Demand for rail service goes back and forth. For the last 20-30 years trucking has taken a huge chunk out of the shipping/receiving market. Industry is once again looking to rail as a shipping alternative. Over the last ten years or so, many businesses along the tracks have changed hands or moved out all together leaving vacant industrial sites sitting there. With the railroad coming alive again, this property will now seem more attractive to potential buyers and developers.
The M&E runs a tight ship. They have a great safety record and I’m sure their reliability is equally as impressive. Despite all the bickering by the NIMBY's, the businesses will do what's best for them and their pockets. If using rail to ship and receive a majority of their bulk purchases saves them cash and makes them more productive, they are surely going to do it. This is just a guess by observation, but I would say there is probably close to 100 businesses that can be served by the railroad either from direct connections or team track. Last time I heard here were two places already giving commitments to the M&E for service. Two doesn’t seem like many, but considering the railroad isn't even operational yet I'd say it’s a good start. Once they’re up and running many other businesses will take notice. As of right now, the M&E does the switching at Bayway so even if there wasn’t any customers on the line, the tracks would still be useful for moving equipment and those plastic pellets they carry. In any case, it's not really costing the M&E much in out of pocket expenses with the State/County fitting most of the bill so they really do have a head start.
I haven’t seen much going on in terms of work. Spring is here so hopefully they'll complete all the phases up to Liberty Ave in Union by end of summer with the trains Running By October.
The M&E runs a tight ship. They have a great safety record and I’m sure their reliability is equally as impressive. Despite all the bickering by the NIMBY's, the businesses will do what's best for them and their pockets. If using rail to ship and receive a majority of their bulk purchases saves them cash and makes them more productive, they are surely going to do it. This is just a guess by observation, but I would say there is probably close to 100 businesses that can be served by the railroad either from direct connections or team track. Last time I heard here were two places already giving commitments to the M&E for service. Two doesn’t seem like many, but considering the railroad isn't even operational yet I'd say it’s a good start. Once they’re up and running many other businesses will take notice. As of right now, the M&E does the switching at Bayway so even if there wasn’t any customers on the line, the tracks would still be useful for moving equipment and those plastic pellets they carry. In any case, it's not really costing the M&E much in out of pocket expenses with the State/County fitting most of the bill so they really do have a head start.
I haven’t seen much going on in terms of work. Spring is here so hopefully they'll complete all the phases up to Liberty Ave in Union by end of summer with the trains Running By October.
