CSX Corporation, the transportation giant, is deep into the planning process for its Pittsburgh Intermodal Rail Terminal. When completed, the project will provide Western Pennsylvania companies with a direct freight rail link to the Midwest and beyond.
“Freight rail is the most environmentally friendly way to move goods over land,” says CSX spokesperson Melanie Cost. “One CSX train can move a ton of freight 470 miles on one gallon of fuel, and every intermodal train takes up to 280 trucks off the road. CSX's intermodal service involves partnering with trucking companies and other logistics providers to take advantage of the long-haul efficiency of rail and the short-haul flexibility of trucking.”
CSX is investing between $50 and $60 million in the facility, which will be built at the former Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Yard in McKees Rocks and Stowe Township.
The project is expected to generate approximately 350 construction jobs during the building phase, and 40 on-site and 40 drayage jobs once operational. The terminal is also expected to create about 100 indirect jobs at support businesses.
As for the timetable, the project is currently in the planning, development and permitting stage, which will continue into 2015. Construction is expected to take about two years.
“Once the terminal is completed, businesses in the Pittsburgh region will have double-stack connections to CSX’s intermodal hub in Northwest Ohio, and connections from there to key markets in the West, the Southwest, the Southeast and Mexico,” explains Cost. “That means they’ll have more efficient, more reliable access to major consumption markets beyond their current reach.”
Earlier this month, The Pennsylvania Economic Development Association awarded CSX the 2013 Economic Development Partner of the Year Award for its work developing the “environmentally friendly rail corridor connecting the Mid-Atlantic and the Midwest.”
Source: Melanie Cost, CSX Corporation
Writer: Elise Vider