CSX to construct inspection yard in Kentucky

CSX Corp. yesterday announced that subsidiary CSX Transportation will build a new inspection yard in Hopkinsville-Christian County, Ky.

The facility will serve a growing freight-rail corridor between the Southeast and Midwest. The yard will be used to stage trains for inspection and fueling, primarily coal unit trains serving local Kentucky mines, CSX officials said in a press release.

The facility will enable the Class I to better accommodate customers' increased production levels in Kentucky and support ongoing traffic growth of various commodities along the corridor, which spans Evansville, Ind., Birmingham, Ala., and Chattanooga, Tenn., they said.

"More efficient rail service to Kentucky customers means a more vibrant economy and more opportunities for business expansion throughout the state," said David Hall, CSX's resident vice president of state relations.

Current yard development plans call for the multi-phase project to be completed by 2015. The Class I currently employs more than 2,400 people in Kentucky and last year spent more than $98 million on its network in the state.