CROWLEY Transports First Two Rail Cars for Puerto Rico Tren Urbano Project

(Jacksonville, Fla.; February 24, 2000) Crowley Liner Services is transporting the first two rail cars to San Juan for the Puerto Rico Tren Urbano Project, a 17.2-kilometer heavy rail passenger system. The 75-foot rail cars were loaded aboard a 580-foot Crowley triple-deck barge in Jacksonville on Saturday, and will be delivered in San Juan tomorrow. Their final destination is Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.

The manufacturer and shipper, Siemens Transportation Systems, Inc., Vehicle Division, selected Crowley to move the rail cars because of its expertise in handling large, oversized cargoes. The cars, in addition to being 75 feet long, are 11 feet wide, 13 feet high and weigh about 85,000 pounds each. They were trucked on 89-foot custom made trailers from Sacramento, Calif., to Jacksonville where a team of Crowley stevedores carefully drove the units onto the main deck of the barge.

We selected Crowley for its specialized and unique service, said Tracey Sempson, Siemens Traffic Coordinator. Siemens has been planning the shipments of these units to Puerto Rico since late 1997 and Crowley has been the only carrier that has accommodated our shipping needs, showing little restrictions and no limitations.

Approximately 74 rail cars will be shipped in all for the project, which will link Bayamn, Guaynabo, Centro Mdico, Ro Piedras, Hato Rey and Santurce in Puerto Rico. The trains will be powered by electricity and be capable of traveling at 55 miles per hour over the tracks, some of which will be under ground and some of which will be elevated and/or at grade. The new $1.67 billion transit system is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2002.

Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, Crowley Liner Services provides cargo common carrier services between Canada, the United States and Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico and the north coasts of Colombia and Venezuela. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Oakland-based Crowley Maritime Corp., founded in 1892. Additional information about Crowley Maritime Corp. and its subsidiaries, Crowley Liner Services, Crowley Marine Services, Crowley Logistics and Crowley Petroleum Transport may be found on the Internet at www.crowley.com.

Photos available upon request by calling 904-727-2513.