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New York & Atlantic Railway President Marlon Taylor tells how rail/shipper collaboration has converted shipments from truck to rail and boosted New York supply chain efficiency.
Glendale, NY – (James Street Media Services)—Growth in construction material traffic on New York area rail lines has benefitted shippers while keeping heavy trucks off the area’s highways, according to testimony delivered to the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB).
During a September presentation at the STB’s Growth in the Freight Rail Industry hearing, New York & Atlantic Railway (NYA) President Marlon Taylor provided details about a rail partnership that moves construction aggregate materials. The partnership with Providence & Worcester Railroad (P&W) has seen aggregate traffic grow by some 700% since it was started in 2000.
According to the STB, the hearing was convened because “the Board recognizes that some shifts in volume [away from rail] may not be primarily within the control of rail carriers, [but] the Board has observed that over the past ten years carload volumes have not grown and have, in fact, decreased.”
Taylor explained that short line railroads can offer a “substantial and flexible” alternative for moving products such as the aggregates being shipped into Long Island by NYA and P&W. The 7,000 rail carloads of aggregates moved by the railroads in 2023 are estimated to have kept more than 20,000 truckloads off area streets and highways.
About New York & Atlantic Railway
New York & Atlantic Railway (NYA) began operation in May 1997 as a result of the privatized concession to operate freight trains on the lines owned by Long Island Rail Road (LIRR). NYA serves a diverse customer base and shares track with the densest passenger system in the United States. The railcars that travel over the NYA remove over 120,000 heavy truck trips from the roads and highways of metro NYC and reduce transportation emissions by 75%. NYA originates and terminates rail traffic that moves across North America. www.anacostia.com/our-companies/nya/
M.B. (Marlon) Taylor