Senate Economy, Business and Jobs Caucus Focus on Rail in Pennsylvania’s Economy

Harrisburg – The next meeting of the Economy, Business and Jobs (EBJ) Caucus, co-chaired by Senator Bob Mensch (R-24) and Senator Lisa Boscola (D-18), will be held on Tuesday, May 14th at 9:30 am in hearing room 8E-A.  The topic of this meeting will be the role railroads play in Pennsylvania’s economy.

Scheduled to make presentations are Danielle Spila, Executive Assistant to Toby Fauver, Deputy Secretary for Local & Area Transportation for PennDOT, and William Goetz, Resident Vice President NYC-NJ-Philadelphia for CSX Transportation.  Following the morning meeting, a tour will be held at 2 pm at Norfolk Southern’s Train Dispatching Room, 4600 Deerpath Road, Harrisburg.

This meeting will focus on transportation and how rail affects our economic climate, creates investment and enables continued workforce development.  Railroads play a vital role in Pennsylvania’s economy by being able to ship large quantities of good and materials to markets at economical prices.

Senator Mensch and Senator Boscola are pleased to have representatives from both PennDOT and CSX with us for this meeting.   In addition to PennDOT, CSX plays a significant role in our Commonwealth’s transportation infrastructure.  They operate nearly 2,000 miles of track and maintain more than 1,100 public and private grade crossings in Pennsylvania.  In 2011, they handled nearly 1.8 million carloads of freight in the Commonwealth and reported nearly $73 million in compensation for employees in Pennsylvania.

Following the meeting, a 2pm tour will be held at Norfolk Southern’s Train Dispatching Room that afternoon.  Norfolk Southern operates approximately 20,000 route miles of track, serving every major container port in the eastern United States. Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal and industrial products.

The EBJ Caucus examines ways to limit barriers that hinder economic expansion within the Commonwealth.

 

CONTACT:

Sarah Stroman
sstroman@pasen.gov
(215) 541-2388 (edit)