(The Nashville City Paper posted the following article by Jeremy Heidt on its website on May 22.)
NASHVILLE — The No. 1 freight railroad in the east, CSX Transportation, will be spending $47 million on maintenance and upgrades in Tennessee during 2003, an increase of $8 million from last year.
The company, a division of Jacksonville, Fla.-based CSX Corp., owns and maintains approximately 1,025 route miles of railroad tracks in the state. There are CSX facilities in Nashville, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis, Erwin and Bruceton.
CSX facilities in Nashville will not be part of any specific railroad infrastructure improvements.
There were no large dollar projects that stuck out from the plans I saw, said David Hall, a CSX spokesman in Jacksonville.
Lyle Key, resident vice president of the freight company for Tennessee, said “Tracks, signals and facilities are the backbone of our company. This investment represents our commitment to ensure that our rail infrastructure meets the highest industry standards — providing safe and efficient freight transportation for our customers and the communities we serve. “