COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration has awarded a Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Grant to the Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) in the amount of $3,284,000. This grant, in combination with matching funds of $3,584,000 from the Indiana & Ohio Railway Company (IORY) and a $300,000 grant from ORDC will be used to rehabilitate the Port Delta Yard and construct mainline siding capacity in Delta, Ohio. The project involves the installation of approximately 14,000 rail ties, 25,000 feet of new rail, 43,000 tons of ballast and 11 turnouts on IORY, a short line freight railroad subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W)(NYSE:GWR).
Centered around Delta, Ohio are several steel manufacturing and processing businesses that provide products for U.S. industries including automotive, construction, agriculture and general manufacturing applications. Companies located in the area include North Star BlueScope Steel, Metal X and Fulton County Processing. These facilities depend on IORY freight rail service to receive raw materials, such as scrap steel and pig iron, and to ship finished products to their customers.
“Ohio is the second largest steel-producing state in the nation, and the industry is significant to the economy of Northwest Ohio. The Ohio Rail Development Commission is grateful that the Federal Railroad Administration recognized the value of this work to the regional economy. The project will rehabilitate and repurpose rail infrastructure to serve the current and emerging industries in Northwest Ohio,” said Matthew Dietrich, Executive Director of the ORDC.
“This $7.2-million joint investment by the FRA, IORY and ORDC will greatly improve the available Port Delta Yard capacity for the safe and efficient handling of its growing customer business in Delta,” said IORY President Martin Pohlod. “New rail, ties and ballast will restore the entire yard to service and go a long way to accommodating anticipated growth in Delta and Fulton County rail-based industry and processors. Furthermore, the additional mainline siding will enhance fluidity of our line of road, terminal and customer switching operations, and the improved Port Delta terminal also will allow more efficient and timely service for traffic moving via the northern portion of the IORY to the Canadian National interchange in Flat Rock, Mich. The IORY looks forward to making these improvements, which will make it more effective in earning the transportation business of its present and future customers, and we thank the ORDC, FRA and our customers for their support in seeking and now implementing this proactive, forward-looking investment in railroad service.”
U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao said, “These investments in intercity passenger and freight rail will benefit surrounding communities, make grade crossings safer and improve service reliability.”
About ORDC
The ORDC is an independent state commission within the Ohio Department of Transportation. Our mission is to plan, promote and implement the improved movement of goods and people faster and safer on a rail transportation network connecting Ohio to the nation and the world.
About G&W
G&W owns or leases 120 freight railroads organized in eight locally managed operating regions with 8,000 employees serving 3,000 customers.
- G&W’s six North American regions serve 41 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces and include 114 short line and regional freight railroads (11 in the state of Ohio) with more than 13,000 track-miles.
- G&W’s Australia Region serves New South Wales, the Northern Territory and South Australia and operates the 1,400-mile Tarcoola-to-Darwin rail line. The Australia Region is 51.1% owned by G&W and 48.9% owned by a consortium of funds and clients managed by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets.
- G&W’s UK/Europe Region includes the U.K.’s largest rail maritime intermodal operator and second-largest freight rail provider, as well as regional rail services in Continental Europe.
G&W subsidiaries and joint ventures also provide rail service at more than 40 major ports, rail-ferry service between the U.S. Southeast and Mexico, transload services, contract coal loading, and industrial railcar switching and repair.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Genesee & Wyoming's business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.
