CSX railroad operates freight train operations on Staten Island — picking up freight off container ships at a ship-to-rail, Intermodal, on-dock terminal at the Howland Hook Marine Terminal in Port Ivory.
The Howland Hook facility can handle up to 100,000 containers annually and features five tracks linked to the railroad.
CSX then carries the freight to Elizabeth, New Jersey — where the trains hook up with Conrail’s main line — and then carries the freight to Cleveland, Ohio; Columbus, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan; and Chicago, Illinois.
Yes you read that right — Conrail still exists — providing shared assets of CSX and Norfolk Southern railways. It has a website — conrail.com.
Rudy Giuliani Started It
Rudy Giuliani, the greatest mayor in NYC history, was a force behind Staten Island gaining this important rail business. He set it all in motion in the late 1990’s — in 1998 getting CSX and Norfolk Southern to agree to utilize Staten Island’s railway to transport freight off of ships to their main line. The tracks had been closed since 1991.
At the same time, Giuliani got NYC’s Economic Development Corporation (EDC) to acquire 52 acres of land by St George, Staten Island from CSX so that NYC could develop the St George waterfront, which now includes the Richmond County Ballpark, the National Lighthouse Museum, and the Retail Outlet mall.
The plans culminated in the Port Authority and the NYC EDC spending $75 Million reopening an 8-mile stretch of railroad on Staten Island’s north shore in 2007, providing direct rail access to the Howland Hook terminal. Further, $26 Million was spent to build the Howland Hook ExpressRail facility, which also opened in 2007.
Reduces Traffic by 100,000 Trucks a Year from Goethals Bridge
When it opened in 2007, the Port Authority estimated that the railway and terminal would remove 100,000 trucks a year from the Goethals Bridge and local highways.
CSX
CSX stands for Chessie, Seaboard, and X — it was formed in 1980 from the merger of Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries. The X represents the multiplication symbol. Information about CSX’s operations in Staten Island and NY State is here.
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