Jaguar Transport Picks Up Five New Short Lines
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
The Cimarron Valley Railroad—which operates in southwest Kansas, northern Oklahoma and eastern Colorado—is one of five short lines Jaguar Transport Holdings has purchased.
Jaguar Transport Holdings (Jaguar) has completed acquisition of five short lines and a railroad construction and maintenance company from The Western Group (TWG).
The deal includes:
- Cimarron Valley Railroad, which operates in southwest Kansas, northern Oklahoma and eastern Colorado. (The railroad was recently awarded a $1.15 million grant from the Kansas Department of Transportation for rail replacement and bridge work.)
- Washington Eastern Railroad, which operates in eastern Washington.
- Texas and Eastern Railroad, which operates between Rusk and Palestine, Texas; along with tourist line Texas State Railroad.
- Southwestern Railroad, which operates in southern New Mexico.
- Oregon Eastern Railroad, which operates in eastern Oregon.
- The Western Railroad Builders, a railroad engineering, design, construction and maintenance firm with industrial and railroad clients.
Joplin, Mo.-based Jaguar owns and operates railroads, terminals and transloading facilities throughout North America, such as the Marion Industrial Rail Park (Ohio; a recent purchase), the West Memphis Base Railroad (Arkansas) and West Memphis Transload (Arkansas). According to Jaguar, it is “partnered” with OPSEU Pension Plan Trust Fund (OPTrust), which invests and manages one of Canada’s largest pension funds.
TWG is a rail transportation services company based in Ogden, Utah. It owns tourist line Verde Canyon Railroad (Arizona), Clarkdale Arizona Central (Arizona), the Whitewater Branch of Southwestern Railroad (New Mexico) and Southwestern Railcar Services (New Mexico).
“With our focus on ‘earning the right to grow’ Jaguar will create long-term value for all stakeholders,” Jaguar CEO Stu Towner said. “It has been a great experience working with Dave and Linda Durbano. We appreciate all that they have done and look forward to working with their team members to continuously improve upon the legacy of safe and efficient operations that they have created.”
“Selling our companies, some of which were crafted from the ground up 50 years ago, was a tough decision,” TWG’s Dave Durbano said, “but we have confidence that Jaguar was the right company to carry on what we started. In addition to the railroad entities, they acquired a great number of talented and energetic people under a powerful management team who we are confident will help Jaguar grow and prosper.”
