Transtar’s East Ohio Valley Railway to grow

Transtar’s East Ohio Valley Railway to grow

By Trains Staff | May 7, 2024

| Last updated on August 6, 2025


Short line to add 18 miles through long-term lease from Norfolk Southern

Map of East Ohio Valley Railway
The East Ohio Valley Railway has added 18 miles of track and trackage rights to reach Mingo Junction, Ohio. Transtar

PITTSBURGH — East Ohio Valley Railway, one of the seven railroads of Transtar LLC, will more than double its operating mileage through a long-term lease of rail lines in the Powhatan Point, Ohio, area, Transtar has announced.

The East Ohio Valley, currently 12.2 miles, will add a total of 18 miles through lease from Norfolk Southern, adding 16.5 miles to Bellaire, Ohio, and gaining operating rights over NS to Mingo Junction, Ohio, for interchange, and beginning operation over 1.78 miles of the Capitna Secondary running west from Powhatan Point. Operation on the new routes will begin June 1.

“EOVR’s expanded operations will support and strengthen manufacturing and industrial development in the region, improve transit times, and enhance rail connectivity to the national rail network,” Transtar CEO Jonathan Carnes said in a press release. “We greatly appreciate our partners at Norfolk Southern for supporting our high-touch first-mile-last-mile service and look forward to expanding our rail network in the region.”

Transtar, a collection of former U.S. Steel railroads, was sold to a subsidiary of Fortress Transportation in 2021 [see “U.S. Steel to sell rail subsidiary …,” Trains News Wire, June 9, 2021]. The East Ohio Valley was acquired by Transtar in 2023. Other Transtar railroads are the Union Railroad in Duquesne, Pa.; the Delray Connecting Railroad in River Rouge, Mich.; the Fairfield Southern Co. in Alabama; the Gary Railway in Indiana; the Lake Terminal Railroad in Lorain, Ohio; and the Texas & Northern Railway in Lone Star, Texas.

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