RailUSA acquires CSX line in Florida

RailUSA LLC has acquired a 430-mile Florida Panhandle rail line and related real estate from CSX Corp., the independent freight railroad and rail services holding company announced yesterday.

Now named Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad (FGA), the line operates from Baldwin to Pensacola, Florida, and passes through Tallahassee, Florida, with a connection to Attapulgus, Georgia.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“FGA’s geographic location makes it a highly desirable rail freight route for shippers in the Florida Panhandle, and offers prime railcar storage," said RailUSA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gary Marino in a press release. "The line has many customers with plants located along the railroad, and we see a substantial opportunity to enhance the suite of services we offer them, as well as to attract new customers with concentrated local services."

FGA transports 30,000 carloads of freight annually, including aggregates, cement, grain, chemicals, wind turbine components, and other industrial products. Based in Tallahassee, FGA will continue to interchange with CSX, company officials said.

RailUSA is actively acquiring short lines and regionals. FGA is the company's second acquisition. In 2018, RailUSA acquired the Grenada Railroad, a 206-mile short line between Memphis, Tennessee, and Canton, Mississippi.