The Pennsylvania-based Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad reported this week hauling a record 8,572 revenue carloads in 2017.
The broke the previous record of 8,048 cars handled in 2015. Larry Malski, president of the Pennsylvania Northeast Railroad Authority, said in a statement that last year’s traffic figure is indicative of economic growth among the 20-plus industries served by the DL.
Malski said the 2017 carload figures represented a 31 percent increase over 2016.
Helping fuel the carload traffic growth was the addition of two new customers, Scranton Transload and Northwoods Paper.
The DL also handled more than 100 special high-and-wide carloads of components for the new Invenergy Jessup Power Plant.
Major commodities handled by the DL include wheat and flour, sand, plastic, lumber, propane and consumer products.
DL is seeking a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation grant to fund double-tracking its Carbondale Line because of “rapidly increasing” carloads on that line, Malski said.
“Since 1982 when the authority was formed to save the approximately 100 miles of rail lines that the private sector railroad were abandoning and liquidating, a true rail renaissance has transpired in northeastern Pennsylvania with thousands of jobs saved and created by the many industries that need freight-rail service to stay competitive,” Malski said.
Tags: Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Northeast Railroad Authority, Pennsylvania short lines, Railroads of Pennsylvania, Short line railroads
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