Chesco Gets $2.2 Million To Improve Freight Rail Infrastructure

CHESTER COUNTY, PA — Chester County is getting a major boost to its rail infrastructure.

The county has received $2.2 million in funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation as part of a statewide effort to improve freight mobility and create new jobs.

Specifically, ArcelorMittal in Coatesville, a steel plate production facility, will be funded to rehabilitate two miles of track.

“This investment helps protect a Coatesville institution that pays livable wages to United Steel Workers union employees,” State Rep. Williams (D-Chester) said in a statement. “Improving the railways that serve this mill means this facility, which produces some of the widest, thickest and heaviest steel plates in the industry, will continue to be used in myriad projects across this great country.”

The mill has been operating since 1810 and currently supports more than 600 jobs.

A total of 26 rail freight improvement projects were funded around the state in the latest round of funding announced this week. Pennsylvania has 65 operating railroads, more than any other state.