A $32.5-million state investment in 38 rail projects in 28 counties will upgrade and add capacity, stimulate local economies and provide as many as 2,500 jobs, Pennsylvania Governor Edward  Rendell announced at a York, Pa., manufacturing and distribution facility.

"Transportation investment equals jobs," Governor Rendell said. "The rail freight projects being funded across the state today will help companies create good-paying jobs and inject billions into local economies. These grants are excellent examples of how public-private partnerships can benefit businesses, workers and communities."

Governor Rendell made the announcement at the Church & Dwight, Co. Davies Facility in York. The company received a $1.5-million reimbursement for a project that provided rail access to the facility, including grade crossing work, rail siding construction and spill containment basin construction. At full operation, the facility will employ approximately 300 Pennsylvanians in new, full-time positions. The improvements also will reduce truck shipments by 1,661 deliveries per year at this facility, reducing traffic congestion and pollution.

More than two-thirds of the funding, $23.9 million, will come from the 2010-11 Rail Capital Budget/Transportation Assistance Program funded through state capital bond dollars approved in the General Fund budget. The remaining $8.6 million comes from the 2011-12 Rail Freight Assistance Program, which is provided through the state's General Fund. Both grant programs, which are authorized by the General Assembly, are administered by PennDOT's Bureau of Rail Freight.

Among the major awards are:

* Allegheny Valley Railroad -- $1.8 million for phase two in its Glenwood Yard, including track reconstruction, switching control installation, and rail and crosstie replacement on two bridge decks.

* United States Steel Mon Valley Works -- $3.8 million for phase three of the Clairton Project, including switch replacement and associated track work.

* Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad Inc. -- $3 million to upgrade and rebuild wood trestles, replace mud sills with pilings and improve bridge deck beams to provide 263,000 lb. freight car capacity.

* Air Products and Chemicals Inc. -- $1.8 million to replace railroad ties, crossings, a bridge and tunnel lining, raise track and relocate obstructions.

* SEDA-COG -- $3.9 million for facility and track construction in five locations to meet Marcellus Shale expansion demands.

* Fay-Penn Industrial -- $1 million to rehabilitate and reconstruct track to serve a planned rail-truck transloading facility.

* Strasburg Railroad -- $1 million for track construction and rehabilitation, rail bridge rehabilitation and expanded transferring capabilities.

* Allentown Economic Development Corporation -- $1.4 million to restore Barber's Quarry branch rail corridor to service, reconnect the R.J. Corman rail line to serve more than 80 acres of industrially zoned land.

* American Refining Group Inc. - $1.4 million to rebuild track, switches, and loading racks.

* Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority -- $1.3 million to acquire remaining main line track to allow for the growth of existing and new rail traffic for the Marcellus Shale industry, as well as remove salt and corrosion on bridge downspouts and a rail bridge.

* Church & Dwight Company Inc. -- $1.5 million to construct three rail sidings and spill containment basins as part of their new factory's rail access project.