ENGINE OF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY

To many, rail transportation may seem like a thing of the past, with so much freight traffic having shifted to moving by truck since the 1950s. However, rail transportation remains to this day as one of the most fuel-efficient modes of moving freight. In addition to the 6 major Class 1 railroads, there are over 600 short line railroads across the nation that serve rural America connecting small businesses, large manufactures, and farmers with their suppliers and customers. According to the American Association of Railroads, around 1.6 billion tons of freight is transported in the United States by rail annually.

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In addition to fuel efficiency, rail transportation can be an environmentally friendly and cost-effective method of transporting various commodities in many situations. Marion County’s industries could take advantage of rail service in the transport of plastic pellets, automotive parts, lumber, steel, aluminum, cement, sand, mining equipment, and even scrap metal.

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Additionally, one of the major factors for site selection for large industrial facilities is if the site is near an interstate highway or a rail line. For example, it was recently announced that Diageo, who has a distillery in Lebanon, has plans to build a new $415 million dollar rail-served facility in Alabama. With the re-introduction of rail service, existing industries in the area would have the ability to benefit from the access to a more efficient mode a transportation for bulk materials, and future industries would have another reason to select the heart of Kentucky as their location of choice.

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The Lebanon Branch has the potential to serve as a corridor of economic opportunity today, just as it did over a century and half ago. As the Lebanon/Marion County area competes for investment, we owe it to ourselves to capitalize on every resource available, including the Lebanon Branch, to draw in and secure investment into our community.