Regional Rail Acquires Clinton Terminal Railroad

(Photograph Courtesy of Clinton Terminal Railroad, via Facebook)

The Clinton Terminal Railroad in North Carolina is now part of Regional Rail, a Kennett Square, Pa.-based short line holding company backed by 3i.

While Regional Rail on Aug. 2 reported acquiring the assets of Clinton Terminal Railroad, the 3.5-mile line will be owned by its Carolina Coastal Railway subsidiary and operated as the Clinton Branch. Carolina Coastal Railway runs on 179 miles of track in northeastern North Carolina and serves the Port of Morehead City.

“We are excited to partner with the team at Clinton Terminal and view this as a natural expansion of our footprint in North Carolina,” Regional Rail CEO Al Sauer said. “We believe there are attractive opportunities in the market and look forward to building upon the railroad’s existing operations.”

“We are proud of what we have built at Clinton Terminal over the years and believe that Regional Rail will be a great steward of the railroad, in addition to a strong partner to our customers going forward,” Clinton Terminal CEO Bob Lowe said.

Regional Rail provides freight transportation, car storage, and transloading services across the United States and western Canada, as well as railroad crossing signal design, construction, inspection, and maintenance services to short line and industrial customers via the company’s Diamondback Signal subsidiary.

In December 2022, Regional Rail filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2) to acquire control of Class III carriers Effingham Railroad Company (EFRR) and South Point & Ohio Railroad, Inc. (SPOR), as well as Illinois Western Railroad Company (ILW), upon its becoming a Class III rail carrier. Additionally, in November 2022, it acquired Great Sandhills Railway and interests in three other freight rail assets located in western Canada.