2 MAY 27, 2021 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Glendale-based freight railway named EPA ‘Smart Way’ partner
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
A freight rail line that winds through industrial
enclaves in Queens has been recognized
by the federal Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) as a safer mode of transport than large
trucks.
Anacostia Rail Holdings Company (ARH) announced
its Glendale-based New York & Atlantic
Railway (NYAR) is among six of its “short-line railroads”
that have been certified by the agency as
one of its EPA SmartWay Transport Partnership.
Developed by the EPA and launched in 2004,
SmartWay is a collaborative framework involving
industry stakeholders and environmental
groups to track and reduce emissions and fuel
use in the transportation sector. In addition to
railroads, more than 3,000 SmartWay Partners
include truck, air and barge carriers and shipper,
logistics and multimodal companies.
Peter A. Gilbertson, the president and CEO of
Anacostia Rail Holdings Company, expressed
pride in his team, which operates freight railroads
in seven states and handles the equivalent
of nearly 2 million carloads annually.
“They have performed a leadership role in the
railroad industry to address issues involving the
environment and sustainability,” Gilbertson said.
“Railroads are cleaner and up to four times more
efficient than trucks.”
According to a study by the EPA, nearly 83
percent of greenhouse gases produced by transportation
sources come from passenger cars and
freight/light-duty trucks, of which motor carriers
The company that operates a freight railway through Queens says it has been named an EPA
“Smart Way” partner. QNS fi le photo
account for 23 percent. Railroads, by comparison,
emit only 2.1 percent, or 10 times less than
trucks.
“For example, moving freight by rail in Minnesota
in 2019 prevented the emission of 9.05 million
tons of greenhouse gas emissions, the equivalent
of planting 137.1 million trees,” Gilbertson said. In
addition to being cleaner, he added that “freight
railroads are 42 times safer than large trucks.”
Referring to the U.S. Department of Transportation
sources, Gilbertson said, “In 2018, there were
151,000 injuries in crashes involving large trucks,
versus 3,554 injuries related to rail freight.”
The New York & Atlantic Railway operates under
an agreement with the MTA to provide freight
service throughout Queens, Brooklyn and Long
Island across 270 miles of track on the Long Island
Rail Road network. The railway serves a diverse
customer base and shares track with the densest
passenger system in the country.
“Smaller, short-line railroads move one in five
freight cars each year serving more than 10,000
customers annually,” Gilbertson said. “They provide
the first and last mile of freight movement in
every state except Hawaii, making them a critical
piece of the U.S. freight network.”
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