First Posted: 2/23/2015
LIMA — The increase in slow-moving trains in Lima is actually a good thing regionally.
Eric Davis, coordinator of strategic workforce development for the Allen Economic Development Group, said the slow-moving trains — that can conduct whether or not you’re late to work or appointments — are a sign the local economy is flourishing.
Davis spoke to the Lima Rotary Club Monday during its monthly meeting Monday.
Lima is considered an “interchange” town, where trains traveling east and west meet trains traveling north and south. Lima’s infrastructure can pose as an obstacle for some trains, Davis said, such as near the Husky Lima Refinery and Metcalf Street.
The curve in the tracks causes the trains to slow down their speed, backing up traffic for extended periods of time.
The increasing number of these types of trains is a good sign of economic upturn, Davis said, as the railroad industry took a large hit during the recession from 2007 to 2009.
As the economy emerges out of financial squalor, the fuel-efficient method of transportation has become increasingly popular once again, Davis said.
“Everything in this room, in your day, has probably been transported by trains at some point,” Davis said.
Lima, which is historically known for the Lima Locomotive Works, now features some of the largest railroad companies in the nation, such as CSX Corp., Norfolk Southern Railway and others. They deliver freight such as warehousing material, food industry material and others to the region.
Thus far in 2015, the railroad industry has seen $29 billion in capital investments, as well as private investments, Davis said, who sourced his information from the American Railroad Association.
“It’s a significant industry,” he said.
The industry is expected to make 15,000 new hires for positions across the nation in 2015.
Economically, the industry generates $628 million of economic impact locally, Davis said. Locally, each single rail-industry job creates 2.1 other jobs in the area, Davis said, calling the phenomenon a “job multiplier.”
For example, EAGLE Railcar Services in Cairo employs welders, mechanics, painters and general laborers who work to maintain the train cars that pass through the area, Davis said.
