STB approves G&W's acquisition of Providence & Worcester

The U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB) late last week approved Genesee & Wyoming Inc.'s (G&W) petition to acquire the Providence & Worcester Railroad Co. (P&W).

The approval is subject to standard labor agreements and the condition that G&W will not interfere with the ability of Springfield Terminal Railway to interchange with CSX in Worcester, Mass., according to the STB's filing.

The acquisition proposal was announced in August. Under the agreement, G&W will acquire P&W for $25 per share of common stock, or $126 million in cash.

Headquarted in Worcester, Mass., P&W employs 140 people, owns 32 locomotives, and operates 163 miles of owned track and 350 miles of other track under access agreements. It has exclusive freight access over Amtrak's Northeast Corridor between New Haven, Conn., and Providence, R.I., and trackage rights over lines owned by MTA Metro-North Railroad, Amtrak and CSX between New Haven, Conn., and Queens, N.Y.