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DOT 193-04
Contact: Brian Turmail, (202) 366-1621
Kim Riddle (202) 366-4570
Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2004
Freight Boom Continues to Keep Auburn, Maine Railroad Busy
Local Railroad Helps Economy and Businesses Grow
AUBURN, ME – The St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad in Maine is
helping to spur economic development in New England, a top U.S. Transportation
official said today.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of Transportation Emil Frankel, a top advisor to
Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta, today toured a three-mile mile
stretch of the line to see how new and growing businesses located adjacent to
its rails are adding jobs and business to the local economy.
“Growing demand for transportation services is a bellwether of an improving
economy. It signals that people and businesses are buying again – goods are
moving via highway, railway and waterway at record rates and shelves and
warehouses are continuously being stocked and re-stocked,” Frankel said.
The Auburn-based railroad has seen freight volumes on the rise and expects to
handle over 25,000 railcars of freight before the end of 2005, up over 50
percent since 1995, Frankel learned.
He began his tour at Safe Handling, Inc., a highly specialized trans-shipment
operation that delivers bulk products to many of Maine’s paper manufacturers and
other industries. The twelve-year old company expects to ship 2,300 carloads
this year, up almost 40 percent from 2002.
He also visited the railroad’s Auburn Intermodal Facility which has handled over
75,000 shipping containers since 1994 and expanded its storage space in 2001 to
meet the growing demand. Due to this growing traffic, last year Customs and
Border Protection inspectors began conducting on site inspections at the
facility.
“The work accomplished here in Auburn over the past decade and the railroad’s
plans for the future development of this rail line, clearly show how
transportation moves the American economy,” Frankel said.
Frankel also took the opportunity to tout Auburn’s success as an intermodal and
trans-shipment hub moving commodities, such as paper and lumber from Maine to
markets beyond New England. The same transportation network brings consumer
goods to major retailers and other products to the region such as propane home
heating and chemicals used to manufacture paper.
“As the expanding U.S. economy continues to drive demand for shipments of goods
by rail, the future looks strong for the development and growth of the St.
Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad,” Frankel said.
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