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RailAmerica Inc. officials are pleased the short-line holding company registered double-digit gains in several financial categories during the first quarter. Consolidated revenue from continuing operations of $115 million increased 13.1 percent, consolidated operating income of $14.3 million rose 45 percent, net income of $15 million went up 142 percent and earnings from continuing operations of $6.6 million increased 35 percent compared with first-quarter 2005.

In addition, the company — which owns and operates 42 U.S. and Canadian regionals and short lines — posted a quarterly operating ratio of 87.6, a 2.4-point improvement compared with 2005’s first quarter. RailAmerica’s net debt-to-capital ratio stood at 46.8 percent on March 31 compared with 49.3 percent on Dec. 31.

“We are seeing positive results from the training and safety initiatives that we rolled out in late 2004, with casualty and insurance expense declining $1.5 million to $4.5 million, or 3.9 percent of revenue, from $6 million or 5.9 percent of revenue,” said RailAmerica Chief Executive Officer Charles Swinburn in a prepared statement.