Short line railroads

In this podcast, Jeff Berman, Group News Editor for Logistics Management and the Peerless Media Supply Chain Group, interviews Chuck Baker, president of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA).

The RRIF Express’s objective is to reduce the time and costs related to securing loans to modernize aging freight and commuter rail infrastructure, according to DOT. And it added that it will expand eligibility and provide more flexibility for a pilot program to expedite long-term, low-cost loans for America’s short line and regional railroads.

The sale of Darien, Conn.-based short-line railroad carrier Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) to Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, a global infrastructure company in the utilities, transport, energy, and data infrastructure sectors in North and South America, Asia Pacific, and Europe, and investment firm GIC, which was announced in early July, was made official this week.

Last week, Rep. Earl Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) made another push, in the form of new legislation, to make a short-line railroad tax credit permanent.

The short line railroad tax credit, known as 45G, may receive a permanent extension based on a tax package released by the House Ways and Means Committee last week. When that happens, though, remains to be seen, as a date for a vote on the bill has not been scheduled yet.

It is no secret that the short line railroad sector would benefit greatly for a tax credit, known in railroad circles as 45G, to become permanent. But there is a question of if that will happen in Congress.

Prospects are looking bright for a tax credit geared towards short line railroads to become permanent through a piece of House of Representatives legislation entitled the Building Rail Access for Customers and the Economy (BRACE) Act, according to the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA).

The Department of Transportation’s Surface Transportation Board (STB) recently introduced its adoption of final rules establishing disclosure requirements for transactions involving interchange agreements.

The two largest short line and regional rail operators in North America will become one, with this week’s announcement that Genesee & Wyoming (G&W) will acquire RailAmerica for an all-cash purpose price of $27.50 per share—or roughly $1.39 billion.