Gulf & Atlantic Railways reopens Mississippi-to-Tennessee short line

Short-line operator Gulf & Atlantic Railways (GAR) this week announced the reopening of the Grenada Railroad between Mississippi and Tennessee and the acquisition of the 18-mile Pioneer Valley Railroad in Massachusetts.

Grenada Railroad running again after being near abandonment

The Grenada Railroad in Mississippi is up and running again, after the rail line was nearly abandoned because of poor track conditions.

GAR owns the 235-mile Grenada Railroad, which runs along the Interstate 55 corridor between Canton, Mississippi, and Memphis, Tennessee. Shippers also have access to all six Class I railroads via the Grenada. The rail line provides freight service, rail car storage, transloading and industrial development opportunities, according to the company. Grenada Railroad can also handle hazmat and unit trains.

Commodities often on the Grenada include paper, lumber, chemicals, flour, petroleum, plastics and railroad ties, according to GAR’s website.

About 90 miles of track had been in disrepair, and the railroad was near abandonment in 2014, GAR said. But federal and state grants, including a FASTLANE grant in 2017 and a consolidated rail infrastructure and safety improvement grant in 2020 from the Federal Railroad Administration helped keep the railroad alive.

“I want to thank the team effort that it took from the local, state and federal levels to make this impactful project possible,” Brad White, executive director of the Mississippi Department of Transportation, said in a Tuesday release. “At MDOT, we recognize the importance of having a strong multimodal transportation network in the state, and rail is certainly a huge part of that. I’m excited to see the positive economic impact that the rehab and upgrades to the Grenada rail line will make in Mississippi.”

Said GAR CEO Ryan Ratledge: “We are proud to have played a role in the restoration of this important transportation infrastructure that will bring economic opportunities for North Central Mississippi for years to come.”

Jacksonville, Florida-headquartered GAR owns and operates five regional and short-line railroads serving six states.

Infrastructure investment firm Macquarie Infrastructure Partners is GAR’s parent company.

GAR acquires 18-mile Pioneer Valley Railroad and Pinsly’s Railroad Distribution Services

In a separate announcement, GAR said it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the rail assets of Pinsly Railroad Co., including the 18-mile Pioneer Valley Railroad (PVRR) in Massachusetts and Pinsly’s Railroad Distribution Services (RDS), which specializes in rail-served warehousing and distribution.

GAR didn’t disclose financial details of the transaction other than that it was advised by Northborne Partners, a Minnesota-based middle market M&A adviser.

Pending regulatory approval, the PVRR will be added to Gulf & Atlantic Railways’ 711-mile rail network.

PVRR in Massachusetts runs between Westfield and Holyoke, serves more than 30 diversified customers and has interline access to CSX and Pan Am Southern. RDS operates two rail-served warehouses with 140,000 square feet of indoor storage and 3.5 acres of outdoor storage, according to Tuesday’s announcement.

“PVRR and RDS are well-respected short line railroad and rail-served warehousing and distribution platforms, with an exceptional focus on safety, a fantastic team, and a diversified revenue base,” Ratledge said. “The employees are talented, highly experienced professionals. We look forward to working with them to continue Pinsly’s track-record of safe, efficient rail and distribution service to customers and welcoming them to our growing team.”

Said Pinsly CEO John Levine: “We are very pleased to have reached an agreement to transition our Massachusetts business to GAR. Pinsly has a long-standing commitment to safety, service, business development and capital investment. We believe GAR will be a great steward of our business and that Pinsly will add to the already outstanding and growing GAR rail transportation infrastructure platform.”

The acquisition of PVRR is part of GAR’s wider plan to grow operations through existing customers and via acquisitions. GAR announced in March that it had acquired three other short-line railroads: the Camp Chase Railroad in Ohio, the Chesapeake & Indiana Railroad in Indiana, and the Vermilion Valley Railroad in Illinois.

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