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California Northern Railroad Ships Major Components for Colusa Generating Station
4/2/2009 1:00:00 AM
Short-line railroad plays key role in ‘high / wide’ shipments to rural area
WOODLAND, Calif. (April 3, 2009) – The California Northern Railroad (CFNR), a RailAmerica property, has begun shipments of major components for Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s new generating station in Colusa County, Calif. CFNR is a short-line railroad operating 250 miles of main track in three segments of the Sacramento, San Joaquin and Napa valleys.
CFNR is shipping oversize loads, called “dimensional freight” or “high / wide” loads, consisting of large and expensive pieces of equipment such as turbines, generators, compressors, modules and other components for the state-of-the-art power plant. These loads require extra handling, specialized railcars and special clearance due to their significant weight and size.
Construction on the Colusa Generating Station will be complete in summer 2010. The plant will be located in a rural area about five miles northwest of Maxwell, Calif., and will produce some of the cleanest energy available from natural gas.
From the Port of Sacramento, the Sierra Northern Railroad ships the freight to West Sacramento. The Union Pacific then carries the freight to Davis. CFNR then moves the freight 75 miles to a spur in Delavan, constructed specifically for the high / wide carloads. The freight is then moved by truck for the final four miles to the construction site. Shipments are anticipated to be complete in July.
Short-line railroads, which operate over relatively short distances and serve as “driveways” linking customers to the large Class I railroad superhighways, are an important and growing segment of the railroad industry. Often, in less-populated areas, short-line railroads are the only connection to the national railroad network.
“Short-line railroads have an inherent geographic advantage as more and more companies are building significant manufacturing facilities and utility plants in rural areas,” said CFNR General Manager Don Seil. “Projects such as these demonstrate that short lines like CFNR are fully capable of providing the service needed to accommodate large companies with specialized transportation needs and to do so in a seamless fashion with our Class I partners.”
The loads – some as heavy as 540,000 pounds – are too large to be moved by truck for more than a very short distance. For the final four miles from the spur to the plant, temporary roads are being built to handle the extra weight, and the California Highway Patrol will escort the trucks as they cross over Interstate 5.
“We combine the best of a small company with many of the same capabilities as our Class I partners,” said Seil. “We maintain our track to Class I operating standards, while still being able to provide hands-on, personalized service, working alongside local representatives and people on the ground to ensure a project of this magnitude is successful.”
About RailAmerica, Inc.
RailAmerica is a leading owner and operator of North American regional and short-line railroads. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., the company operates railroads in 27 states and three Canadian provinces, with more than 8,000 miles of track. RailAmerica is owned by funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group, a leading global alternative asset manager with approximately $34.3 billion in assets under management. For more information, visit www.railamerica.com and www.fortress.com.
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