OAKMONT, Pa. (May 18, 2016) — Carload Express railroads and customers will benefit from several grant awards by Gov. Tom Wolf through the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT). The grants were awarded through the Rail Transportation Assistance Program (RTAP), a capital budget grant program funded with bonds.
Three awards were announced, all within the service area of our Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad (SWP):
- In Fayette County, D&I Silica will receive $1.3 million to extend the switching lead track and two unloading pit yard tracks, replace track, and relocate a turnout to create a yard for operational flexibility.
- Also in Fayette County, the SWP will receive $2 million to install five-yard tracks and a runaround track to improve Bowest Yard.
- In Westmoreland County, in partnership with Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corporation, $1.1 million has been awarded to replace existing rail and steel components on the Radebaugh Subdivision.
Carload Express appreciates the support of Gov. Wolf, state lawmakers and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for this vital program. These enhancements will allow us to continue to invest in our shortlines that provide critical transportation infrastructure needs for our region’s businesses that rely on rail to deliver their goods.
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About Carload Express
Carload Express Inc. operates three shortline railroads: The Allegheny Valley Railroad (AVR) and Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad (SWP) serving western Pennsylvania, and the Ohio Terminal Railway (OHIO) serving the Ohio River Valley bordering Ohio and West Virginia. Our dedicated, locally based management is able to offer timely and flexible service demanded by today’s fast-paced supply chains while offering the inherent economies of scale that rail shipping provides. Our multiple connections to the North American rail system allow our customers to enjoy competitive freight routing options, lowering their overall shipping costs.
Carload Express Inc. plays an important role in the communities we serve by transporting many of the basic goods used in everyday life, such as: the paper we read; the food we eat; the bricks, steel and lumber we use for homebuilding; and the energy that supplies power for those homes. The nearly 80,000 shipments we handle annually equate to roughly 320,000 fewer trucks on local highways each year, lowering congestion and road maintenance costs while significantly reducing carbon emissions and greenhouse gases.
