Additional Wednesday morning rail news:
CN, partners to open logistics park in Mobile, Ala.
Canadian National will join with the Alabama Export Railroad and Ray-Mont Logistics on a new logistics park in Mobile, Ala., projected to open in late 2021. The first phase of the project will be a facility for bagging and containerizing plastic pellets; its two bagging lines will have an annual capacity of 25,000 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units, the standard measure for container traffic. It will provide export capacity from the Port of Mobile without requiring warehousing or double handling. “This logistics park will service customers across our network, and the first phase will specifically serve the demand for bagging and stuffing plastic resin containers which is on the rise in the US,” CN’s James Cairns, senior vice president, rail centric supply chain, said in a press release.
Virginia governor proposes $50 million to advance Amtrak project
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has included $50 million to bring Amtrak service to the state’s New River Valley in his proposed changes to the state’s two-year budget. The Roanoke Times reports the money would fund acquisitions of rights-of-way and easements necessary to launch the service. The proposal, which aims to extend rail service from Roanoke to Bristol, Va., would serve students at Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, Va.) and Radford universities, and is projected to carry 16,000 to 20,000 riders a year.
Cathcart Rail acquires Appalachian Railcar Services
Freight rail services and transportation company Cathcart Rail has acquired Appalachian Railcar Services. Cathcart now offers services including railcar contract repair; railcar cleaning, parts, and storage; in-plant switching and repair; short line operations; transloading; and in-plant switching and repair. The combined company will employ 800 people at 60 locations in 22 states. The acquisition was largely funded by Star America Infrastructure Partners Inc., which has over $700 million in assets under management as of September 2020.
