Railroad Downplays Impact Of Hawleyville Terminal

By Andrew Gorosko

The Housatonic Railroad Company expects that its plans to build a bulk rail freight terminal in Hawleyville for handling food commodities will have minimal impact on Hawleyville in terms of rail traffic and truck traffic.

Edward Rodriguez, vice president of the railroad, said August 2, “I think some people got the impression the volume of traffic would be greater than it’s going to be.” Mr Rodriguez termed the railroad’s plans to build a rail freight terminal “a pilot project” which would have “no appreciable adverse impact on adjacent property owners.”

“I don’t think what we’re doing in Hawleyville will increase the number of trains going through there,” he said. “This is a very low-profile project,” he said, adding he does not expect nearby property owners will even notice the terminal’s presence. “We try to be a good neighbor in the towns we operate in,” he said.

The terminal will be built on an existing railroad right-of-way, south of the railroad’s tracks, and just east of the tracks’ grade crossing with Hawleyville Road. The terminal will consist of a 2,400-foot-long rail siding, paving, lighting, and fencing.

The state Department of Transportation (DOT) awarded the Housatonic Railroad a $385,000 grant toward terminal construction, representing 70 percent of project costs. The railroad will cover remaining costs. The DOT awarded the grant as part of its continuing efforts to lessen traffic congestion in the Interstate-95 corridor.

Mr Rodriguez said he does not expect the number of trains traveling through Hawleyville daily will increase as a result of the planned rail terminal. Currently four trains travel through Hawleyville daily – two entering Hawleyville and two leaving the area.

Mr Rodriguez said the presence of the terminal will mean there will be more cars on those daily trains.  He said he expects there may be three or four railcars unloaded daily at the terminal.

The terminal will be built across the tracks from the railroad’s lumber reloading terminal. On a busy day, lumber from seven railcars is unloaded onto trucks at the lumber terminal, he said.

“We have a lot of potential customers,” Mr Rodriguez said of area demand for a food commodities rail freight terminal. Under the plan, food manufacturers that do not have direct rail access would send trucks to the rail terminal where food commodities would be unloaded from railcars onto the trucks, which would then be driven back to the food manufacturers’ factories.

Products to be handled at the new facility include flour, food oils, corn syrup, fructose, plastic pellets, and possibly some grains. Food-grade commodities support many regional businesses that manufacture beverages, beverage containers, bakery products, and products which include flours and sweeteners.

“The location of the terminal will provide very efficient access into all markets in western Connecticut, including all major cities in Fairfield County, yet will not rely on I-95 for the delivery of product,” according to DOT.

The railroad plans to start construction on the terminal in late summer and complete it by late fall. Work will involve laying about 2,400 feet of new track in the form of a rail siding with a capacity of up to 40 railcars. Mr Rodriguez has said that most cargo unloaded from railcars onto trucks will be shipped by truck to food manufacturers within a 35-mile radius.

Rail track storage for an additional 100 railcars will be available on an existing rail siding in Botsford. Railcars kept there could be eventually unloaded in Hawleyville.

 “The Hawleyville Transload Terminal represents an important first step in a cooperative effort by the [DOT] and the Housatonic Railroad Company to convert many tons of freight, which currently enters the state by truck, to rail,” Mr Sullivan said.

Housatonic Railroad has worked with CSX, a national rail carrier, in developing a market strategy for the freight terminal, according to DOT. Many of the food commodities to be shipped into the freight terminal originate in areas such as the Gulf coast, the South, and the upper Midwest, all of which are served by CSX rail freight. With the creation of the rail terminal in Hawleyville, Housatonic Railroad will offer an alternative facility to freight terminals located along I-95 in New York and New Jersey, according to DOT.

DOT’s View

Raymond Godcher, a DOT transportation planner, said of the terminal project, “I don’t see high volumes of trains or trucks.”

Mr Godcher said the railroad approached DOT about the rail terminal project and DOT agreed to help pay for it because such a project is intended to reduce truck traffic on heavily congested Interstate-95.

The project is intended to shift some truck traffic from Interstate-95 to Interstate-84, he said. By having food commodities shipped into Hawleyville by rail and then reloaded onto trucks for delivery to area manufacturers, those food commodities would not have to be brought into Connecticut by truck on I-95, Mr Godcher said.

Based on the expected relatively low volume of food commodities to arrive in Hawleyville by rail, Mr Godcher said he does not expect there will be many more trucks traveling on I-84 in the area and through Hawleyville to transport that freight.

If the Hawleyville rail freight demonstration project proves successful, the DOT may consider other locations for similar terminals to lessen truck traffic on I-95, Mr Godcher said. ”We’re trying to be creative and innovative,” he said.

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) does not regulate railroads.

The Housatonic Railroad has stated that no hazardous materials will be handled at the planned rail terminal and no refrigerated railcars or trucks will be used. The facility will operate during normal business hours similar to the hours of the nearby lumber terminal. Except in the case of emergencies, the railroad does not anticipate regular nighttime or weekend operations at the terminal.