Thanks to one customer’s new manufacturing plant, Anacostia Rail Holdings Class III Louisville & Indiana Railroad (LIRC), Railway Age’s 2019 Short Line of the Year, expects to be hauling 10,000 additional railcars annually.
“Rail Traffic Growing 1,000% at Heidelberg Materials in Mitchell,” the headline reads in the newest edition of LIRC’s Connections newsletter. “The importance of rail logistics to Heidelberg Materials is apparent with its investment in a new Mitchell, Ind., facility. Demand has grown rapidly in the plant’s geographic market, including Chicago, Cleveland, Nashville and Memphis, among others. Heidelberg recognized this need and was also ready to build a technologically advanced facility that would improve efficiency and sustainability performance.”
The mine and plant, according to LIRC, “had been dispatching only about 100 railcars a year—managed by Heidelberg forces—until recently. Now that the new facility is open and expected to produce 2.4 million tons of cement per year, it will be loading 10,000 cars annually. At its nearby facility in Speed, Ind., Heidelberg was already an LIRC customer and turned to us for ideas.”
“Heidelberg isn’t a rail operator,” said Bill Corcoran, the company’s Vice President of Logistics. “We knew we would need to find an experienced partner for the greatly expanded railcar indexing operations at the larger facility. We knew that short lines are better positioned to provide last-mile/ first-mile service,” commenting on Heidelberg’s decision to select LIRC for the Mitchell operations.
“Even though LIRC had not previously provided in-plant services, we decided to offer a service plan for this good customer,” said LIRC Trainmaster William Brock. The two companies worked together “to develop a safe, efficient, and sustainable railcar operation,” LIRC noted. “Our crews manage the movement of cars within the facility, providing complete remote-controlled locomotive switching services. Brock oversees these operations.”
“Will Brock is great,” said Corcoran. “He’s dedicated to our success. With a start-up this large, there are always going to be challenges to work through, and LIRC has been very nimble as we’ve identified needed changes.”
“In addition to achieving the greater efficiency of rail compared with truck, Heidelberg wanted to reduce the impact on the area’s roads with the plant’s increased traffic,” LIRC said. “The facility is quickly moving toward its 10,000-car annual goal, and the company knows that means it will avoid putting well over 30,000 trucks through its gates. Rail is also helping Heidelberg realize its sustainability goals because rail cuts greenhouse gas emissions some 75%, compared with trucks.”
“We are achieving our goals with the support of LIRC,” says Corcoran. “They provide consistent service, excellent communications and safe operations. LIRC has done a great job.”
