New London — A giant Liberian-registered cargo ship served as the backdrop for an upbeat news conference Friday to celebrate the announcement earlier this week that the state would receive an $8.18 million federal transportation grant to upgrade the New England Central freight rail line from New London to the Massachusetts border.

About 50 federal and state dignitaries, including Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Democratic U.S. Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, and municipal leaders from Norwich, New London, Groton, Montville and Griswold, as well as Mohegan Tribe officials and business representatives from throughout the region, gathered at the pier for the afternoon celebration.

Speaker after speaker praised the regional teamwork and state support needed to get the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant approved, most giving the bulk of the credit to Courtney for coordinating the letter-writing campaign that supported the grant application.

Courtney said it took five application rounds over several years before the relatively small application was viewed as nationally significant and viable.

Courtney praised the state for committing an initial $3.6 million Fix Freight First grant to the New England Central Rail corridor project.

Genesee & Wyoming Railroad Services, which owns the New England Central Line, has committed $2 million to the project. Malloy said the railroad was not required to contribute a matching portion, but the commitment showed the value of the project.

The combined funding will replace 19 miles of older jointed rail that was not designed for today’s heavy loads, and upgrade the line along the entire route with installation of more than 15,000 new ties and 15,000 tons of ballast, railroad officials have said.

The New England Central line runs from New London to Brattleboro, Vt., and plans and funding are now in place to upgrade the entire rail line, said Charles Hunter, assistant vice president of government affairs for Genesee & Wyoming.

Standing outside the State Pier administration building, Hunter pointed to the freight line that runs to the end of the pier, where the cargo ship Voge Freeway of Monrovia, Liberia, was docked. Trains off-load materials directly onto ships and collect cargo that comes off the ships, Hunter said.

That cargo heads to all points in New England and beyond.

Hunter said he hopes to have agreements in place to have construction start by next summer and be completed six to nine months later.

Courtney said under current conditions, trains leave State Pier only half-loaded, because the tracks cannot bear the full weight. Trains heading south from Palmer, Mass., have to shed part of their load to make the trek to New London.

“The end users are the real validators of this project,” Courtney said, referring to several businesses represented at the news conference.

Andrew Clark of the forestry products company Can-Am Trading & Logistics LLC of Essex bounced to the podium to loudly announce: “I’m a customer!”

Clark said the upgraded line would allow his company to ship products throughout New England. He said he, in turn, would encourage his suppliers to bring in more loads by rail — a more efficient transportation method than trucks.

“Our forest products will be exported all over the world,” Clark said.

c.bessette@theday.com

Twitter:@Bessettetheday