Railroad buy expands local freight line

A deal is on track to combine the two largest short-line freight rail operators in North America.  The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports that Genesee & Wyoming Inc. is in the process of buying RailAmerica for nearly $1.4 billion.

The new company will operate railroads in Genesee, Wyoming, Livingston and Monroe counties as part of a network that includes 108 railroads in the U.S. and abroad.

Read more about the deal here.

The deal will reportedly diversify what the railroads carry, offering protection from prolonged weakness in certain shipments like coal, and make Genesee & Wyoming less dependent on certain big customers.

The deal still needs approval by the  Surface Transportation Board, the agency that regulates U.S. railroad.

The Genesee & Wyoming  railroad started in 1899 as a 14-mile railroad in the Rochester area.  The expansion will give it more than 12,000 track miles in North America, as well as operations in Australia, the Netherlands and Belgium.