$21M Rail Warehouse an ‘Asset’ to Indiana

The parent company of Venture Logistics says the new $21 million Venture Rail Warehouse and Distribution Center on the south side of Indianapolis will be an asset for the state. Jack Schwarz with Indianapolis-based Schwarz Partners LP says the 406,000 square-foot rail-to-truck facility, a partnership with Indiana Rail Road Co., will help make Indiana more competitive by giving shippers a more efficient and cheaper option.

Officials cut the ribbon Wednesday on the facility, which is the first rail-served mega-warehouse in Marion County in decades. Schwartz says the warehouse is a "win-win situation because a lot of freight was being trucked in and was very expensive to truck in from, for example, the west coast. Now it can be railed in, put in the warehouse and we can distribute it with our trucking company."

Peter Mills, president and chief executive officer of Indiana Rail Road says the facility gives businesses throughout the state an efficient, reliable and high-quality transportation option for shippers and receivers. "Because it’s rail-served, we have connections to all the class 1 railroads in the United States. Essentially, our rail reach is the whole of North America, so we certainly expand their ability to reach, by rail, their customers.

The warehouse is adjacent to Indiana Rail Road’s mainline, which provides daily service to the Chicago gateway. Venture Logistics says it can provide a one-day truck haul to 80 percent of the population in the United States and Canada.

Venture Logistics has also purchased land adjacent to the facility. Schwarz says, depending on the success of the warehouse, a second rail-served facility could be built that could exceed 500,000 square feet.