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Transport via trucks will be drastically shortened.
Presently, trucks carrying ash from the local Waste-to-Energy facility must travel approximately 7 miles – most of which is alongside residential areas – just to reach the Long Island Expressway for their trip to the Brookhaven Landfill. With Townline Rail, this trip would be reduced to about half a mile through commercial, non-residential areas.
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One railcar will eliminate approximately four truckloads of materials on our roads.
Approximately 80,000 tons of ash are generated each year at our local Waste-to-Energy facility, currently resulting in nearly 4,500 truck trips to the landfill. Once Brookhaven is closed, these trucks would have to travel through and off Long Island. One railcar can hold the same amount of ash as four trucks.
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Less stress on Long Island’s only remaining C&D landfill.
Townline Rail will also be able to transport Construction & Demolition (C&D) waste by rail to landfills off Long Island. As per New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, C&D material is uncontaminated solid waste resulting from construction, remodeling, demolition, repair and land clearing – and does not include hazardous materials such as asbestos.
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Townline Rail Terminal is designed to handle only the disposal needs of Huntington and Smithtown.
The local Waste-To-Energy facility operates close to or at capacity incinerating the waste collected in Huntington and Smithtown. Townline Rail Terminal is proposed to match this capacity and will not be a solution to handle all of Long Island’s ash and debris.
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Expected increase in tax revenue and jobs for the local community.
Trucking all ash generated at the local Waste-to-Energy facility off Long Island would be costly to the taxpayers of both towns. Rail transportation, a cleaner and more economical method, would help save taxpayer money. An increase in local jobs both during and after construction can also be expected.
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Ash byproducts will be enclosed in steel railcar containers.
After the half mile transport via truck to Townline Rail Terminal – passing no residential homes – ash will be transferred into railcar containers, enclosed and secured. All loading and unloading of incinerated ash will occur inside the facility, minimizing dust and noise. The transfer station will be equipped with dust suppression, negative air system filtration and high-speed roll up doors.
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A more efficient round trip.
Townline Rail Terminal will facilitate the import of aggregates, equipment and lumber which is currently trucked into businesses in the Kings Park industrial corridor. This will make the return trip of the empty waste railcars more efficient, and further reduce truck traffic in our region. These materials would serve businesses within 2 miles of the Terminal, within the local industrial complex.
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Less trucks on local roads.
With a half mile trip between the local Waste-to-Energy facility and Townline Rail Terminal along commercial, non-residential roads, fewer trucks will be on Long Island’s highway, reducing traffic congestion and emissions.
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Lighting poles will be no taller than 25 feet so as to not exceed the height of the landscaped berm.
Townline Rail Terminal will utilize lighting in accordance with the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way recommended levels of illumination for flat rail-switching yards. This means providing 2.0 foot-candles of lighting at the east and west ladders and along the pathway between the east and west end of the yard.
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The Townline Rail Terminal will include a 16.4 acre landscaped berm alongside the rail terminal’s property edge that runs closest to residences.
The northern property line will include a 25 foot high berm, to be approximately 150-190 feet wide and planted with native plant species, including over 1,700 evergreen trees creating an additional buffer between operations and the existing LIRR tracks. Townline Rail operations will be approximately 400 feet from its property line, and 480 feet from the nearest residence on the other side of the tracks. All outdoor operations will be conducted at least 600 feet from any residence.
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Elimination of train horns in neighborhood closest to rail terminal.
As a result of the prospected Townline Rail Terminal, the railroad crossing at Meadow Glen Road has been eliminated. Existing LIRR trains will no longer sound their horns at Meadow Glen Road – approximately 40 fewer LIRR horns per day. Further, Townline Rail trains will not add any additional train horns near Meadow Glen Road.
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All loading operations will be conducted during our DEC-permitted hours.
The railcars themselves do not have engines, so they will not idle or make continual noise when sitting in the yard. All materials will be transferred and loaded during DEC-permitted operating hours and will not be a 24-hour operation. At night, depending upon LIRR active hours, one train will arrive with empty railcars and then depart with loaded railcars.
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66% Reduction in outdoor organic operations.
Current outdoor organic operations at CarlsonCorp, Inc. will be reduced by 66 percent to accommodate indoor transfer facility operations and storage, lessening the amount of landscaping debris and materials kept on property.
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Additional tracks for storage and maneuverability.
The Townline Rail Terminal proposal includes only one train in and one train out per day. Train length will average 16 railcars, with a maximum train length of 27 railcars. Townline Rail will utilize tracks for loading, switching, storage, and maneuverability of the railcars.
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One train per weekday.
Townline Rail will accommodate one train arrival and one train departure per weekday, pulling an average of 16 railcars. That’s it. There will be no trains planned on weekends. Loading and unloading of materials, which will take place in an enclosed structure, will take place under our DEC-permitted hours and will not be a 24-hour operation.
This project is currently in a conceptual stage. This means it is still undergoing federal and local reviews required to identify and mitigate potential impacts. Final plans will conform to all regulatory requirements and will receive local public input.