Patriot Rail subsidiary acquires rail tank car, tanker truck cleaning firm

Patriot Rail subsidiary Lakeshore Railcar Services LLC has acquired the assets of United Transportation Group, a Midwest-based company that specializes in rail tank car and tanker truck cleaning.

The Lakeshore facility is a 34-acre logistics support complex in East Chicago, Ind., about 20 miles southeast of downtown Chicago. In addition to rail tank car and tanker truck washes, Lakeshore will offer transloading, truck/trailer mechanical repair, maintenance, hazardous materials testing and waste water treatment services, according to a Patriot Rail press release.

This latest acquisition helps fulfill Patriot Rail's long-term strategy to provide fully integrated rail services to customers, Patriot Rail officials said.

Other recent acquisitions include Blue Ridge Railcar Service in Keysville, Va., in 2013; Foster Townsend Rail Logistics in St. Louis in 2014; and the assets to form Global Rail Transfer Co. in 2015.

"Patriot Rail is no longer just a company made up of individual short line railroads," said Patriot Rail President and Chief Executive Officer John Fenton. "We now offer a full range of services that allows us to develop customized, cost effective rail transportation plans for customers, on and off our rail lines."