Shipping on a fast track
Shipping on a fast track Rail access to New Haven harbor to add jobs, boost cargo business
ROB VARNON [email protected]
Connecticut Post Online
NEW HAVEN — A single train rumbled and squeaked down the tracks parallel to Waterfront Street on Wednesday, carrying a load of German steel and the promise of opening the entire North American market to the Port of New Haven.
For the first time in 12 years, a freight train called on Logistec's terminal east of the Quinnipiac River.
"We would have lost that to Camden [New Jersey] or Philly," said Andre Dubois, Logistec's director of operations.
Dubois was on hand Wednesday with Gov. M. Jodi Rell and state Department of Transportation representatives to witness the loading of 13,000 tons of steel on a Worcester & Providence Railroad train. The DOT has just finished a $5.7 million section of new track that will ultimately connect terminals at the harbor directly to the line.
Dubois said the new line will open New Haven's harbor to more cargo, creating jobs throughout the region.
New Haven has a competitive advantage over other ports which handle steel, he said; it's closer to European ports and with the rail line, cargo can get to Pennsylvania and other steel-using centers more quickly than it could moving through Philadelphia.
Dubois said the steel wouldn't have even come to New Haven if it had to be trucked out of the port. Instead, the shipper would have landed the product in Philadelphia. The coils are too heavy to haul over roads efficiently because it would have taken 55 tractor-trailers to move it all.
Rell, who watched the workers load the steel onto flatbed railcars using a crane from Middletown-based Marino Crane, called the event fascinating.
"It's nice to bring back the railroad," said Rell.
Rell said the new line will enhance the state's image around the world as a place that can move freight quickly. She said this represents an opportunity for New Haven and Connecticut to capture a larger share of the steel market, especially in the winter when the St. Lawrence Seaway is impassible and steel shipments must be brought into ports further south, like Connecticut.
For 12 years, this side of New Haven Harbor has not had access to the rails due to the rebuilding of the Tomlinson Bridge, according to Frank Rodgers, a Worcester & Providence spokesman. He said his company has been working a long time to get access to this side of the harbor and once the line is done, he sees petroleum, steel, lumber and chemicals coming into New Haven and being shipped by train all over North and Central America. The long wait for this day was a source of tension between the city and the DOT, according to city officials at the event, who noted the city engineer and New Haven officials were not invited to attend the event.
New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, one of the Democrats vying for the right to take on Rell in the November election, was not present. Many Democrats in the Legislature have actively promoted rail freight lately, including Senate President Pro Tem Donald Williams, D-Brooklyn. Williams, however, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
The new rail line still has further to go and terminates in an empty lot where Logistec was able to load the coils. The steel coils had to be trucked from Logistec's terminal just down the street to the lot and then loaded onto trains.
With this addition, two of Connecticut's three deep-water ports, New London and New Haven, now have rail access.
The likelihood that the state's third deep-water port, Bridgeport, will get rail access seems pretty slim, according to Logistec and Bridgeport Harbor Master Joseph Savino.
Barry Whelan, a Logistec manager, said Bridgeport doesn't handle the type of cargo traffic that would be enhanced by train service, such as steel. That's mainly because the harbor isn't deep enough, he said.
Savino said he doesn't think a train line will be restored to Bridgeport's harbor because it would be too expensive.
"There used to be a line down Seaview Avenue," Savino said, "but that's been gone for years."
Bridgeport has already redone that portion of Seaview Avenue, according to Savino, and he doesn't think officials would pour more money into it to revive a line.
But Savino said Bridgeport has its niche in the state and is pushing ahead with plans to begin a barge cargo service within the next six months. The Bridgeport Port Authority is proposing a new shipping service between its harbor and that of New York and New Jersey.
Ultimately, Savino said New Haven's rail line will be good for the Elm City and the state's highways. "That rail line will be gold for them, plus, it will lighten the load on I-95."
Shipping on a fast track Rail access to New Haven harbor to add jobs, boost cargo business
ROB VARNON [email protected]
Connecticut Post Online
NEW HAVEN — A single train rumbled and squeaked down the tracks parallel to Waterfront Street on Wednesday, carrying a load of German steel and the promise of opening the entire North American market to the Port of New Haven.
For the first time in 12 years, a freight train called on Logistec's terminal east of the Quinnipiac River.
"We would have lost that to Camden [New Jersey] or Philly," said Andre Dubois, Logistec's director of operations.
Dubois was on hand Wednesday with Gov. M. Jodi Rell and state Department of Transportation representatives to witness the loading of 13,000 tons of steel on a Worcester & Providence Railroad train. The DOT has just finished a $5.7 million section of new track that will ultimately connect terminals at the harbor directly to the line.
Dubois said the new line will open New Haven's harbor to more cargo, creating jobs throughout the region.
New Haven has a competitive advantage over other ports which handle steel, he said; it's closer to European ports and with the rail line, cargo can get to Pennsylvania and other steel-using centers more quickly than it could moving through Philadelphia.
Dubois said the steel wouldn't have even come to New Haven if it had to be trucked out of the port. Instead, the shipper would have landed the product in Philadelphia. The coils are too heavy to haul over roads efficiently because it would have taken 55 tractor-trailers to move it all.
Rell, who watched the workers load the steel onto flatbed railcars using a crane from Middletown-based Marino Crane, called the event fascinating.
"It's nice to bring back the railroad," said Rell.
Rell said the new line will enhance the state's image around the world as a place that can move freight quickly. She said this represents an opportunity for New Haven and Connecticut to capture a larger share of the steel market, especially in the winter when the St. Lawrence Seaway is impassible and steel shipments must be brought into ports further south, like Connecticut.
For 12 years, this side of New Haven Harbor has not had access to the rails due to the rebuilding of the Tomlinson Bridge, according to Frank Rodgers, a Worcester & Providence spokesman. He said his company has been working a long time to get access to this side of the harbor and once the line is done, he sees petroleum, steel, lumber and chemicals coming into New Haven and being shipped by train all over North and Central America. The long wait for this day was a source of tension between the city and the DOT, according to city officials at the event, who noted the city engineer and New Haven officials were not invited to attend the event.
New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, one of the Democrats vying for the right to take on Rell in the November election, was not present. Many Democrats in the Legislature have actively promoted rail freight lately, including Senate President Pro Tem Donald Williams, D-Brooklyn. Williams, however, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
The new rail line still has further to go and terminates in an empty lot where Logistec was able to load the coils. The steel coils had to be trucked from Logistec's terminal just down the street to the lot and then loaded onto trains.
With this addition, two of Connecticut's three deep-water ports, New London and New Haven, now have rail access.
The likelihood that the state's third deep-water port, Bridgeport, will get rail access seems pretty slim, according to Logistec and Bridgeport Harbor Master Joseph Savino.
Barry Whelan, a Logistec manager, said Bridgeport doesn't handle the type of cargo traffic that would be enhanced by train service, such as steel. That's mainly because the harbor isn't deep enough, he said.
Savino said he doesn't think a train line will be restored to Bridgeport's harbor because it would be too expensive.
"There used to be a line down Seaview Avenue," Savino said, "but that's been gone for years."
Bridgeport has already redone that portion of Seaview Avenue, according to Savino, and he doesn't think officials would pour more money into it to revive a line.
But Savino said Bridgeport has its niche in the state and is pushing ahead with plans to begin a barge cargo service within the next six months. The Bridgeport Port Authority is proposing a new shipping service between its harbor and that of New York and New Jersey.
Ultimately, Savino said New Haven's rail line will be good for the Elm City and the state's highways. "That rail line will be gold for them, plus, it will lighten the load on I-95."
BobN
