Investments in Ohio's rail infrastructure by both the NS and CSX, as well as through the "Stimulus" Act, play a major role in these potentially postive economic impacts.

 

Panama’s promise

Wider canal will ease flow of Asian goods to Ohio; that bodes well for business, but experts can’t say how much

By  Mark Williams

The Columbus Dispatch Friday March 9, 2012 6:42 AM

 

Ask any area chamber of commerce, railroad or university official about what the widening of the Panama Canal means to central Ohio, and they become excited.

 

The widening, they say, means companies will be able to ship products to Ohio and the Midwest more easily and cheaply. That, in theory, should translate to stronger companies and more jobs.

 

But ask them to put numbers to those expectations, and they hesitate. While the possibilities seem great, the variables make that too difficult, at least at present, experts say.

 

Read more at: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2012/03/09/panamas-promise.html

A $1 billion plant in Cadiz reported last week; now it's Columbiana County's turn. The location noted below is about 10 miles south of Alliance on the NS rail line linking Alliance to the Ohio River....

 

$900M plant in Columbiana County expected to employ hundreds

Published: Wed, March 14, 2012 @ 12:10 a.m.

 

Columbiana County project expected to employ hundreds

 

By Karl Henkel

[email protected]

 

HANOVERTON

 

A trio of energy companies plan to build a $900 million natural-gas processing plant in eastern Ohio.

 

The project includes a gas-separating facility near Hanoverton in Columbiana County and a centralized complex in nearby Harrison County.

 

The project, which will be rolled out during the next five years, is expected to employ hundreds of Ohioans, Oklahoma-City based Chesapeake Energy Corp. said Tuesday.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://www.vindy.com/news/2012/mar/14/plans-call-for-m-plant/

ALLENWOOD -- A new, recommissioned bridge linking the railroad to Great Stream Commons will be a key to revitalizing the largely dormant industrial park, Union County officials told Gregg Township residents during a public hearing Wednesday night.

 

The meeting was held to update township residents about the plan that will see rail service return to Allenwood and adjoining communities, which haven't seen such service in about 30 years, said county Commissioner John Showers.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://dailyitem.com/0100_news/x950976611/Rail-service-is-new-day-for-Allenwood

 

Check out the bridge pics at the above link! There is no bridge, just rotting abutments.

 

And here's a proposed reactivation of a 20-mile rail line, half of which was abandoned and the other half railbanked, recommended by the STB's staff. A board vote on whether it concurs has yet to take place. If it concurs, watch and see if other abandoned lines are proposed for reactivation, including here in Ohio....

 

WTH? So the bridge they are talking about is this missing gap that has the girders stacked on top of each other: http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=41.07752,-76.87157&z=18&t=S. The line looks like it has been maintained on both sides, and is -active- on both sides, with an idle train to the north and customers to the south.

 

Edit: Looks like it is abandoned to the north. Those are abandoned trains on the tracks since they can't go to the north since the ROW eventually loses its tracks further north. Odd.

I noticed that too when I looked at it over the weekend. The rail cars appear to be stranded by removed track, parked at an old train depot. I've seen that before but it's still pretty rare.

 

We are starting to see some very strange things in the rail industry in eastern Ohio and Western/North Central Pennsylvania. You will see more. I am hearing managers and planners in the rail freight side seriously consider doing things (ie rail line reactivations) they wouldn't have dreamed of even saying in public at any time in the past 30 years.

 

This is why......

 

Midstream Processors Stake Huge Claims in Eastern Ohio

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

By Dan O'Brien

 

CADIZ, Ohio – First, it was MarkWest Energy Partners LP's meet-and-greet session noon Tuesday at its new regional office here, as this community in Harrison County welcomed with open arms a company that plans to deliver nearly $1 billion worth of investment in sophisticated natural gas-processing operations and hundreds of new jobs.

 

Then, five hours later, it was Chesapeake Energy Corp.'s turn, as that industry giant announced it would invest, with its project partners, $900 million to build what it described as the largest integrated natural-gas processing operation in eastern Ohio (READ STORY POSTED TUESDAY).

 

By day's end, it was clear: Midstream operators have arrived in the red-hot Utica shale, signaling a new phase in the development of this region's oil and natural gas industry.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://businessjournaldaily.com/drilling-down/midstream-processors-stake-huge-claims-eastern-ohio-2012-3-14

Region sees several projects moving forward

Work continues to improve and fund transportation system.

By CHRISTINIA CRIPPES

[email protected]

 

 

While the challenges ahead are many, it's hard to ignore the work crews continue to do throughout the region to improve our roads, river navigation and protection, rail systems and air travel.

 

Orange cones, dump trucks full of sand, truss spans floating on the river and concrete mixers all remind us of the work being done.

 

The most noticeable improvements recently have been, and will continue to be, the work by BNSF Railway to maintain its system. Unlike some maintenance efforts, this is a large-scale undertaking that has taken years to complete.

 

It started in 2009, thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, that finally leveraged enough funds to change the swing-span on the railroad bridge to the new lift-span. While that work was under way, BNSF took it upon itself to rehab the rest of the bridge's spans.

 

Read more at: http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/transportation-031812-sidebar

Wow.........

 

Quebec’s $5B rail line to serve resources producers

Nicolas Van Praet  Mar 21, 2012 – 6:34 PM ET

 

MONTREAL • It rated just a six-paragraph mention among hundreds of pages of Quebec government budget documents. But it will be one of Canada’s largest infrastructure projects when it gets off the ground — a multibillion-dollar effort to build a huge railway across an isolated stretch of rugged land and accelerate the province’s push into natural resources.

 

Canadian National Railway Co. and pension fund manager Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec are teaming up on an estimated $5-billion project to lay down a new track stretching 800 kilometres from the port of Sept-Îles north past Shefferville into the mines of the Labrador Trough. The aim is to serve major iron ore producers like Cliffs Natural Resources and juniors like Adriana Resources Inc., as well as other current and potential miners, that are searching for a better way to get their Quebec-produced material to international markets.

 

The project is in its early stages but is expected to be completed by 2017 if talks underway with mining companies yield firm transport agreements. Once those commitments are reached, the railway will do a feasibility study.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://business.financialpost.com/2012/03/21/quebecs-5b-rail-line-to-serve-resources-producers/

Many errors in this advocacy piece need to be refuted. They come from two people who have agendas they do not reveal:  Van Epps demands open-access rail lines and Spinelli is vengeful toward the Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) for spurning his employer's unworkable Tubular Rail idea after it failed to win any investors.

 

http://www.examiner.com/government-in-columbus/ohio-train-expert-questions-role-of-rail-commission-when-jobsohio-can-do-it-all

 

 

While Ohio's legislature does need to dramatically increase funding for its rail development programs to compete with those in Michigan and Pennsylvania, the article makes some very inconsistent and innaccurate claims:

 

>> They decry deficiencies in Ohio's rail system in losing Shell's gas cracker plant to a site that's 15 miles east of Ohio's state line directly served by a second-class branch line owned and operated by only one rail carrier (SITE: http://tinyurl.com/bvtc4or). And how do these two persons explain Chesapeake and MarkWest Energy choosing Ohio for its $1.4 billion worth of gas processing plants? (SOURCE: http://tinyurl.com/cnd2d83)

 

>> Spinelli blasts the $2 million-per-year ORDC as a "corporate feeding trough" while ignoring ODOT's $45 million in annual subsidies for the heavy trucking industry (SOURCE: http://tinyurl.com/cd6pgao).

 

>> Why did the article not take the opportunity to educate the public that what the Departments of Transportation in Pennsylvania or Michigan are doing differently than Ohio is their legislatures are approproriating many times more funding per year to their dedicated rail development programs than does Ohio's legislature for ORDC?*

_____________

 

  * FACT: Pennsylvania's legislature provides $30 million per year to PennDOT's rail development programs (SOURCE: http://tinyurl.com/cdnzlh2) while ORDC is budgeted at ONLY $2 million per year (SOURCE: http://tinyurl.com/d42dz2m).

    * FACT: With the strong support of its Republican governor, Michigan DOT received $400 million in federal passenger rail funds for acquiring and improving the Kalamazoo-Dearborn rail line whereas Ohio returned a $400 million grant, funding that Spinelli actively opposed as a registered lobbyist for Tubular Rail and in his Examiner articles where he failed to disclose his conflict of interest (SOURCE: http://tinyurl.com/bq47nx3).

Evidence that the "boom" in freight railroading is extending beyond just the main lines and major cities.  When you see stories like this, you know that market forces, such as the cost of diesel fuel and truck transportation, is starting to make old underused and abandoned rail lines in rural areas look good again.

 

Grain train ready to roll again

By Harvest Public Media

March 26th, 2012

By Dean Borg, Harvest Public Media

 

Forest City, IOWA – A few decades ago, railroad tracks laced Iowa’s countryside, linking even the smallest communities to big cities across the nation. But many of those tracks are silent now, or gone, turned back to adjacent farms or turned into bicycle paths. But in a small section of north-central Iowa, farmers and businessmen have come together to preserve their rail connection to big-city markets. And after seven years, rail carloads of corn will start moving out this April.

 

It’s been seven years since folks around Forest City, Iowa, have heard a train whistle on the nearby tracks. But Iowa Northern locomotives will soon be switching railcars alongside the towering grain silos at the town’s co-op elevator.

 

“We’re very excited to be in that part of the state,” said Amy Homan, director of carload marketing for Iowa Northern Railroad. “The people there are excited to have us back in the area, and they love seeing our engines going up and down that line.”

 

Read more and listen to story at: http://www.kvnonews.com/2012/03/grain-train-ready-to-roll-again/

This is one of my favorite threads. A nice local article about how metro rta is finally taking their rail holdings seriously. It looks like with the Utica shale potential, the rainy day of buying up all the track is finally going to be seen as a wise investment. The idea being usage fees will be able to upkeep more track and get passenger rail moving forward.

 

http://www.ohio.com/business/metro-getting-on-board-for-train-business-1.285909

Ohio.com

Metro getting on board for train business

 

By Dave Scott

Beacon Journal staff writer

 

Published: March 27, 2012 - 07:43 PM |

Metro Regional Transit Authority is thinking about getting into the train business.

 

Known mostly for its bus service in Akron, Metro has been using federal funds to buy track over the last 20 years as it became available from Conrail and private railroad companies.

 

Now industries are coming to Metro saying the time is right to improve those tracks and link them to their businesses.

 

 

Mine too! Here is a briefing paper on the presentation given yesterday to Akron Metro RTA's board:

 

http://freepdfhosting.com/c6314a774c.pdf

 

And here is the presentation:

 

http://freepdfhosting.com/7997d54016.pdf

So pretty interesting that Metro will now have a freight rail strategy. That's been needed for probably 5-10 years.  This is such a different animal I don't think they knew what to do with it.  Passenger rail is going to be another thing again once that gets going  So i guess the aspect that intrigues me most is the expansion into other counties as they keep talking Stark county for freight rail also the attempt to balance yet maximize passenger rail enhancements.  Hard to figure where their rail line expansion stops based on benefit to increasing freight revenue vs trying to be a good steward of metro/Summit county capital resources.

Cross-posted from the Youngstown-Warren general business and economy thread (minus the article on the region being the fastest growing in the nation).....

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,8297.msg611587.html#msg611587

 

More good news! See article below.

 

So I was in Youngstown again today yesterday for a meeting charting the expansion of rail infrastructure to meet growing traffic demand. The pace of development that's still to come is mind-boggling. And while there, I checked on another major rail infrastructure project already underway -- Brier Hill Yard tracks along G&W RR's right of way, past the south end of the two-mile-long V&M plant (see photo below). I was there with a state official and a retired railroad executive, right during a shift change at the V&M plant. We were smiling, watching steelworkers pour out of the plant with their hardhats and lunch buckets. It was a beautiful sight. Adding to the chaotic scene were construction trucks, aggregate trucks, front-end loaders and trains. The state official was astonished to see so much activity in a town he was told for years was dead. Not dead -- sleeping. And it is reawakening........

 

 

 

This is the same area 10 years ago -- with fewer cars in one of the mill's employee parking lots, fewer trains on the tracks and, hey, fewer tracks!

 

Truly amazing. Are the new tracks where the EL main was?

Probably, but hard to say exactly. That whole area where the parking is today was once tracks for the Youngstown Sheet & Tube's Brier Hill Works, especially the coal and ore loading areas for the blast furnaces that stood behind where I took the photo. I don't know where the yard tracks ended and the mainline began. Oh, and the area to the right was EL's Brier Hill Yard which had some 30-plus tracks in it.

 

BTW, the LE&E bridges through this area were removed to relocate rails and roads for the V&M Steel expansion. I need to go back and take more pictures to compare with some photos I shot 20 years ago (with weeds and vegetation overgrowing everything, not a soul in sight, and the area deathly quiet) versus now (with things opened up, plus trucks and trains and people and noise everywhere).

You can see this on Google Earth. Very impressive.

You can see this on Google Earth. Very impressive.

 

Oh there's a lot more that hasn't shown up yet on Google Earth. On the downside, the LE&E ROW over Division Street and the PRR has been removed. Between the PRR and the river, from Division Street westward, is a new road to access the new 1 million square foot V&M plant. And of course, the new plant also doesn't show up yet.

 

My suggestion? Take a screen shot of the Google Earth image for this area because the next update is going to look REALLY different!

The State of Ohio dedicates $2 million per year to freight rail development; the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania dedicates $30 million per year. Thus far, RESTORE has identified about $100 million in shale-rail freight needs in Ohio's Utica region. If we want to compete and realize the region's potential, we need to be investing closer to Pennsylvania's level of commitment....

 

U.S. Transportation Deputy Meets with Regional Chamber

Thursday, April 12, 2012

By George Nelson

 

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Obama Administration wants to do “as much as possible” to capitalize on the economic development opportunity represented by the natural gas industry in the region, a U.S. Department of Transportation official said.

 

“We very much think of transportation as an enabler for economic development,” said John D. Porcari, deputy transportation secretary. “It’s investing in our highway system. It’s making sure that the rail connections are here, making sure the transmission capacity in the pipeline network for natural gas is here. There is a great economic development opportunity and as part of the Obama Administration energy initiative we want to make sure that we capitalize on that and are doing as much as possible.”

 

Porcari met with members and staff of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber at the chamber's offices downtown Wednesday for what was described as a "White House Roundtable."

 

READ MORE AT:

http://businessjournaldaily.com/economic-development/us-transportation-deputy-meets-regional-chamber-2012-4-12

Just over the state line in Pennsylvania is a pretty amazing railroad line reactivation, called the Westland Branch. It is being built by the Wheeling & Lake Erie to run unit trains to its line linking Pittsburgh to the northeast and Mingo Jct. Ohio (near Steubenville) to the west. The project involves a former Montour RR line built in 1927 southward from Southview, PA to serve coal mines. It was abandoned in the early 1980s and then converted to a trail. The three-mile branch is being reactivated to provide up to 200 carloads of propane and other liquids each day from a new MarkWest natural gas cryogenic plant just north of Houston, PA.

 

Construction involves more than just reactivation, but also some new construction. The new right of way involves linking the W&LE to the old Montour branch where no track connection had existed. And a new railroad yard of multiple tracks to accommodate hundreds of railroad cars is being built to the north side of the MarkWest gas plant.

 

Read more about it here:

http://marcelluscoalition.org/2011/02/westland-branch-redux-a-story-25-years-in-the-making/

 

The scale of the project is visible in the gallery posted here.....

 

http://www.thepwvhiline.com/CMGallery/thumbnails.php?album=45

 

In 1981, just prior to abandonment:

 

Same spot 30 years later, looking east. In late 2011, construction vehicles were ready to start work. W&LE connection is behind, with Westland branch curving to the right, or south to go under the W&LE:

 

Look at the scale of construction!

 

The railroad yard near the MarkWest plant. The stacks of railroad ties at right are impressive....

Out of curiosity, what is happening to the trail? Most have clauses that if the railroad desires the line to be reactivated, then the trail is kaput.

 

I think that a tour of that area may be necessary come summer. KJP, have you visited that area much?

This is truly amazing. Who would have thought?  I'm definitely going to be up for one of KJP's tours when I'm back in Ohio!

Out of curiosity, what is happening to the trail? Most have clauses that if the railroad desires the line to be reactivated, then the trail is kaput.

 

I think that a tour of that area may be necessary come summer. KJP, have you visited that area much?

 

The right of way is being built extra-wide to accommodate the trail.

 

Sherman, I am working as a consultant to help a public entity get a handle on all of the rail infrastructure improvements planned, needed or potential. During this process, I have learned about some possible projects that are beyond what a sober person would have considered as realistic just a year or two ago. So yes, I have visited the area quite a lot. My work takes me to new or potential project sites at least weekly.

 

Soon, when my assessment is completed, you and others will have a better idea of what to see on your tour.

Regional Chamber Names Boyarko Development Chief

Tuesday, April 03, 2012

By George Nelson

 

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – For Sarah Boyarko, information is one of the most essential tools she needs when she works with companies looking to bring operations to the Mahoning Valley.

 

...Boyarko noted that the region's developing oil and gas industry requires the chamber to expand its database that catalogs available buildings and land. Among those sites in demand are locations with ready freeway access and, increasingly, rail. “Every inquiry I’m getting nearly wants rail,” she remarked.

 

The Mahoning Valley has long touted its location within an hour’s drive of Cleveland and Pittsburgh and within a day’s drive of New York and Chicago. Many businesspeople "look at northeastern Ohio as being a good location for distribution and manufacturing of their products," Boyarko said.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://businessjournaldaily.com/economic-development/regional-chamber-names-boyarko-development-chief-2012-4-3

For those who like following railroad and industrial developments in Youngstown....

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,27212.0.html

Bellevue project to add 275 jobs, double capacity

BY DAVID PATCH

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

BELLEVUE, Ohio -- Norfolk Southern Corp. is embarking on a $160 million expansion of its railroad-freight classification yard in Bellevue that will add 275 jobs and make the facility the largest of its kind on the railroad's 20,000-mile network, the company said on Monday.

 

"Bellevue is already an important terminal for the classification and movement of freight, and this investment will expand and modernize Bellevue, contributing to the fluid movement of long-distance freight across our rail system," Mark Manion, Norfolk Southern's chief operating officer, said in an announcement.

 

"This project will help us improve asset utilization and efficiency, enhance customer service, strengthen our entire 22-state system, and further confirm Ohio's importance to freight-rail transportation."

 

The project, scheduled for completion in 2015, will add 38 classification tracks, bringing the Bellevue Yard's total to 80 tracks into which cargo-laden rail cars are sorted from arriving trains to assemble new outbound trains.

 

Read more at: http://www.toledoblade.com/business/2012/04/17/160M-rail-expansion-set-for-area.html

Rumors are that double-tracking from Bellevue west to Chicago via Fort Wayne may be next.

EDIT: interesting that the Salem News article says the rail line will also be operated by Tervita, but the Journal article below says nothing about it:

http://www.salemnews.net/page/content.detail/id/553392/Port-finds-buyer-for-old-Y-S-railroad.html?nav=5007

 

 

Canadian Energy Services Company Buys Y&S Rail Line

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

By Dennis LaRue

 

EAST LIVERPOOL, Ohio – By July 16, the former Youngstown & Southern Railroad will have a new owner, Tervita Corp., based in Calgary, Canada.

 

On its website, Tervita describes itself as “an environmental and energy services company.” It will pay $2.9 million in cash to the Columbiana County Port Authority for the 36-mile line that runs from Youngstown to Darlington, Pa., the CEO of the authority, Tracy Drake, reported Monday night.

 

Tervita, a privately held company, signed a letter of intent April 5 when its director of business development, Enrique Proano, put down $150,000 in earnest money. That $150,000 is part of the purchase price of $2.9 million.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://businessjournaldaily.com/economic-development/canadian-energy-services-company-buys-ys-rail-line-2012-4-17

Potential ethane cracker leads way for manufacturing renaissance

April 14, 2012

By CASEY JUNKINS - For The Weirton Daily Times , Weirton Daily Times

 

FAIRMONT, W.Va. - The liquids-rich Marcellus and Utica shale gas underlying northern West Virginia could still help the state land at least one ethane cracker, jumpstarting the state's manufacturing sector, officials believe.

 

"We have the building blocks, a trained chemical workforce, abundant supplies of ethane-rich natural gas and a robust infrastructure," said West Virginia Secretary of Commerce Keith Burdette. "Just from an operational picture, a world class cracker will likely require an investment from $3 billion to $5 billion."

 

Burdette spoke during the Wednesday special hearing of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation in Fairmont. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., serves as chairman of this Senate committee, while Reps. David McKinley and Shelley Moore Capito, R-Wheeling, and R-Charleston, respectively, joined Rockefeller for the session.

 

Noting "there is going to be a second or even a third cracker," McKinley said he does not want to see these plants also go to other states because of West Virginia's railroad shipping costs not being competitive.

 

"Should we be trying to expand our rails again?" McKinley said to Dean Piacente, vice president of chemicals and fertilizer for railroad operator CSX Transportation Inc.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://www.weirtondailytimes.com/page/content.detail/id/580669/Potential-ethane-cracker-leads-w---.html

Rumors are that double-tracking from Bellevue west to Chicago via Fort Wayne may be next.

 

And maybe triple or quadruple tracking of ex-NYC between Vermilion and Rockport yard and a bypass on Cleveland's east side? Who knows. Interesting conjecture, tho.

Already posted the Salem News article on the Y&S purchase.

 

This is also some big news, as Cleveland Commercial RR will open its new Crossroads transload facility:

http://ccrl.co/crossroads.html

 

And some big news will be reported soon on a rail project I was involved in in the Youngstown-Warren area. Stay tuned!

Here's some fun stuff. This probably won't happen as a freight project, but there's lots of freight info in here.....

 

http://freepdfhosting.com/a3d7baa210.pdf

This is Seasons Road in Stow, north of Akron, on Metro RTA's Akron Secondary Track between Akron and Hudson. A steel shipper wants to shift from trucks to trains to reduce costs and to remove up to 60 trucks a day off local roads. It has been about 15-20 years since this line was used but the track is still there, which gives the rail right-of-way's user legal authority to use the line....

 

Rumors are that double-tracking from Bellevue west to Chicago via Fort Wayne may be next.

 

Interesting to hear this rumor from you, too, KJP.  You are the third source from whom I have heard that rumor.  Once a rumor comes from so many different directions, there might be some truth to it!

 

Interesting to hear this rumor from you, too, KJP.  You are the third source from whom I have heard that rumor.  Once a rumor comes from so many different directions, there might be some truth to it!

 

Actually, I'm hearing the double-tracking may also go east of Bellevue to Vermilion where NS's former NKP line connects with NS's Chicago Line (former NYC mainline). That rumor begs the question: will NS start detouring general freight traffic out of Toledo and Elkhart to run it through Bellevue and Fort Wayne? There are so many traffic choke points on the Cleveland-Chicago line, especially the last 40 miles into Chicago which is shared by 16 daily Amtrak trains -- most of which are coming out of Michigan. Even so, there's plenty of intermodal freight traffic on the Chicago Line even if most of the general freights are detoured, the Chicago Line will be plenty busy.

Routing more freight through Fort Wayne might offer some interesting options, although likely Norfolk Southern already takes advantage of those. At East Wayne Yard in New Haven there's direct connection with Norfolk Southern's former Wabash main (Detroit -  Kansas City), and on the west side of town there's a connection with the line that goes to Cincinnati (Queensgate) via Muncie. There's also interchange with the former PRR main; if I remember correctly and if it hasn't changed, that line (Crestline OH - Tolleston IN) (NW Indiana near Chicago) now is owned by CSX, leased to Rail America, and operated by Rail America's wholly-owned subsidiary, CFE (Chicago, Fort Wayne & Eastern). I think NS already has trackage rights over CFE.

 

Most of the street crossings in Fort Wayne are grade-separated, but I can think of five streets/roads with significant traffic volume that could bring a head-butting contest between the city and the railroad over who pays for congestion mitigation (probably grade separation). I think in most of those cases the railroad was there first, and the city probably would lose.

I'm also wondering if NS is, or may soon start, routing traffic from Fort Wayne over the Wabash to St. Louis to bypass Chicago. I remember following the Wabash line on GoogleEarth and it seems like long segments could be double-tracked without too much trouble.

ABC News discovers how railroads are booming....

 

Full story at: http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/bringing-america-back-working-railroad-16287844

 

Cross-posted from the natgas thread. This is at SR11's interchange with SR344, and served by NS's busy east-west Fort Wayne Line. It could also be served by Y&SE/Tervita by reactivating a spur that came off their north-south line and headed west to Leetonia....

 

Former NRM Complex in Line for Shale Industry Makeover

Wednesday, May 09, 2012

By Dan O'Brien

 

EAST LIVERPOOL, Ohio – When Jerry Stoneburner purchased the former National Refractories complex just outside Columbiana nine years ago, he had no idea how he was going to fill the 300,000-square-feet of space and the nearly 100 acres it sits on.

 

The purchase, Stoneburner now says, was a simple case of buying the right place at the right time.

 

..."The reason we bought the plant was because of the rail access," he said. Once these two companies are up and running, he estimates there could be more than 200 working at the site.

 

It could become a vibrant hub for distribution and storage for sand, water and pipe used in the oil and gas industry, he said.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://businessjournaldaily.com/drilling-down/former-nrm-complex-line-shale-industry-makeover-2012-5-9

Potential rail projects studied

Lordstown, Youngstown rejuvenation rank first and second

May 11, 2012

By LARRY RINGLER - Business Editor ([email protected]) , Tribune Chronicle | TribToday.com

 

YOUNGSTOWN - Improvements at the Ohio Commerce Center in Lordstown and expansion of the Ohio Junction yard in Youngstown near V&M Star ranked first and second in a study of how area railroad service can be rejuvenated.

 

"The mission was to get some low-hanging fruit to build capacity and develop rail," Ken Prendergast, executive director of a group focused on boosting rail use, said Thursday after presenting the study to economic development officials at the Youngstown Club.

 

Sarah Lown, senior director of economic development for the Western Reserve Port Authority, said she plans to present the findings to the board at the June meeting.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://tribtoday.com/page/content.detail/id/571603/Potential-rail-projects-studied.html?nav=5003

More:

 

Ohio Commerce Line Ranked First in Rail Report

Friday, May 11, 2012

By Joe Giesy

 

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Attendees at a luncheon meeting at the Youngstown Club received a preliminary report Thursday that recommends the railroad tracks at the Ohio Commerce Center as most deserving of funding for improvements that would best promote economic development.

 

The report, submitted by Project Restore, assessed the merits of freight lines in eastern Ohio in setting priorities to fund their improvements.

 

Restore is an acronym for Rail Enhancements, Sustainable Transportation, Opportunity, Revitalization and Employment, an arm of All Aboard Ohio, which support rail use and development.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://businessjournaldaily.com/economic-development/ohio-commerce-line-ranked-first-rail-report-2012-5-11

(More)2....

 

http://allaboardohio.org/2012/05/11/preliminary-immediate-needs-assessment-of-mahoning-valley-rail-infrastructure-released/

 

Preliminary ‘Immediate Needs’ assessment of Mahoning Valley rail infrastructure is released

May 11, 2012

 

On May 10, a sister organization of All Aboard Ohio called RESTORE released its preliminary “Immediate Needs” rail infrastructure assessment for the Mahoning Valley. The client is the Western Reserve Port Authority (WRPA) which has considered whether to support rail infrastructure improvements and, if so, which ones may be the most appropriate for building its organizational capacity for developing rail projects.

 

In recent years, the Youngstown-Warren Mahoning Valley area has seen a surge of industrial growth and development activity after 35 years of de-industrialization. During those three decades, the region lost some but not all of its rail infrastructure — rail yards, track connections, mainlines. Some of those missing pieces can be restored more easily than others to serve new industrial shippers and provide more track capacity for existing, growing shippers.

 

WRPA hired RESTORE because of its familiarity with rail infrastructure, routes, histories and current/future traffic flows. It also has knowledge of rail industry players, practices and will research, review and recommend projects in a fair and honest manner. RESTORE subcontracted with Michael Connor, rail consultant for Excelsior Transportation Management in Cleveland.  Among his many other railroad experiences, Mr. Connor was Chief Operating Officer for Ohio Central RR when his company acquired and preserved numerous railroad rights of way for future use in the Mahoning Valley. His knowledge and experience was very important in guiding this study.

 

RESTORE was hired by WRPA to identify up to five potential rail projects that can get underway in less than two years to meet the immediate needs of railroads, industries and other shippers. RESTORE was also asked to take a big-picture view to identify some longer-term, community-need rail projects, to measure their viability and to assess what features they could add in order to further increase their viability. The final study will be delivered to WRPA on May 31, 2012.

 

Here are preliminary findings:

 

IMMEDIATE NEEDS PRESENTATION (6.9 MB) – PRELIMINARY

http://freepdfhosting.com/33e1171f6a.pdf

 

PROJECT SCORECARDS (230K) – PRELIMINARY

http://freepdfhosting.com/0e7a2eea28.pdf

 

PROJECT ASSESSMENT TABLE (70K) – PRELIMINARY

http://freepdfhosting.com/f371ca7ff8.pdf

 

COST ESTIMATES (123K) – PRELIMINARY

http://freepdfhosting.com/a6cc7efda0.pdf

 

Please submit your input as far in advance as possible of the May 31 deadline date to:

 

RESTORE, 850 Euclid Ave. #1026, Cleveland, OH 44114 or submit your e-mail comments to [email protected]

 

END

I'm also wondering if NS is, or may soon start, routing traffic from Fort Wayne over the Wabash to St. Louis to bypass Chicago. I remember following the Wabash line on GoogleEarth and it seems like long segments could be double-tracked without too much trouble.

From what I have heard, the St Louis and Kansan City Gateways are the primary interchange points between NS and Union Pacific.  The former Wabash trackage from Fort Wayne to Decatur Ill. is, of course, that conduit.  West of Decatur the line splits with one route by-passing St Louis altogether in favor of a Mississippi River crossing at Hanibal.  This routing for traffic to and from points west potentially puts NS at a great competitive advantage as it simultaneously eliminates Chicago and St' Louis from the equation.

 

The upshot of this is that the classification yard at Bellevue is perfectly situated to feed and be fed by this route and will most likely steal some of the traffic from the large hump yard at Elkhart.  I would expect the line from Chicago to Cleveland via Toledo to continue to be an important line for UPS and domestic trailer traffic

Agreed. When I heard NS would double the size of Bellevue Yard for carload traffic, I had to wonder if NS's Chicago Line through Elkhart would become more of a dedicated intermodal traffic corridor. It's clear NS isn't interested in entirely bypass Chicago, else why would they be interested in seeing Amtrak trains rerouted off its Chicago Line west of Porter, IN onto a dedicated passenger line? That would free up quite a bit of capacity on the Chicago Line, but for what? More intermodal traffic?

Although this is in Pennsylvania, it is an important precedent for other, future rail line reactivations nationwide including in Ohio. This is a short article about a very important, 20-mile railroad reactivation -- 10 miles of railbanked line and 10 miles of abandoned rail line -- that received final approval yesterday by the STB. The reactivated and abandoned sections have an improved bike/hike trail on them, and the abandoned rail line has a CVS drug store built only a few feet away from the right of way at US322 and SR53 in Phillipsburg, PA. Since this is such a short article, you may want to read more at:

 

http://www.stb.dot.gov/stb/environment/key_cases_RJCorman_PA.html

___________________________

 

 

Railroad company gets OK to reclaim tracks; decision will eliminate half of Rails to Trails

By Cliff White [email protected] — State College - Centre Daily Times

Posted: 12:01am on May 22, 2012; Modified: 8:13am on May 22, 2012

 

A railroad company has received approval to connect a proposed landfill in northern Centre County with its track in Clearfield County.

 

Monday’s decision by the federal Surface Transportation Board granted R.J. Corman Railroad Company the right to reclaim about 20 miles of track abandoned by Conrail in 1990, 10 miles of which have been converted into the Snow Shoe Rails to Trails. The decision means the 20-mile trail network will be halved if the rail line is built.

 

“We’re not happy about it,” said Snow Shoe Rails to Trails vice president Jim Verost.

 

R.J. Corman, based in Nicholasville, Ky., operates short-line railroads in seven states. It began the petition process in 2008, asking to reactivate its rights — acquired from Conrail and Norfolk Southern — to connect its main line in Wallaceton Junction with Gorton, where Resource Recovery has proposed building a waste-to-ethanol facility, a quarry and an industrial park.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://www.centredaily.com/2012/05/22/3203995/railroad-company-gets-ok-to-reclaim.html

KJP, how does this work? In most rail-to-trail agreements, there is a clause that if the land is sold or leased to a group/organization/state for use as a rail-to-trail, that it can be reactivated at some future point. I know that with one project you discussed earlier, that the reactivation included the rebuilding of the rail-to-trail next to the soon-to-be active line.

 

I guess I'm a huge proponent of rails-to-trails, only because it provides great off-road trails for cyclists between major cities and wayside areas without interaction with cars. European-like, except ours - for the most part, are on railroads. Theirs tend to be next to existing roadways.

 

How did CVS build on the line? I guess it was abandoned and the land sold off...

I believe the portion where the trail exists is on the railbanked portion. Railbanking is very different from abandonment. Railbanking is an alternative to abandonment that was passed by Congress in 1983 in response to a wave of abandonments which followed Congress' 1980 passage of the Staggers railroad deregulation bill. Deregulation made it easier for railroads to abandon their rights of way. Under abandonment, a railroad gives up all property rights. Railbanking is similar to abandonment in which a right of way can be sold by a railroad to someone, but that new use is considered temporary. It is called an intervening use. So if the railroad wants to take the right of way back, it has the right to do so over any other potential users. In fact, if any buildings, trails or structures have been placed on the railbanked right of way and a railroad wants to use that right of way, then those impediments have to be removed, often at the expense of the entity which sponsored funding for the construction of that impediment. Thus far, the STB has never refused reactivation of a railbanked right of way. The case law is less extensive regarding petitions to reactivate abandoned railroad rights of way. But railroads are one of the few areas of private enterprise which has eminent domain powers. And as long as one freight train can take several hundred trucks off the road, environmental and legal reviews such as this one by the STB have favored the reactivation of abandoned rail lines, not just railbanked rail lines.

This could result in carload traffic growth on this line. And the rail ROW lease in Mahoning County is interesting!

 

Port authority provides more land to Chesapeake

May 26, 2012

By TOM GIAMBRONI - Staff Writer ([email protected]) , Morning Journal News

 

EAST LIVERPOOL - The Columbiana County Port Authority plans to lease some more of its property for shale gas development.

 

The port authority board agreed at this week's meeting to lease an additional 44 acres to Chesapeake Exploration, a subsidiary of natural gas giant Chesapeake Energy, for $1,800 an acre and 15 percent royalties. This will generate a signing bonus of $79,200.

 

...The 44 acres represents the portion of the 36-mile railroad owned by the port authority that lies in neighboring Beaver County, Pa. The former Youngstown & Southern Railroad, which the port authority is in the process of selling, connects Boardman in Mahoning County and Darlington, Pa., with the majority running through this county.

 

...Drake said they are also working to lease the Mahoning County portion of its railroad right-of-way to Chesapeake.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://www.morningjournalnews.com/page/content.detail/id/540318.html

http://tinyurl.com/cvk7wss

 

‘Immediate Needs’ assessment of Mahoning Valley rail infrastructure is released

 

On May 31, a sister organization of All Aboard Ohio called RESTORE released its ”Immediate Needs” rail infrastructure assessment for the Mahoning Valley. The client is the Western Reserve Port Authority (WRPA) which has considered whether to support rail infrastructure improvements and, if so, which ones may be the most appropriate for building its organizational capacity for developing rail projects.

 

Here is the final recommendations:

 

FINAL REPORT: http://freepdfhosting.com/1f1ababf68.pdf (11MB download)

PRESENTATION: http://freepdfhosting.com/59dc745e0c.pdf (8MB download – after it opens, right-click on the image and select Rotate Clockwise)

 

In recent years, the Youngstown-Warren Mahoning Valley area has seen a surge of industrial growth and development activity after 35 years of de-industrialization. During those three decades, the region lost some but not all of its rail infrastructure — rail yards, track connections, mainlines. Some of those missing pieces can be restored more easily than others to serve new industrial shippers and provide more track capacity for existing, growing shippers.

 

WRPA hired RESTORE because of its familiarity with rail infrastructure, routes, histories and current/future traffic flows. It also has knowledge of rail industry players, practices and will research, review and recommend projects in a fair and honest manner. RESTORE subcontracted with Michael Connor, rail consultant for Excelsior Transportation Management in Cleveland.  Among his many other railroad experiences, Mr. Connor was Chief Operating Officer for Ohio Central RR when his company acquired and preserved numerous railroad rights of way for future use in the Mahoning Valley. His knowledge and experience was very important in guiding this study.

 

RESTORE was hired by WRPA to identify up to five potential rail projects that can get underway in less than two years to meet the immediate needs of railroads, industries and other shippers. RESTORE was also asked to take a big-picture view to identify some longer-term, community-need rail projects, to measure their viability and to assess what features they could add in order to further increase their viability. The final study was delivered to WRPA on May 31, 2012.

6/11/2012 12:30:00 PM   

CSX, Schneider National forge pact to expand Ohio intermodal services

 

Today, Schneider National Inc. announced it reached an agreement with CSX Transportation to broaden intermodal services in northwestern Ohio. Schneider National’s service now will include two intermodal ramps in Marion and North Baltimore, Ohio.

 

The pact will expand Schneider Intermodal’s service to the Northeast, Southeast and Pacific Northwest, Schneider National officials said in a prepared statement. In addition, service capability will be enhanced throughout the U.S. and Mexico, and multi-modal options will increase for shippers, they said.

 

Read more at: http://www.progressiverailroading.com/prdailynews/news.asp?id=31295

Rail shipping through Marion could double

9:25 PM, Jun. 12, 2012 

Written by

John Jarvis

The Marion Star

 

MARION — An agreement between Schneider National Inc. and CSX Transportation will double the amount of shipping going through Marion Intermodal, Ted Graham said.

 

Graham, president of Marion Industrial Center and Marion Intermodal, said the project “will probably double the volume” of trucks delivering and hauling away freight from the intermodal facility at Marion Industrial Center, 3007 Harding Highway E.

The addition of a ramp, or rail yard, at Marion Intermodal in conjunction with CSX’s construction of a railroad turn 25 miles west of Marion in Ridgeway, will connect Marion Intermodal with CSX’s $175 million intermodal terminal in the northwest village of North Baltimore.

Read more at: http://www.marionstar.com/article/20120612/NEWS01/120612007/Rail-shipping-through-Marion-could-double

A few articles on the subject.....

 

Study suggests 5 projects to restore railroad needs

Published: Thu, June 21, 2012 @ 12:00 a.m.

By Ed Runyan

[email protected]

 

VIENNA

 

A study conducted by Cleveland-based Project RESTORE has recommended the five top projects it feels would best restore the railroad needs of the Mahoning Valley.

 

The $10,000 study was paid for by the Western Reserve Port Authority, which runs the Youngs-town-Warren Regional Airport and conducts economic development activities.

 

First on the list is $2.1 million worth of improvements to the railroad infrastructure at Ohio Commerce Center on state Route 45 in Lordstown.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://www.vindy.com/news/2012/jun/21/study-suggests--projects-to-restore-rail/?newswatch

 

____________

 

Lordstown Industrial Park Tops Study of Rail Projects

Thursday, June 21, 2012

By George Nelson

 

VIENNA TOWNSHIP, Ohio – Improvements at the Ohio Commerce Center in Lordstown and at a junction near V&M Star in Youngstown top the list of rail projects that could be accomplished in the near term, according to a newly released assessment of the Mahoning Valley’s rail infrastructure.

 

The assessment was conducted by Project Restore in conjunction with Excelsior Transportation Management and presented at Wednesday’s meeting of the port authority board. Its objective was to identify and rank potential infrastructure projects based on criteria including how soon they can get under way, cost, estimated carloads per year, proximity to major assets or vacant land, and long-term use.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://businessjournaldaily.com/economic-development/lordstown-industrial-park-tops-study-rail-projects-2012-6-21

 

____________

 

Port Authority: Rail Projects Could Help Economic Development

06/21/12 Published: 3:18 pm Updated: 4:42 pm

 

The Western Reserve Port Authority has identified five railway projects that could use immediate attention and help boost economic development.

 

RESTORE, a non-profit which focuses on rail enhancements, conducted an immediate needs assessment on 13 rail lines in the Northeast Ohio area.

 

It identified five projects in Mahoning, Trumbull and Ashtabula counties that the Western Reserve Port Authority could further develop.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://www.wkbn.com/content/news/local/story/Port-Authority-Rail-Projects-Could-Help-Economic/Hg9wrbzeUUqz1H3Qi3mWvg.cspx