The Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad will take over CSX’s Decatur Subdivision in Illinois and the neighboring Danville Secondary in Indiana on or around Sept. 6, pending regulatory approval, Watco said in a filing with the Surface Transportation Board.
Meanwhile, the line’s largest shipper, agricultural products company Archer Daniels Midland, told federal regulators it supports the sale of the 126.7 miles of track to Watco. The deal also includes 3.6 miles of trackage rights on Canadian National’s former Illinois Central Peoria Subdivision in Decatur.
The D&EIR expects revenue to top $5 million from the 14 customers that are currently served on the CSX routes. The terms of the deal were not disclosed in the regulatory filings.
Watco currently plans to use six GP38-2s on the line, spokeswoman Tracie VanBecelaere says.
The line sale comes as CSX seeks to prune its network of lower-density, non-core routes. About 8,000 miles of trackage are under review for potential sale or lease.
CSX put the Decatur Sub and Danville Secondary on the block in January along with a route across the Florida Panhandle. No transaction has yet been made public regarding the Florida trackage.
CSX put several other lines out to bid in June, including secondary lines in New York, Kentucky, North Carolina, and West Virginia.
The Decatur & Eastern Illinois will acquire the Decatur Sub between Montezuma, Ind., and Decatur, as well as the Danville Secondary between Terre Haute, Ind., and Olivet, Ill., plus the Paris Industrial Track in Paris, Ill.
On July 6, Watco notified unionized workers on the affected lines that it would have employment opportunities in Decatur and Paris, Ill. Watco is seeking four conductors, five engineers, a locomotive laborer, a track inspector, two track laborers, and two track foremen.
CSX says affected employees have the option of staying with the Class I railroad.
Watco, based in Pittsburg, Kan., currently operates 38 shortline railroads in the U.S., totaling 5,100 miles of track, as well as 31 industrial contract switching locations.
“CSX says affected employees have the option of staying with the Class 1 railroad”, yeah, as long as they pull up stakes and move to some other place at their own expense, and probably take a pay cut just to help out those poor, downtrodden CSX shareholders.
It may still be called the “Danville Secondary” but they finally tore up the rails between Olivet and Belgium south of Danville after not seeing a train for over 20 years.
Sure hope FEC captures CSX’s panhandle….