The next step will be for the board to form an evaluation committee made up of trustees and city employees who will select an investment consultant who would manage the trust, should the sale get approved by voters. Photo: Madeline Fening

The board that manages the affairs of the Cincinnati Southern Railway has voted to put the railway’s sale on the Nov. 7 ballot.

A “Yes” vote would mean Norfolk Southern, a multi-billion dollar rail corporation that controls much of Ohio’s railroads, would give Cincinnati $1.6 billion for its city-owned Cincinnati Southern Railway. The city would invest the money into a trust fund that would live off the interest to pay for existing infrastructure needs, never touching the $1.6 billion principal.

During a July 13 meeting, board members discussed the need to get the ballot question to voters as soon as possible to avoid the sale becoming politicized in a 2024 general election year, but the sale is already embroiled in controversy.

A hard sell

After a train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed from its tracks in East Palestine on Feb. 3 (potentially caused by system neglect from the multi-billion dollar rail giant), a plume of thick black smoke painted a dark picture for the months to come. Days-long evacuations, scores of animals dead, anxiety and panic over the safety of the village’s drinking water ensued.

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The Cincinnati Southern Railway is a single rail line that starts in a sea of railroads at Queensgate Yard and ends in Chattanooga. The 336-mile commercial freight railway is the only city-owned multi-state railway in the country. Over the years, Cincinnati has leased the line to rail operator Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway (CNO&TP), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Norfolk Southern. The first lease agreement with CNO&TP was signed in 1881 and has been renewed on a 25-year cycle ever since.

The latest lease agreement turns 25 this year, and Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval wants Cincinnati to break up with the commercial rail industry in the form of a sale.
But voters have raised concerns about future safety if the city relinquishes ownership of its railway to the company that caused the fiery explosion of vinyl chloride in East Palestine.

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Pureval’s renewed pitch

Pureval made the pitch to voters less than four months before the catastrophic train derailment, but four months after the crash, he sat down with CityBeat to give a renewed pitch post-East Palestine. In that interview, Pureval said the decision to sell the railway is all about keeping the city’s budget afloat, and said getting rid of ownership shields the city from liability if Norfolk Southern were to have a catastrophic derailment in our own backyards.

“If people don’t want the city of Cincinnati having anything to do with Norfolk Southern, then they should vote for the sale,” Pureval told CityBeat. “Because the sale of the railroad separates us entirely from Norfolk Southern and its business. If they vote against the sale, they’re forcing the city into a relationship with Norfolk Southern for at least another 25 years.”

Even if voters vote “No” to the sale come November, Norfolk Southern will still operate on the Cincinnati Southern Railway for another 25 years. Like always, the federal government would be the sole entity in charge of regulating Norfolk Southern, keeping the public safe from their actions. However, Norfolk Southern has routinely lobbied against safety regulations and updating its Civil War-era brake systems.

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During the city’s campaign to convince voters that this sale is a good idea, Pureval said he will focus on the major economic struggles facing the city should the vote not pass.

“If this doesn’t pass and our deferred capital maintenance continues to go up by hundreds of millions of dollars then we would no longer be able to maintain the infrastructure we have,” Pureval told CityBeat. “Roads will no longer be able to be paved with regularity, potholes will continue to be a challenge. We wouldn’t be able to remove snow effectively and quickly. We’ll have to downsize the number of fire stations and police stations we have, which will have an impact on safety. We won’t be able to maintain the parks we have in our community. The basic blocking and tackling of running a city will no longer be affordable.”

What’s next?

The next step will be for the board to form an evaluation committee made up of trustees and city employees who will select an investment consultant who would manage the trust, should the sale get approved by voters.

Follow CityBeat’s staff news writer Madeline Fening on Twitter and Instagram.

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This article appears in Jul 12-25, 2023.