COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) has approved resolutions to sponsor four Federal Railroad Administration Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement (CRISI) grant applications, totaling $52 million.
Projects
Cincinnati Planning Grant — In collaboration with Norfolk Southern, CSX, and Genesee & Wyoming, the project will review and prioritize projects that reduce congestion in the Cincinnati/Queensgate Yard area.
Kanawha River Railroad/Norfolk Southern — In partnership with Kanawha River Railroad (KNWA) and Norfolk Southern, the project will rehabilitate significant sections of the line between Columbus, Ohio and Cornelia, West Virginia. The line is owned by NS and operated by KNWA, a subsidiary of Watco. The approximately $32.5 million project will result in the elimination of slow orders and the restoration of Class II track speeds across the line.
Napoleon Defiance & Western Railway —This project is a continuation of the 2020 CRISI project and ORDC’s 2021 project. It consists of similar work, primarily rail replacement. The $13.2 million project will complete the remaining portion of the line between Defiance and Napoleon and brings the entirety of the line back to a state of good repair.
RJ Corman Railroad — This project will rehabilitate two sections of track, one near Dover and one near Warwick, Ohio. The $4,309,408 project will result in the elimination of slow orders and the restoration of Class II track speeds.
“Cincinnati Planning Grant” = Easy, connect the Indiana/Illinois Sub from East Louis to the former C&O mainline going east at the Ohio River Bridge. Then you would have a coast to river corridor that wouldn’t have to traverse Queensgate (or Avon) or do those ridiculous moves.
Queensgate is full of N-S traffic, so you might as well take your E-W traffic and stop trying to ram it through Queensgate and Avon.
“Napoleon Defiance & Western Railway” = A YouTube favorite for rocking and bobbling boxcars and hoppers on rail that looks like a string.