Rotterdam distribution center to see more West Coast train traffic
ERIC ANDERSON -- Times Union -- May 30, 2008
Railex LLC expects to triple train traffic into its Rotterdam distribution center this fall as it launches a new service from California and adds a second train on its route from Washington state.
The 19-month-old service provides one refrigerated unit train per week each way. The trains, initially 55 cars, have been making the cross-country trip in five days or less, carrying vegetables, fruit and other perishables.
The company estimates each train carries the equivalent of 220 tractor-trailers and saves 5.2 million gallons of diesel fuel a year. At $5 a gallon for diesel, that gives the company a cost advantage.
"We are more efficient (in) diesel fuel consumption," said Paul Esposito, vice president of sales and logistics for Railex.
The company is building a distribution center in Delano, Calif., its third one, which will be completed in September. Existing centers are in Rotterdam and in Wallula, Wash. Railex employs 150 workers in Rotterdam.
Plans for a second train from Washington state were delayed this spring after a Jan. 19 landslide in Oregon blocked the main route the trains take. That route has been reopened, and Esposito said the second train likely will begin operating "sometime in late summer."
In the meantime, the original train has been lengthened, to 60 or more boxcars, he said.
The "unit trains," as they're called, can be tracked by satellite as they move across the country. Customers also can monitor temperatures inside each of the cars as the trains move between Wallula and Rotterdam.
Union Pacific Railroad and CSX Transportation jointly operate the trains, which stop only for crew changes and refueling.
Railex has been seeking cargo for the return trip to the West Coast. Tropicana products have been brought north from Florida by train, trucked to Rotterdam, and then taken to Washington by Railex for distribution in western Canada, Esposito said.
The trains may be used this fall to ship New York state apples to Washington state processing plants, where they would be converted to juice and applesauce, state apple industry officials have said.
In an era of increasing shipping costs, "it's the way long-haul produce should move through the country," Esposito said.
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