Author Archive | All Lines Admin

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.

Carload Express, Inc. announces that its Camp Chase Railroad Company has sold its line of railroad to Camp Chase Railway Company, LLC; a wholly-owned subsidiary of Indiana Boxcar Corporation.  Camp Chase Railway (“CAMY”) assumes operations of the 14-mile rail line, which runs from Columbus to Lilly Chapel, Ohio, beginning Thursday October 1, 2015.

Inquiries to Camp Chase Railway Company, LLC may be directed to:

Monica Struewing
Manager – Operations Support
916 Vine St.
Connersville, IN 47331
(765) 825-0316

About Indiana Boxcar Corporation

Indiana Boxcar Corporation was founded in 1988 and presently owns 3 other short line railroads operating in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.

www.indianaboxcar.net

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.

www.carloadexpress.com

Last week, Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad accepted delivery of locomotive SWP 4006 & SWP 406.  This fuel-efficient pair features a GP40-2 mated to a GP38 core that was rebuilt into a slug unit. The resultant locomotive, which we call an “HD40-2”, is essentially a 3000 HP diesel-electric with 8 powered axles and two fuel tanks.  SWP 4006 was rebuilt and repainted, and SWP 406 was constructed from a former Penn Central GP38 as a tractive effort booster unit.  This work was completed by Metro East Industries, Inc. of St. Louis, Ill.

Carload Express congratulates Jaime Garayua of Sulmona Energy, LLC as the winner of our DUG East conference prize.  Jaime won a framed photo of an Allegheny Valley Railroad train passing the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, taken by our own Mike Filoni.

AVR-1 passing the David L. Lawrence Convention Center

Carload Express, parent company of the Allegheny Valley (AVR), Southwest Pennsylvania (SWP), Camp Chase (CCRA), and Ohio Terminal (OHIO) railroads, has submitted a proposal to operate rail lines owned by the SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority (the JRA) in Central Pennsylvania.  The selected rail operator would commence operations over the JRA’s lines on July 1, 2017.  The JRA expects to make a decision to select an operator on July 8, 2015.

In addition to our written proposal, Carload Express made a presentation to the JRA on May 4, 2015.  Our PowerPoint presentation, Change Worth Making, is available at our website on www.carloadexpress.com/news.

In our presentation, we highlight our proposal’s increase in safety, increase in track maintenance, increase in rail freight service, and increase in marketing and industrial development strength.

If Carload Express is selected as operator:

• The SEDA-COG’s eight-county region gains a quantum leap in rail safety, by reducing rail injuries and train accident risks
• The JRA gains $9.3 million of new operating fees, and $16.9 million of new track maintenance (over the seven-year contract term)
• Rail employee wages increase 20%, and we introduce overtime pay after 40-hours per week (at time-and-a-half)
• Shippers on JRA lines receive more frequent rail service – 77% more weekly trips, and the introduction of overnight rail service
• Communities benefit from a safe, efficient operator with an excellent track record for growth – 37% annual average growth over the last 5 years!

We thank the JRA for the opportunity to participate in this historic process.

View our May 4, 2015 PowerPoint Presentation (Adobe PDF), entitled Change Worth Making.

About Carload Express

Carload Express, Inc. operates four shortline railroads: The Allegheny Valley Railroad (AVR) and Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad (SWP) serving western Pennsylvania, the Camp Chase Railroad (CCRA) serving central Ohio, 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 50,000 shipments we handle annually equate to roughly 200,000 fewer trucks on local highways each year, lowering congestion and road maintenance costs while significantly reducing carbon emissions and greenhouse gases.
Learn more at www.carloadexpress.com

June 10, 2015

Carload Express appreciates the recognition received at Norfolk Southern’s annual shortline railroad conference in Roanoke, Va.   Carload Express railroads were presented with five (5) Shortline Marketing Awards as follows:

• Ohio Terminal Railway – 2015 Platinum Business Development Award
• Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad – 2015 Platinum Business Development Awards
• Ohio Terminal Railway – 2015 Industrial Development Recognition Award
• Ohio Terminal Railway – 2015 Metals and Construction Group Award for Business Development
• Allegheny Valley Railway – 2015 NS Northern Region General Managers Award

We credit our employees for this success, as their hard work delivers excellent results.  The entire Carload Express team is grateful for this recognition and for our outstanding relationship with Norfolk Southern.

About Carload Express

Carload Express, Inc. operates four shortline railroads: The Allegheny Valley Railroad (AVR) and Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad (SWP) serving western Pennsylvania, the Camp Chase Railroad (CCRA) serving central Ohio, 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 50,000 shipments we handle annually equate to roughly 200,000 fewer trucks on local highways each year, lowering congestion and road maintenance costs while significantly reducing carbon emissions and greenhouse gases.
Learn more at www.carloadexpress.com

Our Locomotive Conductor Trainee job openings now include a position in the Columbus, Ohio area.  Please see the Job Opening page for details.

For Immediate Release

Carload Express is pleased to announce the addition of Cliff Grunstra to the Marketing Department as Director of Sales and Marketing. The addition of Cliff to our team will help us continue to grow our traffic base and to quickly respond to new opportunities in the marketplace. He will also work closely with our customers, connecting carriers, and regional development partners to retain existing business and develop new opportunities.

About Carload Express

Carload Express, Inc. operates four shortline railroads: The Allegheny Valley Railroad (AVR) and Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad (SWP) serving western Pennsylvania, the Camp Chase Railroad (CCRA) serving central Ohio, 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 50,000 shipments we handle annually equate to roughly 200,000 fewer trucks on local highways each year, lowering congestion and road maintenance costs while significantly reducing carbon emissions and greenhouse gases.
Learn more at www.carloadexpress.com

Carload Express, parent company of the Allegheny Valley (AVR), Southwest Pennsylvania (SWP), Camp Chase (CCRA), and Ohio Terminal (OHIO) railroads, is proud to have been selected as one of the three qualified bidders to operate rail lines owned by the SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority (the JRA) in Central Pennsylvania.  Each bidder will submit a proposal for evaluation by the JRA, who will make their selection in mid-2015.  The selected rail operator would commence operations over the JRA’s lines on June 1, 2017.

Carload Express would like to thank the JRA for the opportunity to present a proposal to enter into an agreement for the operation of its rail lines for freight service.  We would also like to welcome the Joint Rail Authority team that will be visiting us in early December for an inspection tour of our rail network.

The SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority is seeking input from current and past customers of Carload Express, to document the types and sizes of customers served by our railroads, and the quality of services provided.   Current and former customers may be contacted by the JRA as part of this assessment.  Carload Express will contact customers with more information regarding the JRA’s survey.

Re: Service Issues with traffic moving via Norfolk Southern

Hello,
Many of you have likely noticed that our connecting carriers are experiencing delays to traffic moving to or from our railroads, particularly traffic moving in conjunction with Norfolk Southern Railway (NS).

Significant traffic growth in the northern region of the NS system has led to shortages of locomotives and train crews, resulting in congestion at many of the terminals between the western gateways (particularly Chicago) and our interchanges with NS. Congestion is particularly acute in the Pittsburgh area around Conway Yard, where recent NS service metrics indicate dwell times of 60+ hours for traffic transiting the terminal (vs. about 32 hours at this time last year). These issues, combined with historically high levels of traffic moving to and from our interchanges, have resulted in the delays we have been seeing for the past few weeks.

To address these issues, Norfolk Southern has reportedly hired over 600 train and engine personnel to the northern region and will be adding another 1200 to 1500 in 2015. NS also plans to bring on another 50 to 75 locomotives by the end of the year and is undertaking numerous other capital investments that will enhance capacity. Despite these efforts, the latest customer service bulletin from the NS notes: “While we expect incremental improvements, customers are not likely to see significant recovery in shipment cycle times and consistency of transit times until the first quarter of 2015.” For more information on the latest NS service bulletin, please follow this link:
http://www.nscorp.com/content/nscorp/en/ship-with-norfolk-southern/service-update.html

In anticipation of continued growth, Carload Express is adding capacity to upgrade our own network. We have, for example, recently purchased 5 additional 3,000 horsepower six-axle locomotives and continue to add train crews. This year, we completed the upgrade of the Glenwood Classification Yard on AVR, and completed numerous track projects on AVR and SWP. In 2015 we plan additional capacity improvement projects including: expansion of our Omal Yard on OHIO, expansion of the Bruceton interchange with W&LE on AVR, and main line rail replacement on the SWP. We are also working closely with Norfolk Southern’s operations team to improve traffic flow through our various gateways with them, such as recently adding a third day of service to the OHIO interchange at Clarington.

Above all, I want to emphasize that we understand that the current service levels being experienced due to these delays are NOT satisfactory. As we work through these issues with NS, please do not hesitate to contact our customer service team so that we can help to address your concerns. We are working in close contact with local Norfolk Southern operating personnel, and will work to expedite shipments that have received excessive delays. If you have specific concerns or unresolved issues, please contact me as we work to provide the higher level of service that we know we need to provide.

Sincerely,
Michael L Filoni
Vice President, Sales and Marketing