Projects
Berry Global Plastics Manufacturer in Evansville, IN and Lawrence, KS
RII assisted this global plastics producer with its switching and Storage In Transit (SIT) issues at 2 of its largest facilities. Each facility had been experiencing service issues from its serving Class I carrier causing delays, downtime and equipment costs. In addition, the Class I carriers were about to take back the yards that were serving for Berry's SIT needs. RII was able to assess the situation, inspect tracks in the area and find new tracks for Berry's SIT and negotiate with the Class I carrier to set up a third party switcher for Berry. Work included developing capital costs, operating costs, agreements with multiple third parties for track leases, constructions and selecting a qualified third party operator.
Lynx Cat Mountain Aggregate mine in Barstow, CA
RII assisted this new high quality aggregate quarry in Barstow to negotiate its agreements with BNSF Railway for supply of all aggregate for its new Barstow International Gateway. Negotiations included outreach to various BNSF departments, development of a presentation and railroad economics to determine what pricing Lynx could offer BNSF for competitive rates and what volumes BNSF could commit to justify Lynx's capital improvements to handle unit trains for ballast for easy interchange with BNSF. In addition, RII assisted Lynx with business development by finding distribution sites in the Central Valley for aggregates and developing unit train costing for Lynx to supply greater distances and by developing business for the facility itself as commercial development property synergistic with the new BNSF facility there and expected growth. Work included outreach and surveys with the west coast ports, local economic development agencies, local counties and cities and connections with transloaders and shippers who could utilize the Lynx property to take advantage of the rail infrastructure and possible utilize Lynx's aggregate.
Fulcrum BioEnergy in Northern Nevada
Fulcrum BioEnergy has been developing a set of facilities in Northern Nevada to be called the Sierra BioFuels Plant that will process municipal solid waste into biofuel. RII developed the transportation plan and costing for moving over 20,000 truckloads of 7 different materials annually for this developing set of facilities. Movements included coordinating diverse materials, different equipment types for each materials and divergent facility operating hours for origin and destination facilities located both within Nevada and out of state. RII also developed the comparative rail costs for relevant moves, including transload location and costing. Finally, RII assisted in the RFP development, contractor recruitment and selection and contract negotiations for the carriers and intermediaries involved in these moves.
Helena Chemical in Florida Crossing Costs & Safety
RII served as the expert witness for this major chemical manufacturer to determine reasonable damages for a railroad crossing incident involving one of its drivers and a CSX crossing. RII reviewed all claim documents, assessed damages to equipment and track, audited labor charges and construction costs, assessed salvage values and AAR settlement rules. RII’s efforts resulted in a settlement with CSX saving Helena Chemical hundreds of thousands of dollars from the original claim. RII then proceeded to investigate several other railroad crossings within Helena Chemical’s vast system to address potential safety and liability risks. These efforts results in additional safety signage at some crossings. Most notably, RII was able to negotiate with CSX to have a fully gated and signaled crossing system installed at Helena’s highest risk location, almost completely at CSX’s cost – a win-win mitigation for all parties involved.
