In their filing, company officials write states that no traffic has moved on the line in the past two years. It is also disconnected from any other portion of the railroad since 22.8 miles from Bedford to Crane, Ind., was abandoned in 2011. The line appears on the railroad’s current system map as a CSX line.
Trains News Wire reported in November 2010 that local investigators suspected an arsonist burned a trestle across the White River, just south of Bedford. At the time, CSX decommissioned the line. State officials hoped to purchase the line to stimulate economic development, but the local port authority could not raise the necessary funds.
The Bedford line is the southernmost segment of the former Monon Railroad between Louisville, Ky., and Chicago. The Monon merged into the Louisville & Nashville Railroad in 1971. The L&N eventually became part of CSX.
CSX also has been in indirect control of the Indiana Rail Road since November 1996.
Sure would make a nice tourist line…:::
I agree with Mr Benson, very short sighted..
All you have to do is look at a RR map and see the Hoosier Sub is redundant. It was a great line with semaphores and some nice scenery, but low traffic ended regular moves in 2009. I doubt the former Monon will be around much longer.
After the infrastructure goes away, there is no getting it back. It looks like this is a rather large area just to give up on and never have rail transportation again.
There isn’t much rail-friendly business in southern Indiana to begin with, unless you’re looking at Evansville-Jasper-Princeton and metro Louisville.
Give the region to trucks.