RECORD OF MEETING

FREIGHT TASK FORCE

Friday, August 18, 2000, Selkirk Yards, 1 Bell Crossing Road, Selkirk

Attendance: John Casellini, CSXT; Gerald Deluca, NYSMTA; Art Dutcher, Saratoga Transport; Michael Franchini, Albany County; Martin Hull, CDTA; Jamie Reppert, Albany County; Ted Thompson, NYSDOT - Region 1; Katherine Forster, CDTC

Regrets: Jack Earl

Record of Previous Meeting - Acknowledgement for Frank Keane regarding the presentation on the 10-year Master Plan for the Port of Albany was omitted from the April notes!

Tour of Selkirk Yards

CSX monitors the area from Boston to as far east as Erie and from Montreal and Niagara to as far south as New Jersey, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. at Selkirk Yards. There are 10 dispatchers at work around the clock controlling the signals and switches. They may have to monitor up to 10 trains and maintenance crews on their lines. The safety of the maintenance crews is their number one priority.

Tuesdays to Fridays are the "hot" days - the busiest days for the dispatchers. Business is starting to peak to stock shelves for Christmas - they will be busy all fall. And from Thanksgiving to Christmas is the UPS peak. Priority on the lines starts with passenger (Amtrak) and second is UPS. After these two, priority goes to auto parts and multi-level trains. Intermodal/piggy backs account for up to 40% of the rail traffic. Intermodal also gets preferential treatment for the containers and highway trailers. The Port of Albany is interested in working with CSX on intermodal downtown Albany at the port.

The yard may have as many as 25 trains in and out in a day. The tour included the diesel facility and hump facility. At the hump facility 150 cars/hour are classified. As many as 3200 cars are done a day.

Truck Access Study

J. Reppert from Albany County is responsible for the truck access study. He is also responsible for waterfront planning. He presented the task force with the background of the truck access study. The three municipalities Menands, Town of Colonie and the City of Albany approached the County to study the truck access for three specific areas - two along Broadway and one north of the port. The Linkage program gave the County the opportunity to tailor a study for these areas and combine them into one study.

This study will not only help with truck access but may also open up some inaccessible industrial areas for further development. The study of the two access points along Broadway will also consider new crossings of the Colonie Main Rail Line. The access at the Port will study Church Street and the problems with turning radius. By identifying a designated way in and out of the port the impact on the residential area can be lessened.

T. Thompson mentioned that there is a project on the TIP for Church Street. He also referred J. Reppert to the Tandem Truck Lot Study that looks into a new tandem lot at the port. T. Thompson reported that Laberge is doing a study in Watervliet dealing with a 25th Street bypass which may include a new intersection onto Route 32 and a rail crossing.

Member Updates/Current Events

NYSMTA – There is new Federal legislation being proposed that will change the amount of time truck drivers are allowed to drive. Presently the amount of time that drivers are allowed to work are 10-15 hours of work with 8 hours off (10 of these hours can be driving but they may be on-duty for up to 15 hours - truck loading, etc.). This new legislation is pushing for 12 hours maximum of working. The American Trucking Association has proposed their own rules based on a 24-hour day. Final comments on the legislation are due in October.

Albany County – Albany-Shaker Road and other airport projects are progressing on track. The first meeting for the steering committee of the Exit 3-4 project was held last week. Clough Harbor is the consultant for this state project. This project involves many different interests including agricultural, historic and environmental as well as many jurisdictions. Construction is scheduled for 2006 (off TIP).

Saratoga Transport – Being a northeast carrier, the weather has affected what Saratoga Transport is doing. Paper and beverage are down due to reduced outdoor activity this summer. Attendance figures at track are down also.

CSX – The company is in the middle of a busy maintenance season. No capital work has been done because CSX is waiting for the tax reform legislation to be passed. Production of mid-west grain will be high and will keep them busy. With up to 35 trains a day on a single track, the River Line currently needs infrastructure improvements. Part of the reason why the River Line is so busy for CSX is that when Conrail operated the River Line they had an outlet. CSX does not. Also CSX won more of the new business but has less of the tracks. CSX won 90% of the New Jersey business that Conrail had.

NYSDOT – CP Rail is no longer operating on the Normanskill bridge. They asked CSX for some leeway to go through Selkirk Yard. The Delanson line through Voorhesville is now opened and they will use this.

For the third round of CORBOR (FFY 2001), New York state ranked the Champlain border crossing project first among the projects that were submitted for funding. Second is the CP Rail clearance project at Rouse's point and the Tandem lot has been ranked fifth in priority.

CDTA – The July commuter rail demo test was cancelled. Instead the Bombardier train was on display at the Rensselaer station for interested parties to view.

Status of CDTC Activities

CORBOR Awards - The FFY 2000 awards were announced in June. The Champlain/I-87 Border Crossing Facility and the commercial vehicle safety inspection facility were the only two projects in this area that received funding. The funding request for the inspection facility ($0.5 M) was entirely funded but the border crossing facility had requested over $2 million and the project was awarded $0.4 million. The deadline for the 2001 funding program is August 15, 2000 (at FHWA Division offices).

Champlain-Hudson Trade Corridor Coalition - The I-87/Champlain border crossing has become a top priority for the General Services Administration. The Corridor Coalition met in early August to discuss the next funding rounds for CORBOR. The same three projects will be entered again: CP Rail Clearance project, Thruway Tandem Lot project and the Border Crossing Facilities project.

New Visions 2030 Update - The long-range plan with a horizon of 2021 will be approved by Policy Board in October. The four task forces have met and discussed the New Visions update. The Freight subcommittee consists of representatives from a cross-section of public and private interests including all modes. The subcommittee met in August and discussed the New Visions policies as to whether any needed to be revisited for the extended horizon. The reports from the task forces will help in revising the New Visions document. Some of the comments from the subcommittee on New Visions were:

- The site plan guidelines action item should be fast tracked.

- There needs to be more consideration towards land use compatibility.

- We should be promoting the area as a region that has much to offer in terms of infrastructure for all modes and a strategic location in the Northeast.

- Congestion/pinch points should be monitored and alleviated if at all possible by programming them into the TIP (Route 7 example).

The Freight sub-committee will meet again this fall to revise their 2021 New Visions report. This report will be used as the long-term horizon New Visions 2030 is considered.

TIP Update - No update for the TIP.

 

Upcoming Events

November 17, 2000, 1:30 pm - Freight Task Force Meeting (possibly at UPS facility)