(The following report appeared on the Omaha World-Herald website on November 12.)
NORFOLK — Nebraska Central Railroad has asked the City of Norfolk and the Madison County Railroad Transportation Safety District to help pay for $1.8 million in improvements on a rail line connecting Norfolk and Columbus.
Norfolk City Administrator Mike Nolan said that the rail line is important to Norfolk’s economic health and that he would like to see bond issues used to raise money for the improvements.
“It’s got to be fixed,” Nolan said. “We have as much at stake as the railroad does.”
Several Norfolk businesses use the rail line. The two largest users are Nucor Steel, which ships more than 14,000 cars each year, and Norfolk Iron and Steel, which ships more than 1,700 cars annually.