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 go into effect on May 15.
Allegheny Valley, a unit of short line holding company Carload Express, will acquire:
— The W&P subdivision from milepost BO 5 at Glenwood Junction in Pittsburgh to milepost BO 38.14 in Washington, Pa.
— The 0.83-mile Tylerdale Connecting Track
— The P&W Sub No. 2 main from milepost BF 322.8 at Glenwood Junction to milepost BF 326.3 at East Schenley in Pittsburgh
— The P&W Sub from milepost BG 1 at Field in Pittsburgh to milepost BG 10.4 in Glenshaw, Pa.
— The 0.65-mile River Branch in Pittsburgh
— Portions of CSX’s Glenwood Yard from Glenwood Junction to Laughlin Junction in Pittsburgh.
The short line will retain trackage rights over CSX between East Schenley and Field, which are used to connect the two segments of the P&W Subdivision.
Allegheny Valley’s filing says no changes in operations are contemplated due to the purchase of the trackage.
The railroad operates 77 miles of track in and around Pittsburgh, with lines extending from the Steel City to New Kensington, Washington, and Allison Park, Pa., and interchanges with CSX, Norfolk Southern, Buffalo & Pittsburgh, and Wheeling & Lake Erie.
CSX reached a similar sale deal in July 2018 with OmniTRAX short lines Alabama & Tennessee Railway and the Fulton County Railway, which had been leasing 176 miles of CSX trackage in Alabama and Georgia.
The Alabama & Tennessee River operates 120 miles of track between Birmingham and the port of Guntersville, Ala. The Fulton County Railway operates more than 25 miles of trackage in the Fulton County Industrial Park near Atlanta. OmniTrax had been leasing both lines from CSX since 2004.
The leased routes were separate from CSX’s review of low-density lines that are candidates for sale or lease.
Good. Perhaps interchange with the BPRR can be moved to Glenwood. Lease agreements have prevented that from happening. And I would expect the BPRR to purchase their portion of the P&W Sub.