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MEDIA CONTACT	ED WHALEN
TEL.	(312) 928-0856
FAX	(312) 928-0890
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	Dec 12, 2003

Johnstown America delivers high capacity intermodal railcars for carrying solid waste

Johnstown, Pennsylvania, December 16, 2003 - Johnstown America Corporation completed delivery this month of 50 articulated bulk container (ABC) cars for use in the shipment of biosolids and other solid waste materials for Synagro Technologies, Inc. of Houston, Texas. Environmental Protection and Improvement Company (EPIC), Synagro's rail-haul subsidiary, will operate the cars throughout the U.S. transporting containers loaded with residual materials from east coast customers.

Dave Iverson, EPIC vice president, rail operations, said, "The Johnstown America cars fit well into our operations. Working with all Class I railroads, ABC cars transport the majority of the materials we manage for both beneficial reuse and disposal throughout the United States."

ABC cars are two-platform railcars that share a common truck assembly with an articulated connector between the units. The ABC car's lightweight, skeleton design carries 20' solid waste containers, each weighing up to 59,000 pounds. The 90-foot long cars can alternatively carry two standard 40' ISO containers. When deployed for maximum payload service, containers can be double-stacked on each end of the car and loaded single level at the two intermediate positions nearest the articulated truck. This six-container load fills a maximum capacity of 354,000 pounds.

Synagro is the largest national company focused on water and wastewater residuals management services in the United States, serving over 1,000 municipal and industrial water and wastewater generators in 35 states and the District of Columbia. EPIC has intermodal operations in New Jersey, Virginia and Colorado.

For over a century Johnstown America Corporation has been a leading producer of railcars in North America. Some of the car types JAC designs and builds are aluminum coal cars (it is the industry leader), flat cars, mill gondola cars, heavy haul intermodal cars, the new AVC aluminum motor vehicle carrier, and the VersaCoil™ steel coil car.

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