2008 loan that was provided by what was then Plantation Federal Bank. Pippin claimed that the debt problems had already been dealt with. Officials from government and business considered it critical to have the presence of rail transportation not only to support current jobs, but to also facilitate expansion of existing businesses, the location of new businesses and the growth of jobs. Carolina Southern currently owns 93 miles of track in the counties with 2 being in South Carolina and 1 in North Carolina. After being shut down more than a year, the company had spent $400,000 on the seven bridges that had the worst problems, according to Jason Pippin, the railroad's general manager, and work had been completed on three of the bridges. He estimated that the work to repair the other four unsafe bridges would cost $1.5 million. On September 29, 2012, it was announced that a committee was formed to find new ways to get the service back online; it consisted of members from Columbus County, North Carolina, Marion County, South Carolina and Horry County, South Carolina. On October 8, 2012, at a meeting in Loris, South Carolina, Carolina Southern owner Ken Pippin said that he did not have the money to make all the necessary improvements. The minimum amount that would be needed to get the railroad up and running again was estimated at $1.5 million and further improvements could add up beyond $12 million. Pippin, with the help of Horry County, had applied for federal grants, but had been turned down twice. Some of the committee members asked Pippin if he would be willing to sell the rail line and Pippin told WBTW that was not what he wanted; it was a family business that inherited a lot of problems, but they were able to cure those, and he was sure that they would be able to cure these. Possible sale Several months later, the committee heard from a company that was interested in buying the line, according to committee co-chairman Doug Wendel. Wendel said the Pippin family had essentially abandoned the line, something Ken Pippin disputed. Wendel told the committee that the service is essential to the local area and went on to say that a lot of land along the line could be used by manufacturers if the railroad were up and running. In May 2013, Norfolk Southern sued Carolina Southern for nearly