OmniTRAX to help run Decatur railroad, wins GE's Fast Track Award

OmniTRAX Inc. has formed a joint venture with Topflight Grain Cooperative Inc. to operate the Decatur Central Railroad LLC, OmniTRAX announced yesterday.

The joint venture will operate, drive business to and rehabilitate the line, which links Cisco and Decatur, Ill., starting late this year. Terms were not disclosed, according to a press release issued by the companies.

"The Decatur Central Railroad is a great opportunity for OmniTRAX due to strong existing commodity flows, real-estate driven expansion prospects and the potential to add new diversified business," said OmniTRAX Chief Executive Officer Kevin Shuba.

The railroad will transport grain from Topflight Coop members to the plants of ADM, Tate & Lyle and other processing companies in and around Macon County, Ill. The line, which interchanges with CN north of Decatur, is integral to the growth plans of the Midwest Inland Port, a multimodal hub in Decatur, the press release stated.

Meanwhile, OmniTRAX announced earlier this week that it received a 2016 Fast Track Award from the 27th Annual GE Transportation User Conference in Atlanta last month.

OmniTRAX's Georgia & Florida Railway LLC earned the honor for the deployment of Railinc Corp.'s Interline Settlement System (ISS) in partnership with Norfolk Southern Railway, CSX and GE Transportation's Digital Solutions business, OmniTRAX officials said in a press release.

ISS is the rail industry's standard process to share revenue when two or more railroads handle a shipment. The GE award honors rail industry organizations that have excelled in the marketplace with the use of GE's rail software and solutions to optimize assets, operations and networks.

"We are pleased to receive this prestigious industry award from GE Transportation. The team here in Denver and at Georgia & Florida Railway did a great job planning and implementing the ISS so that our customers were kept fully informed during the process and issues were kept at a minimum," said John Couch, OmniTRAX's vice president of pricing.