Ohio short line lands NS trackage lease deal
5/9/2024
By Jeff Stagl, Managing Editor
East Ohio Valley Railway LLC (EOVR) is about to get bigger — a lot bigger. The short line’s owner Transtar LLC expects to soon complete a lease transaction with Norfolk Southern Railway that will more than double the trackage EOVR operates.
Transtar is nearing Surface Transportation Board approval to lease two line segments from NS: 16.5 miles of track between Bellaire and Powhatan Point, Ohio, and 1.8 miles of track near Powhatan Point.
The transaction is expected to be consummated on or after May 16, with EOVR commencing operations over the new routes on June 1.
Afterwards, the trackage that EOVR operates will expand from 12.2 miles to just shy of 30.5 miles, said Transtar Chief Information Officer J. Alex Lang in an email. The new operations will extend EOVR’s existing 12.2-mile mainline an additional 16.5 miles to Bellaire, with operating rights over NS to Mingo Junction, Ohio.
An updated map shows the lines that EOVR will operate as of June 1, with a new NS interchange point in Mingo Junction. Transtar LLC“This deal with NS expands the operational footprint of EOVR and moves the interchange point between NS and EOVR from Clarington to Mingo Junction,” Lang said.
Moving the interchange point directly to the serving yard at Mingo Junction will be more efficient for existing customers, he stresses. Plus, the deal offers another advantage.
“We also gain access to several sites for potential growth,” Lang said.
Moreover, the expanded operations are expected to help support and strengthen manufacturing and industrial development in the region, improve transit times and enhance rail connectivity to the national rail network, Transtar officials say.
EOVR provides rail switching services for Long Ridge Energy Terminal and the Hannibal Industrial Park in Hannibal, Ohio. The short line also offers transloading and locomotive and rail-car maintenance and repair services.
In addition to EOVR, Transtar owns the Delray Connecting Railroad Co., Fairfield Southern Co., Gary Railway Co., Lake Terminal Railroad Co., Texas & Northern Railway Co. and Union Railroad Co.
The lease deal is a big get for the relatively new EOVR. The short line began operations in October 2023, when it assumed operations of the 12.2-mile line from Clarington to Omal (near Hannibal) from Katahdin Rail Services, formerly the Central Maine & Quebec Railway.