
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 11, 1994                   TAG: 9405110101
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV_1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: By MARA LEE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

CORNING RETURNS TO RAIL SPUR

With a request for the state to chip in $150,000, the Corning Plant plans to once again ride the rails.

Before Corning closed in the mid-80s, the factory transported much of its raw materials in box cars instead of 18-wheelers. Since it reopened in 1988, Corning in Christiansburg has relied solely on tractor-trailers. The truck traffic is continuous, said Kelly Bridge, facilities engineer, day and night.

So Corning wants refurbish the rail spur on its site.

One rail car can carry much more than a truckload, and with fewer people, too. Using train freight is a "smarter and more economical decision," Bridge said.

Bridge said he couldn't say how much it would save or how much of the project would be publicly funded.

The Norfolk and Western route would run south through Christiansburg, crossing Franklin Street near Lowe's and later cutting across Virginia 114, where the track has been paved over, west of the New River Valley Mall. It would continue north along Corning's western property line, and end there.

Environmental concerns did not play a part in the decision for this division, which makes parts for catalytic converters. But the volume of traffic on U.S. 460 did, Bridge said. "This is an opportunity for a win-win," he said. "We will reduce that burden."

An assembly line expansion, which the company plans to finish in 1995, would add to the highway's traffic.

Bridge couldn't say what percentage of the plant's volume 100 rail cars a year constitutes. That's the target amount for rail shipment. Packaging, minor ingredients for the ceramics and finished products will continue to go by road.

The plant management is pleased that the Montgomery County Supervisors supported the state funding request. "Any support will make this whole enterprise that much more feasible. [We] do things that make good business sense."

And Bridge said the company wanted to lead by example. "We just hope that it will encourage other people to look positively at rail transportation."

by CNB