Louisville and Indiana Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Louisville and Indiana Railroad is a Class III railroad
that operates freight service between Indianapolis, Indiana
and Louisville, Kentucky
, with a major yard and maintenance shop in Jeffersonville, Indiana
.
The 106-mile (171 km) line was purchased from Conrail in March 1994. Previous to Conrail, the line was owned by Penn Central, and before that, the Pennsylvania Railroad
. It serves the cities of Franklin
, Sellersburg
, Seymour
and Columbus, Indiana
, and also serves the former Clark Maritime Center, now Port of Indiana, Jeffersonville. In Louisville, the LIRC interchanges with the Paducah and Louisville Railway
, CSX Transportation
and the Indiana Rail Road
, former Canadian Pacific Railway
(via trackage rights over CSX's former Monon
line). Traffic from them mostly is potash. In Indianapolis, the line interchanges with CSX Transportation
at Avon Yard approximately 7 miles west of the Circle City.
The LIRC was briefly home to the Amtrak
passenger train Kentucky Cardinal, a failed attempt to capture express business from the United Parcel Service
air hub in Louisville. Inconvenient departure and arrival times, coupled with the prevailing 30-mph (50 km/h) speed limit on the LIRC, led to the train's demise in 2003. The former express facility is now run by A&R Transport, which is a plastics transload facility. Plastics make up the majority of the online business with the railroad.
CSX negotiated trackage rights over portions of the LIRC in 2004. This enabled CSX to abandon a portion of former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
trackage from New Albany, Indiana
to Jeffersonville, and access the remainder of the line to Charlestown, Indiana
and the former Indiana Ammunition Plant using LIRC trackage over its Ohio River
bridge. Additionally, CSX has used rights over the LIRC as far north as Seymour, where it connects with another former B&O line from Cincinnati, Ohio
to St. Louis, Missouri
. These trains have been used to bypass a congested CSX line directly between Cincinnati and Louisville.
The line's power includes GP39-2, GP38-2, and GP11s. There also is a GP16 on the property.
Road trains are:
CA: Day Train from Columbus to Avon Yard and back
CJ: Night train from Columbus to Jeffersonville and back.
Columbus Local: Runs from Columbus and does North work. Also switches industries on the old Madison Railroad
line in South Columbus. Most notable is the large Amcor
P.E.T. Packaging facility in Franklin, Indiana
.
JS3- Jeffersonville Yard Switcher. Switches inbound and outbound CJ train. Builds NS cut for the Transfer later in the day. Builds CSXT cut that their local train picks up.
Transfer: Which runs from Jeff Yard to Clark Maritime Center, Norfolk Southern Railway
interchange in Louisville, Kentucky
, . Also does industry work in Louisville.
Colgate: Switches industries on the Dutch Lane Runner in Jeffersonville.
Class III railroad
A Class III railroad, as defined by the Surface Transportation Board, is a railroad with an annual operating revenue of less than $20 million . The term only applies to United States railroads, but is sometimes applied to other countries...
that operates freight service between Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
and Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, with a major yard and maintenance shop in Jeffersonville, Indiana
Jeffersonville, Indiana
Jeffersonville is a city in Clark County, Indiana, along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It is directly across the Ohio River to the north of Louisville, Kentucky along I-65. The population was 44,953 at the 2010 census...
.
The 106-mile (171 km) line was purchased from Conrail in March 1994. Previous to Conrail, the line was owned by Penn Central, and before that, the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
. It serves the cities of Franklin
Franklin, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 19,463 people, 6,824 households, and 4,872 families residing in the city. The population increased by more than 50% during the 1990s , with new residents attracted by jobs in the community, as well as some people commuting to Indianapolis for work. The...
, Sellersburg
Sellersburg, Indiana
Sellersburg is a city located within Silver Creek Township, Clark County, Indiana, United States. It had a population of 6,128 at time of the 2010 census...
, Seymour
Seymour, Indiana
Seymour was the site of the World's First Train Robbery, committed by the local Reno Gang, on October 6, 1866 just east of town. The gang was put into prison for the robbery, and later hanged at Hangman's Crossing outside of town....
and Columbus, Indiana
Columbus, Indiana
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Bartholomew County, Indiana, United States. The population was 44,061 at the 2010 census, and the current mayor is Fred Armstrong. Located approximately 40 miles south of Indianapolis, on the east fork of the White River, it is the state's 20th largest...
, and also serves the former Clark Maritime Center, now Port of Indiana, Jeffersonville. In Louisville, the LIRC interchanges with the Paducah and Louisville Railway
Paducah and Louisville Railway
The Paducah & Louisville Railway is a Class II railroad that operates freight service between Paducah and Louisville, Kentucky.The 270-mile line was purchased from Illinois Central Gulf Railroad in August, 1986. The 223-mile main route runs between Paducah and Louisville with a branch line from...
, CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
and the Indiana Rail Road
Indiana Rail Road
The Indiana Rail Road is a United States Class II railroad, originally operating over former Illinois Central Railroad trackage from Newton, Illinois to Indianapolis, Indiana, a distance of 155 miles...
, former Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
(via trackage rights over CSX's former Monon
Monon Railroad
The Monon Railroad , also known as the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway from 1897–1956, operated almost entirely within the state of Indiana...
line). Traffic from them mostly is potash. In Indianapolis, the line interchanges with CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
at Avon Yard approximately 7 miles west of the Circle City.
The LIRC was briefly home to the Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
passenger train Kentucky Cardinal, a failed attempt to capture express business from the United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service, Inc. , typically referred to by the acronym UPS, is a package delivery company. Headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States, UPS delivers more than 15 million packages a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 220 countries and territories around the...
air hub in Louisville. Inconvenient departure and arrival times, coupled with the prevailing 30-mph (50 km/h) speed limit on the LIRC, led to the train's demise in 2003. The former express facility is now run by A&R Transport, which is a plastics transload facility. Plastics make up the majority of the online business with the railroad.
CSX negotiated trackage rights over portions of the LIRC in 2004. This enabled CSX to abandon a portion of former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
trackage from New Albany, Indiana
New Albany, Indiana
New Albany is a city in Floyd County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River opposite Louisville, Kentucky. In 1900, 20,628 people lived in New Albany; in 1910, 20,629; in 1920, 22,992; and in 1940, 25,414. The population was 36,372 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of...
to Jeffersonville, and access the remainder of the line to Charlestown, Indiana
Charlestown, Indiana
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 5,993 people, 2,341 households, and 1,615 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,570.0 people per square mile . There were 2,489 housing units at an average density of 1,067.4 per square mile...
and the former Indiana Ammunition Plant using LIRC trackage over its Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
bridge. Additionally, CSX has used rights over the LIRC as far north as Seymour, where it connects with another former B&O line from Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
to St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. These trains have been used to bypass a congested CSX line directly between Cincinnati and Louisville.
The line's power includes GP39-2, GP38-2, and GP11s. There also is a GP16 on the property.
Road trains are:
CA: Day Train from Columbus to Avon Yard and back
CJ: Night train from Columbus to Jeffersonville and back.
Columbus Local: Runs from Columbus and does North work. Also switches industries on the old Madison Railroad
Madison Railroad
The Madison Railroad , a division of the City of Madison Port Authority, is a short-line railroad in southeastern Indiana. The Madison Railroad begins along the Ohio River in the western part of the city of Madison and from there runs generally northwest through Jefferson County, then crosses...
line in South Columbus. Most notable is the large Amcor
Amcor
Amcor Limited is an Australian-based multinational packaging company. Its headquarters are in Hawthorn, Victoria ; and it is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange....
P.E.T. Packaging facility in Franklin, Indiana
Franklin, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 19,463 people, 6,824 households, and 4,872 families residing in the city. The population increased by more than 50% during the 1990s , with new residents attracted by jobs in the community, as well as some people commuting to Indianapolis for work. The...
.
JS3- Jeffersonville Yard Switcher. Switches inbound and outbound CJ train. Builds NS cut for the Transfer later in the day. Builds CSXT cut that their local train picks up.
Transfer: Which runs from Jeff Yard to Clark Maritime Center, Norfolk Southern Railway
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...
interchange in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, . Also does industry work in Louisville.
Colgate: Switches industries on the Dutch Lane Runner in Jeffersonville.