This one's from the Scranton Times-Tribune. Big focus on the D-L's line; a lot attributed to Bob Hay's group, who is also involved in trying to get the passenger rail service between NJ/NY and the Poconos reinstated.
12/11/2006
Railroad freight service coming back to region
BY ROGER DUPUIS II
STAFF WRITER
MOUNT POCONO — Without trucks, America stops, or so says a motto popular among truckers. Still, the dominance of rubber-tired shipping hasn’t stopped an old competitor from making a comeback around Northeastern Pennsylvania.
That competitor is railroad freight service, which is slowly but steadily carving a new niche among industries here.
Just ask Keith Hayward, managing director of Monadnock Non-Wovens in Mount Pocono, where the impacts of a new railroad spur should contribute to the bottom line — and the firm’s employment roster — once the trains start rolling in.
His company turns polypropylene into rolls of fabric used to make filters for a wide range of products, from swimming pools to specialized face masks. Up to now, the raw material has been trucked in from Texas, one load every four days.
Starting Tuesday, a new rail spur next to the plant will be the delivery point for freight cars, each of which holds as much polypropylene as four tractor-trailers, and from which the plant can pump the material inside, at a more convenient pace.
“The point is, we can’t handle trucks coming in every four days,” Mr. Hayward said.
“The advantage to us is, that buying in bulk, you have significant savings,” he added. “Secondly, it’s obviously a lot less wear and tear on the local roads.”
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Contact the writer: [email protected]
