          Copyright © 2009 Santa Maria Valley Railroad |
The Santa Maria Valley Railroad A Wholly-Owned Subsidiary of Coast Belle Rail Corporation Press Release June 12, 2009 For Immediate Release Central Coast Businesses Go Green and Cut Costs by Shipping by Rail Last Tuesday, Santa Maria Valley Railroad’s locomotive No. 70 was pulling a train of 12 cars from Guadalupe to Santa Maria, representing about 42 truckloads of freight. During these challenging economic times the Santa Maria Valley has an important tool in its arsenal to assist businesses in lowering costs while being environmentally friendly, rail transportation. The Santa Maria Valley is served by its own shortline railroad, the Santa Maria Valley Railroad. A community which is served by a shortline railroad such as the Santa Maria Valley Railroad allows smaller businesses to take advantage of the benefits of shipping by rail. Many spurs and sidings along the 14 mile main line serves about two dozen customers in the Santa Maria Valley and the City of Santa Maria. Rail transportation is efficient as one railcar transports an average of four truckloads of freight and one gallon of fuel transports one ton of freight 438 miles. This efficiency results in less air pollution and greenhouse gases than trucking as railroads consume a third less fuel than trucks on a per ton mile moved. Last year the Santa Maria Valley Railroad transported over 1,900 truckloads of freight. Rail transportation alleviates traffic congestion by taking trucks off the roads resulting in less wear and tear on the nation’s highways. Rail transportation is cost effective, Santa Maria Valley Railroad customers save as much as 30% to 70% in transportation costs. Our customers saved over $1.5 million in shipping costs last year. The benefits of rail transportation are not just limited to the customers along the Santa Maria Valley Railroad tracks. The Santa Maria Valley Railroad offers transload services to businesses on the Central Coast. Shipments are brought in by rail to the Betteravia Industrial Park, the new home and yard facilities for the Santa Maria Valley Railroad. At the Betteravia Industrial Park, product is unloaded off the railcar and trucked to any location on the Central Coast. Transload services allow any business on the Central Coast to take advantage of rail service without the need to be located on the rail line. Businesses can take advantage of pricing and bulk discounts by shipping by rail and have the dock to dock convenience of truck service. The Santa Maria Valley is the rail hub for the Central Coast as customers transload products and truck from Paso Robles to Santa Barbara and beyond. The Santa Maria Valley Railroad interchanges with the Union Pacific Railroad, the largest railroad in North America, at Guadalupe, California. Santa Maria Valley Railroad customers can ship or receive shipments anywhere in North America that is served by our national railroad system. The Santa Maria Valley Railroad offices and yard is located in the Betteravia Industrial Park at 2820 W. Betteravia Road, Santa Maria, California. The Santa Maria Valley Railroad is a 14 mile shortline railroad interchanging with the Union Pacific Railroad at Guadalupe and serves the Santa Maria Valley. For freight shipping inquiries contact GM and Marketing Manager Dave Jennings at (805) 922-7941 or visit our website at www.smvrr.com. # # # KCOY coverage (nice little video, too). Rob Himoto, President Santa Maria Valley Railroad Company PO Box 5665 Santa Maria, CA 93456 Tel: (805) 922-7941 Fax: (805) 922-9554 E-mail: rhimoto@smvrr.com  || About || Services || History || News || Events || Excursions || Store || Contact || |