Pocono News Section

Officials Hope New Rails Maintain Jobs

Officials Hope New Rails Maintain Jobs - Wednesday, November 11, 2009 at 5:33PM EST

Reported by: Jeremy Deebel
Wednesday, Nov 11, 2009 @ 05:33pm EST
Williamsport, Lycoming County-

It's the lifeblood of industry in Lycoming County. On Wednesday, leaders laid the tracks to ensure railroads and jobs are here to stay.

Dozens of people showed up for the dedication of a new $4 million rail facility in Williamsport.

The Newberry South Bulk Transfer Facility will greatly increase capacity for train-to-truck cargo loading.

SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority Executive Director Jeff Stover said, "With the building we dedicated today, it's a necessary infrastructure that'll be handling, for example, food-grade materials.”

“The tanks can be washed out properly, trucks can be worked on, and we have capacity for about double what was available with our tenants previously," Stover continued.

Things like plastic pellets, sweeteners, and flour will be shipped here by the building's main tenant, Railway Unloading Services, LLC. Staiman's Recycling and Nittany Oil also plan to use the facility.

Supporters of the project say railroads will be a viable means of transportation for years to come, as our nation's highways become more and more overloaded with traffic.

Lycoming County Transportation Planner Mark Murawski noted, "Our highways are congested. Our bridges are deteriorating. They just cannot handle the doubling of freight we forecast in the next ten years. So railroads will move that freight where trucks just can't do the whole job."

Railway Unloading Services, LLC already leases another site here servicing the natural gas industry. Company officials believe expansions like this will help keep valuable jobs in our area.

Vice-President Fred Flaxmayer added, "This has a full state-of-the-art rail yard where we can unload cars everyday. The rail yard can move the cars in and out every night. And we'll have more business and better access for everybody."

According to a 2006 study, more than 80,000 truck loads of cargo pass through Lycoming County each year. Officials believe much of that could be transported more cheaply and efficiently by rail.