Newsroom

Why Freight by Rail on the Peninsula will become even more important to you.

With today’s unveiling today of two specially outfitted railcars, Graniterock highlights the importance of Rock Delivered by Rail to the San Francisco Bay Area. Each loaded railcar delivered on the peninsula eliminates the need for as many as four truck and trailer round trip deliveries.

The Bay Area requires timely freight deliveries to maintain our robust economy. Minimizing truck traffic on our congested roadways is also in the best interest of the Bay Area. Maximizing the use of freight by rail is a viable means of satisfying both needs. The Union Pacific Railroad now moves freight along the Peninsula Corridor during the late night and early morning hours (between 10:00pm and 5:00am). Caltrain operates commuter service along the same rail line during the daytime and evening hours. Some products now moving by rail include:

• Aggregate (Rock)
• Lumber
• Cement
• Chemicals
• Scrap Metal
• Dirty Dirt (Unclean Fill)
• Wine and Spirits

All of the products listed above are important to our economy. In the case of chemicals, scrap metal, and dirty dirt, movement by rail rather than by truck also provides an important safety improvement for Bay Area residents, as it is safer to move these products via rail than on our highways.

Since the 1960s, Graniterock has utilized the rails to transport raw materials from its A.R. Wilson Quarry near Watsonville to production plants along the San Francisco Bay Peninsula. These plants produce ready-mix concrete and hot mix asphalt (blacktop) for residential and commercial building construction, and public roadway maintenance, and construction. With delivery service provided by the Union Pacific Railroad, a fleet of railcars leaves the Quarry every night and is delivered to plants in San Jose, Redwood City, and South San Francisco the next day.

The numbers above demonstrate the value of moving freight by rail on the Peninsula. As the Bay Area emerges from the economic slump, more importance must be placed on maintaining this vital resource. The expected economic growth must not be limited by transportation bottlenecks. With the improving economy increased truck traffic is expected on our freeways, the prudent course of action is to use our rail resource to its capacity. The hours of operation now devoted to the Union Pacific Railroad for freight delivery must be protected.

Graniterock was founded on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 1900. Graniterock has operations in Watsonville, Cupertino, Santa Cruz, Seaside, Salinas, Hollister, Aromas, Felton, San Jose, Redwood City, Oakland, Turlock, and South San Francisco. The Company’s Pavex Construction Division is a significant regional heavy engineering contractor building roadways, airports and private commercial and residential projects. Graniterock received the 1992 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and the 1994 Governor’s Golden State Quality Award.

1. Graniterock estimate