Six Kentucky short line projects receive $7.5 million in state grants

FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Commonwealth of Kentucky has awarded $7.5 million to six rail infrastructure projects under its Kentucky Short Line Infrastructure Preservation program.

Three companies were recipients of the awards. The Paducah & Louisville Railway received three awards totaling more than $4.2 million; the R.J. Corman Railroad group received two awards worth more than $2.2 million, and the Louisville & Indiana Railroad received an award of more than $1.08 million.

“Investing in multimodal infrastructure such as railroads is an investment not just in transportation but in our people,” Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary Jim Gray said in a press release. “Through this grant program, we’re creating more opportunities for more Kentuckians.”

The projects involved are:

— For the Paducah & Louisville, $1.9998 million to replace 30 turnouts and more than a half mile of surrounding track structure in the Calvert City industrial complex; $1.9997 million for tie replacement and track resurfacing on 53 miles of main line between Paducah and Mayfield, Ky.; and $202,310 for replacement of more than 21 miles of rail with new welded rail, along with related hardware.

— For R.J. Corman, $1.38 million for track improvements on three portions of its Central Kentucky Line, including replacement of almost 12,000 crossties, 125 switch ties, and switch installation on the Beltline and Versailles subdivisions; and $834,193 for 19 miles of track rehabilitation on the Russellville Subdivision, including 15,000 ties and more than four miles of rail.

— For the Louisville & Indiana, more than $1 million in matching funds for a federal CRISI grant to rehabilitate the Clagg Lift Span of the Fourteenth Street Bridge, connecting Louisville, Ky., and Clarksville, Ind.

It is the second time funds have been distributed under the program; it also awarded $7.5 million to eight projects in 2024 [see “Kentucky awards $7.5 million …,” Trains.com, Nov. 16, 2024]. The state also awarded some $3.6 million under two other programs earlier this year [see “Kentucky awards more than $3.6 million …,” Trains.com, April 11, 2025].