority, $282,245, for rehabilitation of 1,550 feet of track on its West Park branch.
• South Avis Realty Inc., $391,461, for tie replacement and surfacing of industrial park tracks.
• Three Rivers Marine & Rail Terminals, LLC, $176,146, for replacement of about 600 ties and two switches, and the surfacing of 800 feet of track.
• Union Railroad Co., $700,000, for replacement of about 500 bridge ties and 700 feet of rail, as the first phase of a low-grade bridge project; $1 million for Port Perry Bridge repairs, including replacement of floor beams and bridge stringers.
• Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad, $4.7 million, for replacement of three thru-truss bridges and rehabilitation of two abutments on a thru-girder bridge.
• Winfield Storage, $130,900, for rehabilitation of approximately 400 feet of track and construction of an unloading pit and conveyor to transload agricultural products.
• York Railway Co., $2.1 million, for 1.2 miles of rail replacement and the rehabilitation of seven turnouts and 10 public grade crossings.
“These investments help us build a world-class infrastructure system and support the business community,” Gov. Tom Wolf said in the announcement Jan. 12.
