CLINTON, N.C. — Short line owner and operator Regional Rail has acquired the Clinton Terminal Railroad, a 3.5-mile switching railroad in Clinton that interchanges with CSX Transportation.
Carolina Coastal Railway, a Regional Rail operation in northeastern North Carolina, will become the new owner and operator of the Clinton Terminal assets, operating the line as its Clinton Branch. The new operation will not physically connect to the rest of the Carolina Coastal Railway.
“We are excited to partner with the team at Clinton Terminal and view this as a natural expansion of our footprint in North Carolina,” Regional Rail CEO Al Sauer said in a press release from 3i Group, the international infrastructure investment group backing Regional Rail. “We believe there are attractive opportunities in the market and look forward to building upon the railroad’s existing operations.”
Clinton Terminal CEO Bob Lowe said, “We are proud of what we have built at Clinton Terminal over the years and believe that Regional Rail will be a great steward of the railroad, in addition to a strong partner to our customers going forward.”
Regional Rail’s 13 railroads in eight states and the province of Saskatchwan range from the 179-mile Carolina Coastal to the 1.5-mile Tyburn Railroad in Morrisville, Pa. More information is available at the Regional Rail website.
The vision of Regional Rail, LLC (formed in 2007 and based in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania), is to acquire or create a core group of short-line railroads and or rail related companies, and to manage these companies according to best practices in the industry.
The business model of Regional Rail, LLC is to realize the synergies of combining these smaller entities into a larger enterprise, thereby reducing administrative costs, increasing marketing opportunities, improving negotiating position with suppliers and connecting carriers, and increasing the purchasing power of the combined entities. This will provide improved customer satisfaction, improved profitability, and facilitate long-term growth and continued reinvestment into these companies.
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