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In August 2008, the Central Railroad Co. of Indiana (CIND) will begin serving a new customer, and a major one at that: Honda Motor Co., which is building a $550 million vehicle assembly plant in Greensburg, Ind.

The automaker had considered building the plant in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin, but chose the Indiana site in June because the state offered more than $141 million in incentives and CIND offered multiple railroad connections between Cincinnati and Shelbyville, Ind. The 81-mile short line interchanges with Canadian National Railway Co., CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway and the Indiana & Ohio Railway Co.

Officials at CIND and its parent RailAmerica Inc. expect the Honda plant to generate about 10,000 carloads annually. RailAmerica plans to relocate and upgrade a mainline to serve the facility.

The holding company — which owns and operates 42 U.S. and Canadian short lines — has scored a number of industrial development wins the past few years. In 2004, several industrial projects increased annual carloads by 12,500 units and generated more than $4.5 million in annual revenue; in 2005, projects boosted carloads by more than 33,000 units and revenue by $6.6 million. Seventeen other industrial projects are expected to be completed this year or next and generate an additional $15.4 million in revenue.