Short lines and regionals post solid traffic gains
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief
Two companies that operate a total of 102 short line and regional railroads—RailAmerica and Genesee & Wyoming (GWI)—have reported solid gains in freight traffic for March.
RailAmerica’s 40 railroads, which operate over approximately 7,400 miles of track in 27 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces, carried 75,295 carloads of freight in March, up 8.7% from March 2009. These results exclude the discontinued Ottawa Valley Railway operation.
RailAmerica reported increased shipments in six out of 12 commodity groups in March. Much of the increase was in shipments of agricultural products, chemicals, and metallic ores and metals. The largest declines were in coal and the catch-all “other” commodity group.
Genesee & Wyoming’s 60 railroads, operating over 9,400 miles of track in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands, carried 74,923 carloads in March, an increase of 6.9% over March 2009.
The strongest growth was in steel shipments in GWI’s New York/Ohio//Pennsylvania and Southern regions, and in grain shipments in the Australia Region.
