(The following story by Adrian Burns appeared at bizjournals.com on December 5, 2008)
COLUMBUS, Oh – It may be awhile before Columbus sees a second new intermodal complex to serve its burgeoning logistics industry.
More than seven months after Gov. Ted Strickland and CSX Corp. chief Michael Ward publicly disclosed plans for $130 million in Ohio rail upgrades and expansions, it remains unclear where public money for the projects might come from as the recession ravages government budgets.
The economy also has reduced demand on CSX’s previously overtaxed intermodal yard on Columbus’ west side, spelling reduced urgency to build a new transfer facility in Central Ohio.
“It doesn’t mean we’re changing our long-term direction. It just means that we’re getting some breathing room to get Columbus completed,” said Scott Movshin, terminal manager at CSX’s Buckeye Yard facility in Columbus. “We’ve gone back in volume probably two years, and two years ago we were considering (a new intermodal yard), and a year ago it was a must.”
Though the company remains committed to growing in Columbus by 2015, the planned completion of a multistate expansion, whether a new CSX intermodal yard will come in the next few years or toward the end of the initiative is unclear. That will depend on the economy and the railroad’s ability to secure government funding, Movshin said.