(The following story by Tiffany Wright appeared on the Daily American website on April 24, 2010.)
SOMERSET, Pa. — CSX Transportation and National Gateway officials want people to get all aboard and support a series of projects that will connect East Coast ports to the Midwest using double-stacked trains.
About nine projects are slated for the Somerset County region, according to Richard VanOrnum, a spokesman with National Gateway.
National Gateway is the partnership program that is expected to have significant environmental and economic benefits as well as enhance rail infrastructure.
CSX held a public meeting in Somerset and Bedford counties last month to address the public’s concerns. Officials want residents to know this is not a project that will fall by the waist side.
“We’re 100 percent committed to this project,” said Randy Cheetham, regional vice president for CSX.
CSX has committed $395 million to the $842 million partnership. The company projects $189 million will come from the six states involved in the project, with the remaining $258 from the federal government. Cheetham said Pennsylvania has pledged $35 million toward the project through the Rural Technical Assistance Program (RTAP) through the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
“This is moving forward,” Cheetham said. “There’s a lot of money out there and there’s already been a lot spent. It’s certainly much more than just an idea.”
Officials say the rail project will help boost local economy and provide more jobs. About 10,000 jobs are expected in Pennsylvania as a result of the long-term project.
VanOrnum could not provide a break down of how many jobs could be expected in Somerset County alone.
Jobs in construction, distributions centers, trucking jobs and temporary work would be created.
“There are direct and indirect jobs,” said Bob Sullivan, spokesman with CSX. “The direct jobs would be in construction and more permanent jobs for the project. Then the ripple effect would be indirect jobs that would be created as a result of the construction of new facilities.”
Somerset County Commissioner Jim Marker said he hopes that the projects do not solely benefit the company.
“I’m in support of local construction jobs and hopefully CSX will buy locally and use local contracting to accomplish their improvements,” he said.
Sullivan said local communities should back up their local projects because the new system will help reduce highway congestion as well as reduce fuel costs and carbon emissions.
A double-stacked train can carry one ton of freight for 436 miles on one gallon of fuel, Sullivan said. The trains are the equivalent of 280 trucks.
“Those double stacks are burning less fuel so there are reduced emissions,” he said.
Some local projects include replacing a railroad bridge on Church Street in Garrett Borough, raising the Keystone Viaduct in Sand Patch and modifying the Pinkerton Railroad Tunnel in Black Township.
The earliest projects could begin this summer in Somerset County, according to officials.
“We should be concluding engineering and design work and hope to be moving dirt and have things under way sometimes this summer for Somerset County,” Cheetham said.
Transportation officials hope residents recognize that traffic detours during the construction projects will result in significant benefits once complete.
“In some cases there will be detours for a period of time,” Sullivan said. “Our goal is to minimize the inconveniences and do the projects as quickly as possible.”
Sullivan expects there to be a 60 to 70 percent increase in freight traffic in the next decade. One of the factors that will drive increased freight along the coast is the expansion of the Panama Canal, expected to open in 2015.
“More freight will be moving through the ports on the East Coast,” he said. “In a lot of ways that’s right around the corner.”