PA Approves $31.3MM Rail Infrastructure Investment
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive EditorThe 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.