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Photo by Duncan Adams | The Roanoke Times

Gov. Tim Kaine addresses the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday. He said transportation and health care are "strategic niches" for the changing economy of the Roanoke Valley.

Hold the caboose.

The railroad spawned Roanoke and, according to Gov. Tim Kaine, transportation seems destined in the years ahead to be one of two powerful economic drivers for the Roanoke Valley and the region.

Health care being the other.

Kaine described these two industries as "strategic niches" for the region's changing economy.

Visiting downtown Roanoke on Tuesday, Kaine spoke to board members for the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce. The audience included Dr. Ed Murphy, president and chief executive officer of Carilion Clinic, and other business and education leaders. Carilion is the region's largest employer.

Wayne Strickland, executive director of the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission, invited Kaine to reveal the preferred site for an intermodal freight yard proposed for the region. Kaine demurred but said an announcement is nigh.

The Roanoke Valley's proximity to a key railroad corridor, to interstates that include I-81, I-77 and I-64, and to East Coast markets position the region to milk the economic advantages of being a key transportation hub, he said.

The governor expressed support for a Roanoke-based medical school that will be a collaborative effort of Carilion Clinic and Virginia Tech. He said Tech's goal of being a top research institution will be furthered by medical research.

Kaine has proposed a $1.6 billion bond package for higher education needs, a package that would include funding for the medical school.

He said Tuesday that although Virginia is feeling the effects of the housing slump, credit crunches and other national economic woes, state investment in higher education will be key to priming the economic development pump for years to come.

Radford University President Penelope Kyle agreed and urged fellow board members to emphasize the chamber's support for the bond proposal.

But Kaine's education focus begins years before college. As he has stressed for months, Kaine touted the benefits of a pre-kindergarten proposal that he and others believe will help at-risk 4-year-olds build reading skills and succeed in crucial early grades.

In November, Kaine was keynote speaker for the Roanoke Regional Chamber's annual dinner. During both meetings, he described his affection for and ties to the Roanoke Valley, where his wife, Anne Holton, spent much of her childhood.