Transportation and Logistics

Freight train

Rail Transportation

Rail service provided by award winning North Shore Railroad Company & Affiliates with connections to Class One railroads, including Norfolk Southern and Canadian Pacific Rail, make rail shipments an affordable and convenient means of transportation in Central Pennsylvania. An extensive rail freight network, including nearly 200 miles of rail lines owned by the SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority, assures maximum flexibility and first-class short-line service for your product shipments. “We’re very cost-effective and absolutely in tune with our customers’ needs,” says Jeb Stotter, president and CEO of  North Shore Railroad Company & Affiliates. “If a customer needs a car put in at 9:30 on Wednesday, we’re there.” 

Shamokin Valley Rail Road offers a 650′ High Wall for loading and is rated to receive 286K gross weight shipments. High wall is on a preempted site. About the High Wall

Amtrak has a station in Lewistown, Pennsylvania (Mifflin County)

Highways

Ground transportation in Pennsylvania is both accessible and has low congestion. Our region’s main arteries are Interstate 80, which connects our region to both the east and west coast, and US Routes 11 and 15, which carry traffic north and south. Interstate I-99 runs from the southwest, through the center of our region and to the north–making travel smooth and virtually congestion free.

Information on current and future highway improvement projects in our region can be found through the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation District 3’s web site and on the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation District 2’s web site.

Central Susquehanna Valley Transportation Project

The CSVT project is a historic nearly $1 billion dollar investment in a new four lane limited access highway in Central Pennsylvania, Northeast USA. The northern section of the project opened to traffic in the fall of 2022 and the southern section is under construction now and scheduled to be completed in 2027. This will be the next major north-south logistics and trucking corridor in the northeast west of I-81. This project provides communities and industry with improved safety, reduced congestion, and will serve to accommodate growth for workforce, businesses, tourism and commerce.

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Air Transportation

Central Pennsylvania is served by several local general aviation airports, two regional airports and is within an hour to an hour and a half drive to two International Airports and within 3 to 3 and a half hour drive to major airports including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

Airport Access

International, US Point of Entry Airports, (within an hour drive):

  • Harrisburg International Airport has five airlines serving (MDT) with nonstop flights to 17 cities and one-stop flights across the globe.
  • Wilkes-Barre International Airport has three airlines (American Airlines, Breeze Airways, and United) with nonstop flights to Charlotte, Orlando, Philadelphia, Washington, and Chicago. It also offers an American Airlines Luxury Motorcoach to Philadelphia. 

Regional airports:

General airports:

Trucking

Central PA is home to many national and independent warehouse, trucking and logistics companies that provide truck load (TL) and less than truck load (LTL) services throughout the region. Companies receiving materials and supplies as well as shipping finished products on to their customers are well served in Central PA.

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Public Transportation and Ride-Sharing

All parts of the region are currently served by demand-responsive shared-ride service and fixed route service providers include Rabbit Transit, Lower Anthracite Transportation System (LATS), CAT Bus and universities throughout the region offer fixed route and shuttle services for students. There are 11 park-and-ride locations throughout the region with public transport connections including intercity bus routes that allow commuters to leave their vehicles and transfer to another car, bus, or rail system for the remainder of the journey. Intercity bus service providers include Fullington Trailways, Greyhound and Susquehanna Trailways.

Ports

Central PA is strategically located and connected with Interstates to numerous port locations on the east cost including PhilaPort, The Port of Philadelphia. PhilaPort is the fastest growing port on the US East Coast and is the largest refrigerated port in the United States.

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Regional Transportation Planning

SEDA-Council Of Governments is a regional effort supporting economic growth and leads efforts to develop long range transportation plans working with local government, the business community, and non-profit organizations to establish transportation priorities. Those priorities are detailed in the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), updated by SEDA-COG every two years and often amended. There are numerous opportunities for public participation in developing the TIP, including its periodic review by SEDA-COG’s Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). The TIP encompasses the first four years of the Commonwealth’s Twelve-Year Transportation Program. Centre County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is comprised of 32 elected officials from the six municipalities in Centre County and includes a non-voting representative from Penn State University and a liaison from the local school district.