(The following appeared on the Boca Raton News website on March 10.)
BOCA RATOn, Fla. — Boca Raton based Patriot Rail’s newly-formed, wholly-owned rail subsidiary, Sacramento Valley Railroad (SAV), has been awarded a long-term contract to provide exclusive rail freight services at McClellan Business Park, near California’s capitol of Sacramento.
“We look forward to Sacramento Valley, Patriot Rail’s fourth railroad, providing McClellan Park customers with consistent and reliable rail service over the next several years,” said Gary O. Marino, chairman, president and CEO of Patriot Rail Corp
Larry D. Kelley, President of McClellan Business Park President Larry D. Kelly said, “We are excited about this new relationship with Patriot Rail and the Sacramento Valley Railroad. As business continues to grow at McClellan, there is a significant opportunity to increase the usage of rail within the park and throughout the region. In addition, we hope to make a positive environmental impact as utilizing railroads results in greater fuel efficiency versus trucks and reduced traffic congestion on highways.”
2.4 Million
McClellan is one of California’s largest redevelopment projects, within minutes of downtown Sacramento and close to San Francisco, the Port of Sacramento, Central Valley and the Pacific Rim. Kelly said the park has more than 2.4 million square feet of rail-served facilities, including 155 industrial buildings, 35 warehouses and a 10-acre rail transloading yard. Built on the former McClellan Air Force Base, McClellan Park also has an airfield with a 10,600-foot runway, said Kelly.
Patriot’s contract with the park calls for SAV to provide all railcar switching and other rail-related services, as well as supporting transloading activities, on seven miles of rail line within the McClellan Park facility, said Marino.
SAV will interchange rail traffic with the Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroads. In 2007, approximately 3,500 carloads of lumber, petroleum, aggregate and manufactured products were shipped to/from the McClellan Park facility, Kelly said.
“SAV will work jointly with McClellan, shippers and state and local government entities to identify new business initiatives that should result in new rail traffic for the park, as well as increased commerce for the region,” Marino said. “In addition, SAV will be able to improve the rail infrastructure and better serve its customers with the infusion of new capital from Patriot.”
Patriot Rail Corp. is a short line and regional freight railroad holding company. Patriot owns and operates four short line freight railroads comprising 253 total rail miles – the Tennessee Southern Railroad in Tennessee and Alabama, the Butte, Anaconda & Pacific Railway in Montana, the Utah Central Railway in Utah, and now the SAV.