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OmniTRAX Inc. now is controlling its 14th North American short line. The holding company's new subsidiary railroad Kettle Falls International Railway L.L.C. (KFR) has begun operating a cluster of branch lines totaling 160 track miles between Chewelah, Wash., and Columbia Gardens, British Columbia, and Laurier, Wash./Grand Forks, B.C., and San Poil, Wash.

OmniTRAX recently purchased 76.5 track miles between San Poil and Kettle Falls, Wash., and leased 83 track miles between Chewelah and Columbia Gardens from Burlington Northern Santa Fe.

"KFR is a part of our plans for expansion of our regional railway holdings and diversification of our customer base," said OmniTRAX Chief Operating Officer Bob Parker in a prepared statement.

OmniTRAX plans to build track in Chewelah to expedite interchanges between KFR and BNSF, and a locomotive maintenance facility in Kettle Falls to improve the short line's operations.