Today's Train of Thought- Cardinal Truth About Passenger Rail in Kentucky, Nov. 15, 2010

Louisville, KY lost it's most recent incarnation of passenger rail back in 2003, with the cessation of Amtrak's Louisville Cardinal, an extension of Amtrak's Cardinal that ran from Chicago to Washington D.C. via Indianapolis and Cincinnati. The Louisville section of the Cardinal would simply operate over the Louisville & Indiana line between Indianapolis and Louisville after splitting off with the Chicago-D.C. section of the train, but the odd arrival and departure hours and 30 MPH track speed on the L&I eventually doomed it.

That's not to say there isn't any interest in passenger rail in Kentucky's largest city. In September 2008, a delegation of Kentucky transportation officials and commuter rail advocates travelled to Nashville, TN to inspect that city's Music City Star commuter rail service in the hopes of starting up a similar service in the Louisville area.

Approximately two months later, Four Rivers Transportation arranged a trainset for a trial run on the Paducah & Louisville line between Louisville and Cecilia, KY southwest of Louisville. Powered by PAL GP38-2 #3801 (painted in Louisville University Cardinals colors) and PAL GP38-2 #1998 (painted in University of Kentucky Wildcats colors), railpictures.net contributor Alex Moss caught the special passing through Muldraugh, KY (just North of Ft. Knox) on its return trip to Louisville, KY on November 8 2008. Even among the fall foliage, the consist stands out in contrast to the Paducah & Louisville's fleet of two-tone green diesels.