Indiana & Ohio Railway receives ORDC grant up to $614,456

Indiana & Ohio Railway, a G&W company,receives ORDC grant up to $614,456.

Genesee & Wyoming

On May 11, the Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) approved a grant in the amount of $614,456, matched by Indiana & Ohio Railway (IORY) (A Genesee & Wyoming Company) at $614,456, for a total project investment of $1,228,912.

The work consists of two related elements on the Midland Subdivision: installation of a crossover near Oakley Yard in Cincinnati and improvements to Midland Yard in Clinton County.

IORY’s Midland Subdivision traffic interchanges with CSX in Cincinnati. IORY processes interchange traffic at Oakley Yard and uses IORY mainline trackage between the CSX interchange and Oakley Yard to stage cars to be processed. Capacity at Oakley Yard can be limited due to the volume of interchange traffic. Cars staged on IORY mainline trackage may need to be retrieved before they are moved to Oakley Yard for processing. In the present configuration, trains must be pulled through Oakley Yard to retrieve desired cars from the consist staged on the mainline. The installation of a crossover (essentially a set of switches that connect parallel tracks) would facilitate retrieving cars without moving the entire consist, which requires additional crew time, disrupts yard processing, and blocks grade crossings east of Oakley Yard during the operation.  IORY utilizes its Midland Yard in Clinton County for local service to area customers. Midland Yard’s tracks are effectively stub-ended because a portion of the tracks and switches are out of service. The project would remove out of service track and construct new switches to allow the yard to be usable from both directions instead of one. Yard tracks would be rehabilitated with new ties and ballast. Additionally, two tracks over a grade crossing would be removed, improving roadway conditions and safety for the traveling public.

“Together with the railroad we can help to improve safety in this corridor as well as reduce the potential for blocking crossings in the area, which impacts both safety and commerce for the railroad as well as the traveling public. ORDC is happy to support the IORY in this investment.  Several IORY customers will be positively impacted by the improved fluidity resulting from this project,” said Matthew Dietrich, Executive Director of the ORDC. 

Jared Rishel, AVP Engineering, Northern Region, Genesee & Wyoming, Inc., said “the ORDC’s assistance has allowed the IORY the ability to better service customers in the Wilmington and Greenfield Ohio areas by increasing capacity in Midland City. The addition of a crossover in Norwood creates fluidity in breaking down and blocking North bound freight in Cincinnati, also reducing the amount of time crossings are blocked in Oakley.”

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