Submitted by Rick Bivins
…from Kentuckians for Better Transportation (KBT)
On October 9, GoRail and KBT, together with KBT Member R.J. Corman, participated in a “cracker barrel session” about the economic benefits of freight rail at the Kentucky League of Cities annual conference in Louisville at the Galt House Hotel and Convention Center.
More than 25 years ago, ground was broken on a 1,300-acre tract of farmland in Scott County. The spot is now home to KBT Member Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky (TMMK), Toyota’s largest manufacturing facility outside of Japan, with nearly 7,000 employees. The location of TMMK has helped shape Kentucky’s automotive industry landscape into the powerhouse that it is today. Scott County was chosen because of its access to freight rail. In addition, Toyota has about 100 automotive suppliers in Kentucky alone, which employ over 9,600 workers dedicated to producing parts for Toyota vehicles.
Toyota continues to expand this facility, creating even more new jobs in Kentucky. In 2013, TMMK announced a significant upgrade at the facility with plans to invest $530 million and create 750 new jobs. This is just one example how freight rail helps create jobs in Kentucky, a state that is fortunate to have 2,600 miles of freight rail lines moving everything from cars to coal.
America’s privately owned freight railroads have invested more than $550 billion of their own funds – not taxpayer dollars – back into the rail network since 1980, including $26 billion this year alone. These infusions of private capital have made the US rail system the safest, most productive and efficient freight rail network in the world.
GoRail helps spread the word about the importance of a strong and growing freight rail system to the broader economy and to businesses and communities large and small in Kentucky and nationwide.
With freight volumes continuing to rise as the economy picks up steam, rail will have an event larger role to play, including accommodating growth in Kentucky’s automotive industry, safely delivering energy supplies and continuing to support economic growth in the Commonwealth.