CSXT And Florida Central Railroad Announce New Service To Ease Highway Congestion

WINTER GARDEN, Fla., Aug. 1, 2003 -- CSX Transportation Inc. (CSXT), a subsidiary of CSX Corporation and the Florida Central Railroad today announced new joint rail service to serve the Florida Auto Auction. The Florida Auto Auction is one of the nation's largest auto auction businesses, annually transporting more than 300,000 automobiles and other vehicles to and from its resale facility in Winter Garden, Fla., outside Orlando.

The new service will be inaugurated on August 6 at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the auction facility. State and local officials and representatives of both railroads will attend the event.

The rail service will enable vehicles to be moved to and from the auction via rail, lessening highway congestion. Florida Central Railroad interchanges with CSXT, which operates in every major market in the eastern United States and interchanges with both major western U.S. railroads.

The new service, made possible by a $1.2 million grant from the Florida Department of Transportation, enabled construction of a rail spur off Florida Central's nearby main rail line into the facility. The spur is approximately one mile long, and the total cost of the project was approximately $3 million. Florida Central will transport vehicles from the auto auction to CSXT's Taft Yard in Orlando. CSXT will then transport the vehicles throughout its eastern network and interchange with rail carriers serving the western United States.

"This was a real team effort involving the state, local communities, businesses and the railroads," said Andy Strok, CSXT vice president-Automotive Service Group. "It demonstrates how rail transportation can enhance both business and community interests. The rail service should benefit the local community by decreasing truck traffic to and from the site and should enable Florida Auto Auction operations to become more efficient and productive."

"When we heard of this customer looking for rail transportation of its automotive fleet, we immediately partnered with CSXT and local and state authorities to bring this project to life," said Ben Biscan, vice president and general manager of Florida Central Railroad. "Florida Auto Auction's operations are based near our lines, so it was a logical extension to have it use our rail line," said Biscan.

"Ben did a great job in bringing on a new rail customer," said John Levine, Florida Central president. "He utilized all of his available resources to make this happen to the benefit of the customer and the community."

Both Strok and Levine praised Representative Randy Johnson (R-Winter Garden) and personnel of the Florida DOT who were instrumental in securing the FDOT grant. "All of these individuals did a great job," said Levine. "Without state and local support, this never could have come to fruition."

CSX Corporation, based in Jacksonville, Fla., owns the largest rail network in the eastern United States. CSX Transportation and its 34,000 employees provide rail transportation services over a 23,000 route-mile network in 23 states, the District of Columbia and two Canadian provinces. CSX also provides intermodal and global container terminal operations through other subsidiaries.

Florida Central Railroad is based in Plymouth, Fla., and operates 150 miles of track in Florida. Florida Central is a subsidiary of Pinsly Railroad Company, which is a holding company for railroads based in Florida, Massachusetts and Arkansas. Pinsly Railroad also has intermodal sites in those three states.