# KEYSTONE STATE RAIL GRANTS: Because of Gov. Edward G. Rendell's commitment to stimulating economic development across Pennsylvania and preserving rail-freight service, the commonwealth has doubled its investment in rail-freight assistance funding from $4.25 million to $8.5 million since he took office. Transportation Secretary Allen D. Biehler, P.E. today announced that the State Transportation Commission approved 52 projects worth $8 million that are expected to create 2,375 jobs. "These rail-freight projects are just one more step in Gov. Rendell's journey to a New Pennsylvania, a Pennsylvania with a thriving economy and good paying, family-sustaining jobs," Biehler said. "Increasing use of railroads also will help reduce traffic congestion, wear and tear on roadways and fuel usage, as well as improve air quality." PennDOT's Rail-Freight Assistance Program funding will be used for the construction, maintenance, repair and rehabilitation of rail lines, rail sidings and grade crossings. A list of the projects and grant recipients, by county, follows: Allegheny County:
* -- Frontier Steel Company, Inc., Neville Township, $187,000, for track maintenance to existing customers and to extend service to one new business.
* -- Metalife Resources, Neville Township, $71,000, for track and switch rehabilitation to expand the tin processing operation. -- Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway Co., Mt. Pleasant, South Fayette,
* Bridgeville, Bethel and Baldwin, $250,000, for the rehabilitation of 11 bridges over a 49-mile stretch of railroad.
# Armstrong County:
* -- Growmark FS, Inc., Kittanning, $250,000, for track and turnout rehabilitation, grade crossing renewal and activation of crossing lights and the installation of loading and unloading equipment for bulk agricultural commodities. The former Agway facility will be serviced by the Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad, handling both truck and barge intermodal freight. As a result Growmark will relocate its current facilities in Ohio and New York to Pennsylvania.
# Beaver County:
* -- Central Columbiana & Pennsylvania Railroad, Darlington Township. $250,000, for track rehabilitation on a line serving General Shale and Brick Company that provides connections to Norfolk Southern and CSX railroads.
* -- Horsehead Corp., Potter Township, $121,000, for rehabilitation of 10 miles of track which handles about 2,600 carloads of hazardous materials annually. These include anhydrous ammonia, lead concentrate, environmentally hazardous substances and waste. Rail service is provided by CSX and Chestnut Ridge Railroad.
# Berks County:
* -- Haines and Kibblehouse, Inc., Birdsboro, $243,000, for maintenance and repair of a bridge over Hay Creek. This will ensure the stability of the bridge for handling stone and aggregate shipments to customers in New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland.
# Blair County:
* -- Hollidaysburg and Roaring Spring Railroad, Blair and Freedom townships, $194,000, for mainline rehabilitation to maintain service levels, improve safety and operate efficiently the handling of 100 car loads of hazardous materials annually, including sodium hydroxide, propane and sodium chlorate.
* -- Renaissance Nutrition, Inc., Taylor Township, $100,000, for construction of track and an unloading facility for the blending of animal feeds for local delivery by truck.
* -- The Everett Railroad Co., Greenfield, Freedom and Blair townships, $194,000, to complete the upgrade of track to FRA class 1 over an eight-mile stretch of railroad that interchanges with Norfolk Southern at Hollidaysburg.
* -- W.S. Lee & Sons, Inc., Altoona, $100,000, for the construction of a rail siding into the company's distribution facility to allow for a direct connection to the Norfolk Southern main line.
# Bucks County:
* -- Bucks County Railroad Preservation and Restoration Corp., Buckingham, Wrightstown, Northampton and Warwick townships, $250,000, for track maintenance to improve quality of rail service to three new customers.
* -- Building Materials Corp. of America, Richland Township, $100,000, for the construction of track and six turnouts to enhance loading and unloading operations at the renovated roofing manufacturing facility. -- East Penn Railways, Inc., Perkasie Borough and East Rockhill
* Township, $100,100, to continue maintenance of a 16-mile section of railroad that serves Shelly Enterprises.
* -- Fairless Iron and Metal, LLC, Falls Township, $226,000, for construction of an above-grade rail scale and other improvements to increase scale capacity and improve safety.
* -- International Salt Co., Inc. (ISCO), Fairless Hills, $250,000, for rehabilitation and construction of a one-mile section of track accessing a new ISCO warehouse. The facility, which will handle both truck and barge intermodal shipments, is serviced by Norfolk Southern, CSX and Conrail.
* -- Junell Corp. (Advanced Lubrication Specialties), Bensalem, $143,000, for track rehabilitation and rail replacement, and the construction of a concrete spill containment pad for expansion of the oil-blending facility.
# Butler County:
* -- Community Development Corp. of Butler County, Clinton Township, $100,000, for the construction of a rail spur to serve a new business at the Victory Road Business Park.
# Chester County:
* -- ISG Plate, Inc., Coatesville, $165,000, track rehabilitation at the steel-making facility.
* -- ISG Railway, Inc., Coatesville, $250,000, track rehabilitation and rail replacement within the Coatesville Yard to enhance service to the steel plant and seven other shippers located on the Octoraro branch.
# Columbia County:
* -- Berwick Industrial Development Association (BIDA), Berwick Borough, $104,000, to rehabilitate two miles of track and rail bed within the BIDA Business Park.
# Cumberland County:
* -- The Capital Region Economic Development Corp., South Hampton Township, $100,000, for construction of a rail siding serving the ProLogis Industrial Park.
* -- ProPlastix International, Inc., Carlisle, $100,000 for the construction of a 1,200-foot sidetrack for a new intermodal facility.
# Elk County:
* -- Dubrook, Inc., St. Mary's, $49,000, for track rehabilitation and the construction of a sand and gravel loading hopper at the industrial facility served by the Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad.
# Fayette County:
* -- Fay-Penn Industrial Development Corp., Dunbar Township, $235,000, for improvements along a 12-mile section on the railroad's FM&P subdivision that handles shipments of hazardous materials.
# Franklin County:
* -- Franklin Storage, LP, Guilford Township, $250,000, for the rehabilitation of an existing rail siding providing service to an intermodal warehouse.
# Lackawanna County:
* -- Compression Polymers Corp., Scranton, $161,000, for construction of two turnouts and track to double rail car unloading capacity at the company's new facility.
* -- Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad Co., Inc. (DLRR), Scranton, $187,000, for track reconstruction, tie replacement and the installation of two new switches along a 5.5-mile stretch on the Carbondale main line between Scranton and Jessup.
* -- Kane Warehousing, Inc., Scranton, $100,000, for sidetrack construction to accommodate increase in rail traffic as a result of new shipper, Gallo Wine.
# Lancaster County:
* -- Crowe Transportation, Inc., West Donegal, $82,000, for rail improvements to provide rail service capability at the Hershey Co.'s new facility in Conewago Industrial Park.
* -- Frank Sahd Salvage Center, Inc., Columbia, $239,000, for turnout and track construction and rehabilitation to restore service to a two- mile segment of out-of-service rail line. This will ensure continued service to two customers along the Reading and Columbia branch of the Middletown and Hummelstown Railroad and to promote industrial development of vacant properties along the railroad right-of-way.
* -- Landisville Terminal and Transfer Co., Inc., East Hempfield Township, $125,000, for track rehabilitation for the safe movement of 286,000- pound railcars and the construction of an unloading dock for a new rail-truck transfer business.
# Luzerne County:
* -- Delaware and Hudson Railway Co., Inc., Plains, $123,000, to replace jointed rail with welded rail and to renew a grade crossing to improve safety at a high congestion area.
* -- HUD, Inc. (Emerald Anthracite II), Newport Township, $100,000, for construction of track and a road crossing for rail service to the Nanticoke Intermodal Facility at the Daniel Flood Industrial Park.
* -- Reading, Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad, Falls and Tunkhannock townships, $210,000, for rail maintenance to provide safer and more efficient service to Proctor and Gamble, Kane Warehousing, Mariotti Lumber and Cascade.
* -- Valley Distributing and Storage Co., Laflin and Jenkins township, $250,000, for reconstruction and extension of sidings to handle additional inbound railcars.
# Lycoming County:
* -- SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority, Porter Township in Lycoming County and Derry Township in Mifflin County, $249,000, for bridge upgrades and rail improvements to facilitate handling of 286,000-pound rail cars on the Lycoming Valley and Juniata Valley railroads.
# Mercer County:
* -- Mercer Co., Farrell, $221,000, for track rehabilitation within the plant, which is critical to the steel-making process at A & K Steel.
# Mifflin County:
* -- Mifflin County Industrial Development Corp., Granville, $95,000, for the rehabilitation of a road crossing and construction of 800 feet of sidetrack for a new rail customer in the Mifflin County Industrial Park.
# Montgomery County:
* -- Lansdale Warehouse Co., Inc., Hatfield, $40,000, for track rehabilitation and building modifications to allow for 90' railcars at the warehouse.
* -- Penn Eastern Rail Lines, Inc., $143,000, for maintenance work over 27 miles of track to handle anticipated increases in freight traffic.
# Northampton County:
* -- DP Advisors, LLC (DP Partners), Lower Nazareth Township, $100,000, for construction of a .6 mile siding to a newly-constructed warehouse in the Allentown LogistiCenter Business Park expected to receive 1,100 rail cars annually.
# Philadelphia County:
* -- James J. Anderson Construction Co., Inc., Philadelphia, $100,000, for the construction of an unloading system and stacker to increase the capacity of shipping aggregate from Dyer Quarry to concrete and asphalt plants of Riverside Materials.
* -- Philadelphia Regional Port Authority, Philadelphia, $79,000, for a rehabilitation project that will restore rail service to the Tioga Marine Terminal at the Port of Philadelphia.
# Schuylkill County:
* -- Carbon County Railroad Commission, Rush Township, Jim Thorpe and Nesquehoning, $210,000, for tie replacement over an 18-mile section of the railroad that is experiencing significant growth in its customer base.
* -- Schuylkill Coal Processing, Inc., Butler Township, $100,000, for extending a sidetrack and paving two acres for storage of materials being shipped in from Mexico or out by barge from the Port of Pittsburgh.
# Union County:
* -- Hallmark Feeds, Inc., White Deer Township, $100,000, for the construction of track, a turnout and a road crossing and the installation of an unloading pit to facilitate rail service to a new feed mill.
* -- Union County Industrial Railroad Co., White Deer Township, $67,000, for construction of a run-around track and turnout for service to customers at the north end of the rail line, including the Hallmark Feeds plant.
# Venango County:
* -- The Franklin Investment Corp. (Franklin Industries Co.), Franklin, $175,000, for tie and rail replacement and the installation of a mechanical railroad track scale to allow safer railroad operations into the metal fabricating facility.
# Warren County:
* -- Warren Railcar Service, Inc., Conewago, $93,000, for track and road crossing construction that will expand railcar storage capacity and improve switching operations.
# Westmoreland County:
* -- Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corp., Greensburg, Hempfield and East Huntingdon Township, $250,000, to rehabilitate 16 miles of track that annually handles more than 300 rail cars of hazardous materials.
# York County:
* -- York Railway Co., York, Manchester, Spring Garden and Jackson, $174,000, for maintenance along 21 miles of track that provides rail- truck intermodal service.
(Pennsylvania Department of Transportation - posted 8/04)
* -- Frontier Steel Company, Inc., Neville Township, $187,000, for track maintenance to existing customers and to extend service to one new business.
* -- Metalife Resources, Neville Township, $71,000, for track and switch rehabilitation to expand the tin processing operation. -- Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway Co., Mt. Pleasant, South Fayette,
* Bridgeville, Bethel and Baldwin, $250,000, for the rehabilitation of 11 bridges over a 49-mile stretch of railroad.
# Armstrong County:
* -- Growmark FS, Inc., Kittanning, $250,000, for track and turnout rehabilitation, grade crossing renewal and activation of crossing lights and the installation of loading and unloading equipment for bulk agricultural commodities. The former Agway facility will be serviced by the Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad, handling both truck and barge intermodal freight. As a result Growmark will relocate its current facilities in Ohio and New York to Pennsylvania.
# Beaver County:
* -- Central Columbiana & Pennsylvania Railroad, Darlington Township. $250,000, for track rehabilitation on a line serving General Shale and Brick Company that provides connections to Norfolk Southern and CSX railroads.
* -- Horsehead Corp., Potter Township, $121,000, for rehabilitation of 10 miles of track which handles about 2,600 carloads of hazardous materials annually. These include anhydrous ammonia, lead concentrate, environmentally hazardous substances and waste. Rail service is provided by CSX and Chestnut Ridge Railroad.
# Berks County:
* -- Haines and Kibblehouse, Inc., Birdsboro, $243,000, for maintenance and repair of a bridge over Hay Creek. This will ensure the stability of the bridge for handling stone and aggregate shipments to customers in New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland.
# Blair County:
* -- Hollidaysburg and Roaring Spring Railroad, Blair and Freedom townships, $194,000, for mainline rehabilitation to maintain service levels, improve safety and operate efficiently the handling of 100 car loads of hazardous materials annually, including sodium hydroxide, propane and sodium chlorate.
* -- Renaissance Nutrition, Inc., Taylor Township, $100,000, for construction of track and an unloading facility for the blending of animal feeds for local delivery by truck.
* -- The Everett Railroad Co., Greenfield, Freedom and Blair townships, $194,000, to complete the upgrade of track to FRA class 1 over an eight-mile stretch of railroad that interchanges with Norfolk Southern at Hollidaysburg.
* -- W.S. Lee & Sons, Inc., Altoona, $100,000, for the construction of a rail siding into the company's distribution facility to allow for a direct connection to the Norfolk Southern main line.
# Bucks County:
* -- Bucks County Railroad Preservation and Restoration Corp., Buckingham, Wrightstown, Northampton and Warwick townships, $250,000, for track maintenance to improve quality of rail service to three new customers.
* -- Building Materials Corp. of America, Richland Township, $100,000, for the construction of track and six turnouts to enhance loading and unloading operations at the renovated roofing manufacturing facility. -- East Penn Railways, Inc., Perkasie Borough and East Rockhill
* Township, $100,100, to continue maintenance of a 16-mile section of railroad that serves Shelly Enterprises.
* -- Fairless Iron and Metal, LLC, Falls Township, $226,000, for construction of an above-grade rail scale and other improvements to increase scale capacity and improve safety.
* -- International Salt Co., Inc. (ISCO), Fairless Hills, $250,000, for rehabilitation and construction of a one-mile section of track accessing a new ISCO warehouse. The facility, which will handle both truck and barge intermodal shipments, is serviced by Norfolk Southern, CSX and Conrail.
* -- Junell Corp. (Advanced Lubrication Specialties), Bensalem, $143,000, for track rehabilitation and rail replacement, and the construction of a concrete spill containment pad for expansion of the oil-blending facility.
# Butler County:
* -- Community Development Corp. of Butler County, Clinton Township, $100,000, for the construction of a rail spur to serve a new business at the Victory Road Business Park.
# Chester County:
* -- ISG Plate, Inc., Coatesville, $165,000, track rehabilitation at the steel-making facility.
* -- ISG Railway, Inc., Coatesville, $250,000, track rehabilitation and rail replacement within the Coatesville Yard to enhance service to the steel plant and seven other shippers located on the Octoraro branch.
# Columbia County:
* -- Berwick Industrial Development Association (BIDA), Berwick Borough, $104,000, to rehabilitate two miles of track and rail bed within the BIDA Business Park.
# Cumberland County:
* -- The Capital Region Economic Development Corp., South Hampton Township, $100,000, for construction of a rail siding serving the ProLogis Industrial Park.
* -- ProPlastix International, Inc., Carlisle, $100,000 for the construction of a 1,200-foot sidetrack for a new intermodal facility.
# Elk County:
* -- Dubrook, Inc., St. Mary's, $49,000, for track rehabilitation and the construction of a sand and gravel loading hopper at the industrial facility served by the Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad.
# Fayette County:
* -- Fay-Penn Industrial Development Corp., Dunbar Township, $235,000, for improvements along a 12-mile section on the railroad's FM&P subdivision that handles shipments of hazardous materials.
# Franklin County:
* -- Franklin Storage, LP, Guilford Township, $250,000, for the rehabilitation of an existing rail siding providing service to an intermodal warehouse.
# Lackawanna County:
* -- Compression Polymers Corp., Scranton, $161,000, for construction of two turnouts and track to double rail car unloading capacity at the company's new facility.
* -- Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad Co., Inc. (DLRR), Scranton, $187,000, for track reconstruction, tie replacement and the installation of two new switches along a 5.5-mile stretch on the Carbondale main line between Scranton and Jessup.
* -- Kane Warehousing, Inc., Scranton, $100,000, for sidetrack construction to accommodate increase in rail traffic as a result of new shipper, Gallo Wine.
# Lancaster County:
* -- Crowe Transportation, Inc., West Donegal, $82,000, for rail improvements to provide rail service capability at the Hershey Co.'s new facility in Conewago Industrial Park.
* -- Frank Sahd Salvage Center, Inc., Columbia, $239,000, for turnout and track construction and rehabilitation to restore service to a two- mile segment of out-of-service rail line. This will ensure continued service to two customers along the Reading and Columbia branch of the Middletown and Hummelstown Railroad and to promote industrial development of vacant properties along the railroad right-of-way.
* -- Landisville Terminal and Transfer Co., Inc., East Hempfield Township, $125,000, for track rehabilitation for the safe movement of 286,000- pound railcars and the construction of an unloading dock for a new rail-truck transfer business.
# Luzerne County:
* -- Delaware and Hudson Railway Co., Inc., Plains, $123,000, to replace jointed rail with welded rail and to renew a grade crossing to improve safety at a high congestion area.
* -- HUD, Inc. (Emerald Anthracite II), Newport Township, $100,000, for construction of track and a road crossing for rail service to the Nanticoke Intermodal Facility at the Daniel Flood Industrial Park.
* -- Reading, Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad, Falls and Tunkhannock townships, $210,000, for rail maintenance to provide safer and more efficient service to Proctor and Gamble, Kane Warehousing, Mariotti Lumber and Cascade.
* -- Valley Distributing and Storage Co., Laflin and Jenkins township, $250,000, for reconstruction and extension of sidings to handle additional inbound railcars.
# Lycoming County:
* -- SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority, Porter Township in Lycoming County and Derry Township in Mifflin County, $249,000, for bridge upgrades and rail improvements to facilitate handling of 286,000-pound rail cars on the Lycoming Valley and Juniata Valley railroads.
# Mercer County:
* -- Mercer Co., Farrell, $221,000, for track rehabilitation within the plant, which is critical to the steel-making process at A & K Steel.
# Mifflin County:
* -- Mifflin County Industrial Development Corp., Granville, $95,000, for the rehabilitation of a road crossing and construction of 800 feet of sidetrack for a new rail customer in the Mifflin County Industrial Park.
# Montgomery County:
* -- Lansdale Warehouse Co., Inc., Hatfield, $40,000, for track rehabilitation and building modifications to allow for 90' railcars at the warehouse.
* -- Penn Eastern Rail Lines, Inc., $143,000, for maintenance work over 27 miles of track to handle anticipated increases in freight traffic.
# Northampton County:
* -- DP Advisors, LLC (DP Partners), Lower Nazareth Township, $100,000, for construction of a .6 mile siding to a newly-constructed warehouse in the Allentown LogistiCenter Business Park expected to receive 1,100 rail cars annually.
# Philadelphia County:
* -- James J. Anderson Construction Co., Inc., Philadelphia, $100,000, for the construction of an unloading system and stacker to increase the capacity of shipping aggregate from Dyer Quarry to concrete and asphalt plants of Riverside Materials.
* -- Philadelphia Regional Port Authority, Philadelphia, $79,000, for a rehabilitation project that will restore rail service to the Tioga Marine Terminal at the Port of Philadelphia.
# Schuylkill County:
* -- Carbon County Railroad Commission, Rush Township, Jim Thorpe and Nesquehoning, $210,000, for tie replacement over an 18-mile section of the railroad that is experiencing significant growth in its customer base.
* -- Schuylkill Coal Processing, Inc., Butler Township, $100,000, for extending a sidetrack and paving two acres for storage of materials being shipped in from Mexico or out by barge from the Port of Pittsburgh.
# Union County:
* -- Hallmark Feeds, Inc., White Deer Township, $100,000, for the construction of track, a turnout and a road crossing and the installation of an unloading pit to facilitate rail service to a new feed mill.
* -- Union County Industrial Railroad Co., White Deer Township, $67,000, for construction of a run-around track and turnout for service to customers at the north end of the rail line, including the Hallmark Feeds plant.
# Venango County:
* -- The Franklin Investment Corp. (Franklin Industries Co.), Franklin, $175,000, for tie and rail replacement and the installation of a mechanical railroad track scale to allow safer railroad operations into the metal fabricating facility.
# Warren County:
* -- Warren Railcar Service, Inc., Conewago, $93,000, for track and road crossing construction that will expand railcar storage capacity and improve switching operations.
# Westmoreland County:
* -- Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corp., Greensburg, Hempfield and East Huntingdon Township, $250,000, to rehabilitate 16 miles of track that annually handles more than 300 rail cars of hazardous materials.
# York County:
* -- York Railway Co., York, Manchester, Spring Garden and Jackson, $174,000, for maintenance along 21 miles of track that provides rail- truck intermodal service.
(Pennsylvania Department of Transportation - posted 8/04)
