I've been researching METRO's plans for the mixture and distribution of biofuels, and I was hoping that rail would be used to import at least some of the biofuel additives (soy oil, canola oil, beef tallow, etc.) to the Greenpoint facility. However, METRO's website states that these biofuel additives will be shipped in by barge. Someone above mentioned Blissville Yard tying into the whole plan, with there being dedicated runs between Blissville and the distribution facility in Calverton. Can someone confirm?
Using barge for the biofuel additives doesn't make much sense to me, however, as most of biofuel additives are grown and processed in the landlocked Midwest (the Dakotas, Minnesota, etc.) where the primary transportation mode is by rail. Wouldn't it make sense, then, for METRO to import these biofuel additives by rail as well? I understand METRO's location along Newtown Creek and that barge is the most economical way of shipping large bulk commodities, but why not just grab a string of tank cars from the Midwest and have them waybilled to Blissville? Seems to me this would be more economical, since there would be no trans-loading to barge. Blissville could also serve two purposes: importing the biofuel additives to Greenpoint, and exporting the finished biofuel mixtures to Calverton. I wonder if this has even ever been considered? Also, is Blissville's utilization in METRO's Greenpoint-Calverton run actually confirmed?
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