R.J. Corman Switching Company Opens New Rail Service Center

From left to right: Congresswoman Carol Miller’s Veterans Affairs Liaison Cody Sanders; Wayne County Commission President Jeff Maddox; R. J. Corman Railroad Group Vice President Commercial Development Michael Robinson; R. J. Corman Railroad Group President and CEO Ed Quinn; Wayne County Commissioner Robert Thompson; Wayne County Commissioner Travis Thompson; Delegate Mark Ross; West Virginia State Senator Robert Plymale; and R. J. Corman Railroad Group AVP Commercial Development Greg Miller. (Caption and Photograph Courtesy of R.J. Corman)

R.J. Corman Switching Company, LLC, a subsidiary of R.J. Corman Railroad Group, has launched operations at its Central Appalachia Inland Port at Prichard (CAIPP) division in Wayne County, W.Va.

Wayne County Commission signed a contract in October to lease the 65-acre CAIPP in Prichard, W.Va., to R.J. Corman Railroad Group. Designed to transfer shipping containers between railcars and trucks, it is served by Norfolk Southern’s Kenova District.

The facility’s opening was celebrated earlier this month with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

R.J. Corman Switching Company on Feb. 26 reported that it is leading the multi-phase project. In the first phase of operations at the CAIPP, the company is using a portion of the site as a railcar repair hub, its 13th nationwide, and will have a workforce of 14 employees covering various roles, including mechanical specialists, quality control, administration, and management. In additional phases, R.J. Corman Switching Company said it will look to expand operations “to various new capabilities to grow services and increase economic impact for the region.”

“This launch is the beginning of something great,” R.J. Corman President and CEO Ed Quinn said during the Feb. 22 ceremony, which was attended by state and local elected officials and representatives of R.J. Corman Railroad Group and the community. “We are here to work with Wayne County and help grow this asset together. The CAIPP is a great piece of infrastructure, and we are excited to be a part of it. We have an amazing team that will help us create a rail-centric location and create jobs for the community.”

“We are so happy when we walk into the CAIPP and see those men and women working who are Wayne County people,” Wayne County Commission President Jeff Maddox said at the event. “People who have good paying jobs with benefits. And there is going to be a lot more to come. I could not be happier with the affiliation that we formed here and the relationship with R. J. Corman.”

Separately, the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association in January recognized R.J. Corman Railroad Services with a 2023 Small Project of the Year Award for track construction at MxV Rail’s Facility for Accelerated Service Testing (FAST) and with a Safe Contractor of the Year Gold Award.