The volume of freight that CSX transports through the central United States is growing, and CSX continuously reviews its operating network to seek ways to optimize the service it provides to customers. As part of transforming into the Network of Tomorrow, CSX is investing in critical freight corridors to better serve local customers and communities with faster, more efficient service.

In Indiana, CSX and the Louisville & Indiana Railroad (LIRC) agreed to a plan in 2013 to improve efficiency and safety along a 106-mile corridor between the important consumer and freight hubs of Louisville and Indianapolis. Under the agreement, CSX is investing up to $90 million to upgrade tracks, bridges and signals to safely support the anticipated growth of traffic between those crucial waypoints. The agreement was approved by the Surface Transportation Board after extensive review and public input.

For residents along the corridor, the CSX-funded upgrades are expected to reduce the time trains take to move through grade crossings, improving safety and vehicle-traffic flow.

CSX also will be able to reduce transit times for customer shipments between Louisville and Indianapolis by routing freight directly on the LIRC. That route reduces the trip length by more than 50 percent by eliminating the need to move through more congested interim destinations.

The service changes enabled by these investments also will provide enhanced rail access for the Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville and improved connectivity for manufacturers, farmers, marine ports and other contributors to the area’s economic growth.

CSX and the LIRC appreciate the high level of interest from area residents about potential impacts, and have communicated directly with many of the communities along the route about the expectations for increased traffic and increased train speeds along the corridor. The safety of area residents will always be the highest priority as these changes are implemented. Outreach efforts have included:

• Installation of signs at many crossings between Louisville and Seymour, Ind., announcing the potential increase in the number, length and speed of trains on the corridor.
• Public announcements in newspapers distributed throughout the Louisville-Seymour corridor about the potential increase in the number, length and speed of trains on the corridor. See an example of a public announcement (PDF).
• Indiana Operation Lifesaver presentations to schools and community groups, to raise awareness of the risks of unsafe behavior around railroad crossings and tracks. Indiana Operation Lifesaver is a nonprofit public safety program dedicated to promoting safe behaviors at highway-rail grade crossings and along railroad rights-of-way.
• Meetings with municipal officials in communities throughout the region (Jeffersonville, Sellersburg, Scottsburg, Seymour, Columbus, Edinburgh, Franklin, Whitewood, Greenwood) to discuss anticipated increases in speed and volume of trains.
• Joint railroad safety-training programs for first responders and emergency managers in Columbus, Seymour, Scottsburg and Jeffersonville. Over two weeks in September 2016, nearly 400 firefighters, emergency medical technicians, emergency managers and municipal officials were trained in how to be safe around active railroads, unique safety features of modern rail tank cars and specialized techniques for responding to railroad incidents involving hazardous materials. A large group also participated in an operational scenario that required response and coordination by several first-response and emergency management agencies.

CSX and the Louisville & Indiana Railroad will continue to make information available about the operational changes that are occurring on the corridor. 

Contacts

If you are a member of one of the communities affected by these upgrades and you would like to receive email updates on the progress of this project, please fill out the form below. 

You can also reach CSX by email, either using the form below or by sending a message directly to LIRCInfo@csx.com.

Updates

CSX and the Louisville & Indiana Railroad may issue updates about the status of this project in the future. If you would like to sign up to receive new information that may be published, please submit your name and email address through the form below.