(The following story by John Nolan appeared on the Dayton Daily News website on August 28, 2010.)
DAYTON, Ohio — Officials of Dayton International Airport and local governments are pushing a plan to extend rail service onto the airport, hoping that the added shipping capacity could attract new business investment and jobs to the region.
Neighboring communities have been working with the airport and Montgomery and Miami counties for several years to shape the rail transport concept.
They contend that the rail project, which could cost $19 million and take until at least 2014 to complete, would make land designated for commercial development more attractive to logistics and distribution companies, as well as manufacturers, by increasing the capabilities for moving products and materials in and out of the region. “We just have to make ourselves as marketable as possible to those people,” said Rob Anderson, Vandalia’s assistant city manager.
Vandalia’s Northwoods Industrial Park, home to several businesses, is one of the commercial sites that could benefit from the rail access, Anderson said. Union, Tipp City and Butler and Monroe townships have also been involved in the discussions.
The project involves extending an existing CSX Transportation rail line that currently ends in Vandalia across North Dixie Drive and onto the airport property, ending at the United Parcel Service-owned air freight terminal. UPS closed the terminal in 2006, but has continued to maintain it and is talking with a developer about possible new uses.
A bridge that carries the rail spur across Interstate 75 still exists. CSX removed some track from the line after the Delphi Corp. plant in Vandalia reduced operations in recent years, but CSX still owns the right of way and could install new track if the project goes forward, said Erik Collins, Montgomery County’s manager of economic development.
Montgomery County has applied to the state for $750,000 to do an engineering and environmental-impact study, before the county would request millions more for construction to begin.
It is one of 65 transportation projects that the state’s Transportation Review Advisory Council has been asked to examine and recommend for state and federal funding. TRAC’s final decision isn’t expected until March 2011.