Newark, NJ — Chip Hallock, president and CEO of the Newark Regional Business Partnership, describes the role and impact of freight railroads in New Jersey, calling for policymakers to preserve reasonable rail regulation in a new op-ed for MyCentralJersey.com. Hallock shared this positive freight rail story, he writes, with Representative Tom Malinowski in a recent meeting.
“One of New Jersey’s rail-served businesses is Kuiken Brothers, a residential and commercial building materials supply company with eight locations across New Jersey – four of which have rail access. Its recent expansion to Newark includes over a quarter mile of rail siding to the waterfront, allowing them to receive direct shipments from manufacturing facilities across North America via the nationwide freight rail network.”
Hallock highlights the fact that U.S. freight railroads are private businesses that invest massively in their own infrastructure. This private investment, he writes, is a boon to NJ businesses.
“This success story is especially important now, as the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB), which is charged with the economic regulation of railroads, is facing pressure to reimpose failed regulations on railroads, including rate caps and draconian service mandates that would undermine railroads’ ability to invest what it takes to keep infrastructure healthy.
Government officials need to understand that a return to over-regulation would undercut not just the railroads, but also companies like Kuiken Brothers that provide supplies that are literally building communities and helping grow New Jersey’s economy.”
