A proposal by area planners to move Radnor Rail Yard in Nashville could free up the tracks currently being used by CSX for freight trains and allow passenger trains to use the tracks as well.
Radnor Rail Yard is a sprawling 517-acre sight tucked behind industrial buildings near I-65 and Harding Place, hundreds of freight cars and shipping containers pass through the southeast's second largest rail yard every day.
Moving the facility would be costly and incredibly complicated. Officials estimate moving Radnor Rail Yard would take nearly $400 million, far less advocates said the the $1 billion likely needed to build a light rail system.
"Right now using the freight lines for transit isn’t an option because the line is at capacity, so you can’t share the rail lines," said Michelle Lacewell, interim director of Nashville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization.
Lacewell's group was in the process of commissioning a study to look at the plan which would allow passenger trains to use the rail lines that run parallel to I-65.
"It’s an opportunity and when we’re growing as a region we don’t have a lot of extra land, so looking at the best use for our assets is really important," she added.
The plan is still in it's initial phases. One of the biggest hurdles will be finding a place for CSX to relocate.
