WASHINGTON – Shortline holding company Rio Grande Pacific will add a fifth railroad to its stable: Bogalusa & Northern Railway in Louisiana.
Bogalusa & Northern will acquire trackage rights over a mile of Canadian National’s Bogalusa Subdivision in Bogalusa and Leescreek, La., according to a regulatory filing. Watco’s Bogalusa Bayou Railroad currently holds the trackage rights. CN will continue to operate over the trackage at the southern tip of the Bogalusa Sub.
The trackage rights agreement, outlined in a May 10 change of operator exemption filing with the Surface Transportation Board, grants Bogalusa & Northern restricted overhead rights over the former Illinois Central rail line between milepost 68.85 at Leescreek and milepost 69.85 at Bogalusa, limited to movements of crude tall oil, crude sulphate turpentine, pulpboard, and recycled paper.
The Bogalusa Bayou operates over 6 track miles to serve an International Paper containerboard mill and primarily hauls paper, according to Watco’s website.
Rio Grande Pacific expects the transaction to close by July 1. The Fort Worth-based company’s other railroads include Nebraska Central Railroad, New Orleans & Gulf Coast Railway, Idaho Northern & Pacific Railroad, and Wichita Tillman & Jackson Railway.
