WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has granted Land Rush Rail Corp., part of Farmrail, permission to lease and operate 37.26 miles of track in Oklahoma and Kansas previously operated by the Blackwell Northern Gateway Railroad.
The route, from Wellington, Kan., to Blackwell, Okla, is owned by the Blackwell Industrial Authority and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Blackwell Northern was shut down by the Federal Railroad Administration in February 2024 because it was operating with what the FRA called “a complete disregard for the safety of the public” involving a “pattern of gross negligence and willful failures to comply with federal safety regulations” [see “FRA shuts down Oklahoma short line,” Feb. 6, 2024].
The STB subsequently granted short line Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific emergency operating authority to operate the line, and the two owning entities subsequently chose another company as the long-term operator, but cancelled that lease before it was consummated. Land Rush says in its filing that ODOT and the Industrial Authority have now selected it to be the long-term operator, and the parties have entered into a lease and operating agreement.
The STB decision is effective March 20.
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