OmniTRAX, Short Line Affiliates Support Local Communities (Updated)

Denver-based OmniTRAX is supporting communities across its short line railroad and intermodal network during the pandemic. From California to New Jersey, it has recently partnered with five of its affiliates to provide donations and volunteer service.

Here is a breakdown of OmniTRAX’s contributions:

• California: With with 25-mile Stockton Terminal and Eastern Railroad, funding 100,000 meals and pledging volunteer service for Second Harvest Food Bank of Manteca in the Central Valley.

“As California continues to wrestle with the economic and public health challenges that the pandemic has presented, food insecurity has become a serious problem, and we are pleased to have the opportunity to team up with Second Harvest Food Bank to battle hunger in the greater San Joaquin area,” OmniTRAX Chief Operating Officer Gord Anutooshkin said. “By lending our time and resources to existing local efforts, we can make a meaningful impact on those in need.”

• Georgia: With Savannah Gateway Industrial Hub, funding 100,000 meals and pledging volunteer service for America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia.

The Savannah Gateway Industrial Hub is a 2,700-acre industrial and logistics complex and Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development Certified Site located near the Port of Savannah.

• New Jersey: With Winchester and Western Railway (W&W), funding 150,000 meals and pledging volunteer service for the Southern Regional Food Distribution Center, part of the Rural Development Corp.

W&W, Railway Age’s 2002 Short Line of the Year, operates 100 miles of track in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey. The New Jersey Division has four lines, totaling 47 miles of track: Mainline, Seashore Line, Deerfield Branch and Bridgeton Port Branch.

• Ohio: With 25-mile Northern Ohio and Western Railway (NOW), funding 120,000 meals and pledging volunteer service for the West Ohio Food Bank, which serves 11 counties.

NOW operates southeast of Toledo, extending from Woodville to Tiffin.

• Texas: With 45-mile Brownsville & Rio Grande International Railway (BRG), distributing $100,000 among eight local non-profits. They are Proyecto Juan Diego, Moody Clinic, Good Neighbor Settlement, Sunshine Heaven, Walk for Women, Gladys Porter Zoo, and the local Boy Scout and Girl Scout councils.

“Brownsville is an important partner for OmniTRAX and the BRG, and we recognize the distress being felt throughout the community,” OmniTRAX Director of Economic Development Federico Diaz Page said. “As the pandemic’s sustained effects strain resources even further, it was critical that we find a way to help those in need.”

• West Virginia: With W&W, funding 220,000 meals and pledging volunteer service for CCAP/Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry in Berkeley County.

W&W’s Virginia Division has two lines, totaling 53 miles of track: Winchester Mainline and Sandman Branch.

In other developments, Kevin Shuba, who served as CEO of OmniTRAX since 2013, recently accepted a new role with the short line railroad and transportation management company’s parent organization, The Broe Group.