advertisement

---

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is soliciting public feedback as part of a process aimed at updating the state rail plan, which was last updated in 2009. The department will hold three rail planning open houses around the state this month, beginning today in Vincennes. The meeting locations have the highest volumes of freight- and/or passenger-rail traffic in Indiana.

States applying for rail funding must develop an approved state rail plan under the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act. Indiana’s plan calls for inventorying all rail lines in the state, identifying infrastructure issues, analyzing rail’s role within a “multi-modal environment” and reviewing public financing issues, INDOT officials said in a prepared statement. The department expects to complete a draft rail plan in fall and make the document available for public review.

INDOT will send surveys to railroads, businesses and other groups that depend on rail transportation to solicit their input. Department officials also “want to hear from rail users and other public stakeholders about their vision for the future of freight and passenger rail in Indiana,” they said.