Patriot Rail to operate North Carolina short line

Under a 20-year agreement with the North Carolina Department of Transportation, Patriot Rail Corp. will begin freight rail service on a rehabilitated section of the Piedmont and Northern Railway in the first quarter of 2011.

NCDOT purchased the line in 1991 and reserved it as a rail corridor for future service.

Patriot, a short line and regional railroad holding company based in Boca Raton, Fla., said Wednesday that it will be responsible for operating, maintaining, and marketing freight service on the P&N, a 13-mile rail line located approximately 20 miles west of Charlotte that extends from Mount Holly to Gastonia, with a spur line toward Belmont. PAN interchanges with Norfolk Southern Railway at Gastonia and CSX Transportation at Mount Holly.

NCDOT has completed an upgrade of the westernmost four miles of the line, and it is on this segment that Patriot will begin service. NCDOT anticipates upgrading the remainder of the line during the spring of 2011.

“We are pleased to add the ‘new’ P&N, our seventh railroad, to the Patriot family of railroads,” said Gary O. Marino, chairman, president, and CEO of Patriot Rail. “We have commenced the job of building business on the railroad and have been encouraged by the customer prospects. This railroad is in an ideal location for rail freight customers due to the dual Class I interchange and close proximity to a major transportation hub such as Charlotte. In addition, we look forward working with local interests, including the Gaston County Economic Development Commission and NCDOT, to attract new customers to the P&N.”

Patriot Rail owns and operates seven short line freight railroads totaling 344 total miles in nine states. By year-end 2010, Patriot says it will double its size as it completes the acquisition of Weyerhaeuser Co.’s six freight railroads, which operate over 160 miles of rail line in four states.