Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear has announced that the state will invest more than $3.1 million in 2011 for needed improvements to shortline railroads in a dozen Kentucky counties. Improvements include replacement or rehabilitation of rails, rail beds and railroad crossings.

"This is an investment in Kentucky's economy because freight railroads are indispensable to our economy," Gov. Beshear said.

"Freight rail companies, including the eight shortlines that operate in Kentucky, contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to our economy each year in the form of wages and benefits and that's only part of the story," Gov. Beshear said. "They provide business, industry and agriculture with a market connection that is safe, efficient and environmentally sound."

The state funding is from the Short Line Railroad Assistance Fund maintained by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. All the grants but one represent half the cost of a project, with each railroad providing the remainder as a match. The exception is a project to replace a Paducah & Louisville Railroad bridge at Muldraugh, in Hardin County. That grant is just $1 million toward a project that will cost $8 million.

A summary of the grants follows:

R.J. Corman Railroad-Central Kentucky Line

$463,038 for a rail siding at Midway, Woodford County.
$645,828 for rail line expansion at Lexington Center, Fayette County.

Paducah & Louisville Railroad

$1 million for bridge replacement at Muldraugh, Hardin County.
$39,150 to rehab crossing on KY 1646 in Elizabethtown, Hardin County.
$34,740 to rehab crossing on KY 920 in Leitchfield, Grayson County.
$25,344 to rehab crossing on KY 907 in Louisville.

TennKen Railroad

$196,740 for rail replacement, Fulton County.

Louisville & Indiana Railroad

$183,635 for repair of Ohio River bridge pier, Jefferson County.

TransKentucky Transportation Railroad

$359,901 for tie replacement and rail bed rehab in Bourbon, Nicholas, Fleming and Mason counties.

Kentucky Railway Museum

$190,350 for track and crossing rehab and repairs in Nelson and LaRue counties.