(The Leaf-Chronicle posted the following article by Tonnd Defeo on its website on February 10.)
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — Rail service will likely be the key to attracting a large-scale industry to Montgomery County.
And CSX, a Class I railroad operating in Guthrie, Ky., is helping to promote the Teeter Farm, a 1,010-acre tract of land in rural eastern Montgomery County that could be used to lure an automobile assembly plant to the area.
“We would be very excited about the potential of the possibility of locating an automotive assemble plant on this site,” said Alan Beaty, director of industrial development for CSX Transportation.
Last month, the County Commission voted to rezone the farm for industrial use. The Industrial Development Board holds a five-year option to buy the property.
“I think that could be one of the best things to happen to us right now is to bring in a new employer, hopefully one that has a higher wage base than what we have right now,” said County Mayor Doug Weiland. “That’s one of the biggest things that’s held this county back is our per capita family income. It’s lower than other counties our size.”
In 2002, Toyota considered Montgomery County for a truck assembly plant. Citing a lack of Class I rail service — a rail company that transports at least $250 million in gross revenue annually — Toyota, however, chose a site in San Antonio, Texas.
“The problem that we’ve run into in the past with a project (for this site) is that our town is not served by a Class I railroad,” said Mike Evans, executive director of the Industrial Development Board.
One regional railroad, the Nicholasville, Ky.,-based R.J. Corman, operates a line from Guthrie to Cumberland City. The railroad, which passes through Clarksville, connects with CSX in Guthrie.
To accommodate a potential industry’s rail requirements, CSX and R.J. Corman could negotiate a trackage rights agreement. Once a spur into the property is built, CSX could operate trains over R.J. Corman’s tracks, offering direct rail service into the industrial site.
“CSX and (R.J. Corman) had discussions to the effect, if Toyota demanded that CSX provide rail service direct to the site, (R.J. Corman) had agreed that we could,” Beaty said. “As far as future projects, (R.J. Corman) and CSX would have to study each opportunity, and based upon the merits of that opportunity, make a determination at that time if we would be allowed to serve the site.”
Also working to the favor of local recruiters, R.J. Corman’s tracks won’t need upgrades, Beaty said. Such an upgrade could cost millions of dollars in rehabilitation, something that plagues many short-line railroads nationwide.
“As far as I am aware of there would be no need for any upgrades to (R.J. Corman) trackage between Guthrie, Ky., and the site,” Beaty said. “There is no rail directly serving the site at present. An Industrial Lead would need to be built from the existing track to the site. There have been a couple of suggested alignments for a proposed Industrial Lead that would allow direct rail access to the site in question.”