I hope Norfolk Southern has the contact information of the company that makes the big checks for lottery winners because it’s going to need one to fill out to the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. With all precincts reporting, the measure to sell the Cincinnati Southern Railway has passed by a margin of 51.6% to 48.4%.
The Cincinnati Southern Railway is currently the only municipally owned long distance railroad in the country. Running from its namesake Cincinnati to Chattanooga, Tennessee, the railroad has been leased by the Cincinnati New Orleans Texas and Pacific (CNO&TP), a subsidiary of the Southern Railway, now Norfolk Southern, since 1881.
With the sale, NS will be paying the City of Cincinnati $1.6 Billion in one lump sum payment. The City says the money will be used for infrastructure maintenance and upgrades.
The deal has already been approved by the Surface Transportation Board so once the sale is finalized, the railroad will be officially be Norfolk Southern property.