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On Dec. 31, Iowa Pacific Holdings announced that its Devon and Cornwall Railways Ltd. (DCR) was granted a freight operating license by the United Kingdom’s Office of Rail Regulation.

The license enables DCR — a subsidiary of IPH’s U.K. affiliate British American Railway Services — to provide open-access freight-rail services throughout the United Kingdom.

Now, IPH plans to work with shippers, Network Rail and other interested parties to develop freight operations, and focus on “atypical and innovative flows” in the U.K. freight-rail market, said IPH and DCR President Ed Ellis in a prepared statement.

“Issuance of this license reaffirms the U.K.’s commitment to competition among open-access freight operators,” he said.

IPH’s U.K. short-line operating subsidiaries also include Weardale Railways and Dartmoor Railway. In addition, the company operates six U.S. short lines.