Joliet’s new intermodal welcomes first trains

Written by jrood

Trains are scheduled to begin rolling into Union Pacific's new intermodal yard in Joliet, Ill., next week, the Herald News reports. The Union Pacific facility is the anchor operation for CenterPoint Intermodal Center-Joliet, a 4,000-acre industrial park under development on the south end of the city.

"We actually are going
to begin accepting trains in the facility early next week on a trial
basis," said Michael Mullen, chief executive officer of developer CenterPoint
Properties. Mullen said train volume will begin slowly at the facility is put
into operation. The first trains are expected to come into the Union Pacific
yard August 2.

Mullen discussed the
opening of the intermodal yard during a telephone press conference with U.S.
Rep. Debbie Halvorson, D-Crete, who points to the two CenterPoint intermodal
parks in Joliet and Elwood as examples of job development in the 11th
Congressional District.

Halvorson also said she is
pushing for manufacturing incentives so that the freight trains leaving the
area would carry more American products. The intermodal parks serve as
distribution centers, but the bulk of the freight coming through is shipped
from the Pacific Coast after having been imported from Asia.

"We need to insist (train
cargo cars) are shipped back full of items made in America," Halvorson
said.

CenterPoint Intermodal
Center-Joliet, however, has been lauded as a rare example of a large economic
development project in an otherwise dreary economy. So far, it has attracted
two other projects — a distribution center for the nearby Stepan Co. chemical
plant and a vehicle storage facility for the nearby Joliet Army Training Area.

Mullen said he expects
CenterPoint will be able to announce two more companies that will come into the
Joliet intermodal park if deals are completed as expected in coming weeks.

Tags: