Cleveland & Cuyahoga, Wheeling & Lake Erie end lease for Ohio route

The Surface Transportation Board last week approved Cleveland & Cuyahoga Railway LLC’s (CCR) request to discontinue service over 10.4 miles of rail line in Ohio.

An OmniTRAX Inc. subsidiary, CCR had been operating the line between Glenwillow and Cleveland under a lease agreement with the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Co. (W&LE). The railroads agreed to terminate the lease effective May 31.

W&LE has since resumed rail operations over the route, which serves a single shipper; the shipper did not oppose the change in operators.

Effective Sept. 24, the STB’s decision exempts from certain federal procedures CCR’s discontinuance of service on the line, subject to employee-protective conditions. The board’s decision can be downloaded here.