I know that this is an older news article from a four years ago, but
they are really working hard on revitilizing my areas corridor.  I
live on Dixie Highway not far from Ft. Knox.  I'm about 25 miles south
of Downtown Louisville.  The city of Louisville is a large area that
has abosorbed a lot of smaller surrounding communities through Merger.

The city is literally 110 miles from farthest points of it's boundary
as the crow flies.

This organization is behind it and they want to bring passenger rail
back to our state.  http://www.cartky.org they have some neat
historical information there too.

They have been experimenting with Commuter Rail... the proposed route
that I took a ride with (I was invited by our local councilwoman to
go) took about two and a half hours round trip and it was a pleasant
ride.

Rail would benefit Louisville, as many jobs are located in the
Elizabethtown area.  WOrkers could ride this route to go to Ft. Knox,
and farther.  It could be extended up in the communities of Southern
Indiana and it would connect through the Airport.

Here's the article...

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Talk of Commuter Train Gains Momentum

The idea of bringing back the commuter train is gaining momentum in
Metro Louisville.  Local and national leaders took a test ride this
morning from Louisville to Hardin County.

The last time we heard a train whistle was when Amtrak's "Kentucky
Cardinal" ran briefly through Louisville several years ago.  Now, a
number of people want to bring back the good ol' days when passengers
boarded the train to commute to work.

"I brought my newspaper and I brought a soft drink and I'm just going
to ride along like a regular commuter and get the feel of it," said
Jim King, (D) Metro Council President.

Metro Council members and other community leaders, including
Congressman John Yarmuth, arrived at Union Station this morning to
explore the possibility of bringing back commuter rail.

"It's imperative that we do this because these are the things you
can't say, well, we don't have any money today and we probably can't
make it viable today, so we're not going to worry with it because this
is the type of thing that requires some vision," said Yarmuth.

So, all aboard the "Inspection Train" at the P&L Railway Yard.  The
train would take people between Louisville and Cecilia, Kentucky near
Elizabethtown, with stops along Dixie Highway.

The Coalition for the Advancement of Regional Transportation, or CART
wants to show government officials just how easy and inexpensive it is
to re-start commuter rail service.

"Basically, a very simple construction of putting in some platforms,
extending a piece of railroad track about 500 feet down in
Elizabethtown, and maybe re-timing some signals along the railroads to
get a little faster speed," said John Owen, CART.

Saturday's ride was slower, but once the train and tracks are refined,
folks would ride at a brisk 60 miles an hour.  That's twice as fast as
the "Kentucky Cardinal."

Council president Jim King says the ride was smooth and scenic.  TARC
estimates it would cost at least $50 million to re-build the commuter
rail line.

Director Barry Barker says the next step is to start a study of how
many people are interested in the train service and what all is
involved.


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