QUEENSBURY, N.Y. — OmniTRAX has withdrawn its application to run the Saratoga Springs-North Creek, N.Y., line formerly operated by Iowa Pacific, leaving just one group as a potential operator. “We’ve got better opportunities elsewhere,” OmniTRAX spokesman Ron Margulis told the Albany Times Union. Originally, three groups had considered taking over the route operated by Iowa […]
Railroad: Short Lines/Regionals
State chooses eastern Washington short line operator for publicly owned line NEWSWIRE
SEATTLE — The shuffling of operators for segments of the state-owned Palouse River & Coulee City in eastern Washington state continues. The Washington State Department of Transportation said it picked Omaha Track as the winning bidder to operate the 90-mile P&L branch of the PCC, which runs from the Idaho border near Pullman to Marshall, […]
Floods disrupt freight service on South Dakota line NEWSWIRE
PIERRE, S.D. – It could be early June before freight service is fully restored on the Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad east of Pierre, S.D. Heavy rains last week led to multiple washouts, including two severe washouts, on the Genesee & Wyoming-owned property in central South Dakota. G&W spokesman Michael Williams tells News Wire […]
Short line set to begin operating CSX Florida Panhandle trackage NEWSWIRE
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad will begin operating CSX Transportation’s 373-mile route across the Florida Panhandle on June 1. The new short line, owned by RailUSA, will use 20 locomotives leased from Wells Fargo. Nineteen units have been delivered, although none has yet been painted into RailUSA’s red, white, and blue paint […]
Brookfield Asset Management, Blackstone Group show interest in Genesee & Wyoming NEWSWIRE
DARIEN, Conn. – Investment firms Brookfield Asset Management Inc. and Blackstone Group LP have shown interest in acquiring shortline railroad operator Genesee & Wyoming. The inquiries are made through affiliate companies Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners and EQT Partners, according to Bloomberg. In March, Trains News Wire reported of G&W’s desire for an investment parter, or outright […]
Cimarron Valley acquires secondhand GE locomotives NEWSWIRE
Cimarron Valley C40-8 No. 4053 sits outside Metro East Industries’ paint booth in East St. Louis, Ill. The locomotive was built as CSX No. 7616 in 1990. Mark Mautner SATANTA, Kan. – Cimarron Valley Railroad has been awarded a grant by Kansas Department of Transportation to assist in replacing the train line’s 13 aging locomotives […]
Pioneer RailCorp agrees to merger with Brookhaven NEWSWIRE
A Keokuk Junction Railway’s FP9 locomotive leads a train in Illinois. Keokuk’s parent company is being merged with Brookhaven Rail Partners. Steve Smedley PEORIA, Ill. — Pioneer RailCorp, which operates a number of shortline railroads, announced in a news release Friday that the company has entered into a merger agreement with Brookhaven Rail Partners to […]
Summer 2019 likely to be the last for short line’s six-axle Montreal Locomotive Works units NEWSWIRE
Montreal Locomotive Works C630 No. 630 pauses at the head of a Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad train to re-fuel. The locomotive will likely be mothballed in the near future in favor of newer power. Stephan Koenig ERIE, Pa. — Famed Alco railroad Western New York & Pennsylvania will soon replace its venerable six-axle […]
Paper mill closure may affect short line NEWSWIRE
LUKE, Md. — The shutdown of the Verso Corp. paper mill here may affect the industrial switching activities of the Georges Creek Railway, according to the railroad’s Gerald Altizer. The mill, which occupies 228 acres and has been in operation for 131 years, is scheduled to close on June 30. It employs 675 people from […]
Twin Cities & Western wrapping up track project on Minnesota Prairie Line NEWSWIRE
NorthShore Track crews work on installation of welded rail on the Minnesota Prairie Line between Winthrop and Gibbon, Minn., in August 2018. The project is scheduled for completion this year. Bryant Kaden GLENCOE, Minn. – The Twin Cities & Western Railroad plans to wrap up a track rebuilding project on its wholly-owned subsidiary Minnesota Prairie […]
Pittsburgh-area short lines to acquire routes from CSX Transportation NEWSWIRE
The Allegheny Valley Railroad will purchase lines it is currently leasing from CSX. Carload Express WASHINGTON – Pittsburgh area short line Allegheny Valley Railroad will acquire 47.5 miles of rail lines it has leased from CSX Transportation since 2003. The deal, disclosed in a regulatory filing on Wednesday, will require Surface Transportation Board approval. It would […]
British investment group to acquire US shortline, signalling firms NEWSWIRE
LONDON — A British investment manager, 3i Group, announced plans to take control of U.S. shortline operator Regional Rail LLC and grade-crossing equipment supplier Diamondback Signal LLC. 3i will own 100% of both companies. Headquartered in Kennett Square, Pa., Regional Rail operates the East Penn Railroad and Tyburn Railroad in Pennsylvania, as well as the […]
