KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. — Shortline holding company Regional Rail LLC is expanding its holdings, having agreed to acquire Indiana Eastern Railroad and the Ohio South Central Railroad, the company announced today (Friday, Nov. 10).
Indiana Eastern is a 43-mile short line headquartered in Liberty, Ind., operating between Richmond, Ind., and Fernald, Ohio. It was established in 2005 using a line leased from CSX Transportation and interchanges with CSX at Cottage Grove, Ind. The Ohio South Central, based in Hamden, Ohio, is a 64-mile railroad in Southern Ohio interchanging with CSX at Vauces, Ohio.
The two new acquisitions will join three Midwestern railroads acquired by Regional Rail in 2022 — the Effingham Railroad, South Point & Ohio, and Illinois Western [see “Regional Rail adds three Midwestern short lines,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 7, 2022] — as well as its operation at the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor. It will bring the holdings of Regional Rail, backed by infrastructure investment firm 3i Group, to 15 railroads, along with car storage and transloading services.
“We are excited to partner with the existing teams at the Indiana Eastern Railroad and Ohio South Central Railroad to expand our operations in the Midwest,” Regional Rail CEO Al Sauer said in a press release, “and look forward to building on the companies’ track records of providing a high-quality service to their customers and driving additional growth.”
George Andres, CEO of Indiana Eastern and Ohio South Central, said, “We are proud of what we have established and built with these railroads over many years and believe that Regional Rail is the perfect partner to continue our legacy and support our employees and customers going forward.”
Regional Rail short lines recently made news in the railfan community by introducing heritage-based paint schemes on properities in Florida and North Carolina [see “Florida railroads adopt Seaboard Coast Line-inspired paint scheme,” News Wire, Oct. 16, 2023, and “News photo: Regional Rail’s Carolina Coastal introduces …,” News Wire, Oct. 20, 2023.
The company’s Diamondback Signal subsidiary also provides grade crossing signal design, construction, inspection and maintenance services in 20 states.
