(The following appeared on the Progressive Railroading website on August 23, 2010.)
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced it completed a grant agreement to help fund West Virginia’s portion of R.J. Corman Railroad Group’s “Appalachian Short Line Rail” rehabilitation project, which also will be completed in Kentucky and Tennessee.
The West Virginia portion of the project — which includes upgrades to bridges, grade crossings and crossties — will receive a $1.8 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant. The three states combined will receive $17.5 million in federal funding for the project through a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant the USDOT approved in February. West Virginia is the first state to sign its TIGER grant agreement with the department, USDOT officials said in a prepared statement.
The entire Appalachian Short Line Rail project calls for rehabilitating hundreds of miles of track on five unconnected short lines. The project will enable R.J. Corman to divert more coal, aluminum, sand and chemical traffic to rail, reducing highway congestion and road wear, according to the USDOT.