| RailAmerica Sells Texas Shortline |
| BROWNFIELD, Tex.
-- Rail operator RailAmerica said that it has sold the capital stock
of its Texas New Mexico Railroad (TNMR) to Permian Basin Railways,
Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Iowa Pacific Holdings, LLC, for
$2.25 million, according to the Journal of Commerce.
Permian Basin has also signed a long-term operating lease for the assets of RailAmerica's West Texas & Lubbock Railroad (WTLR). The TNMR, which was acquired in February 2000 as part of the RA's purchase of RailTex, Inc., operates 107 miles of track in southeastern New Mexico and west Texas. The WTLR owns and operates 108 miles of track in the high plains area of west Texas. Both railroads are based in Brownfield, Tex. "These transactions reflect RailAmerica's continuing efforts to upgrade its portfolio of railroads by divesting non-core and non-strategic properties," said Gary O. Marino, chairman, president and chief executive of RailAmerica, in a statement. RailAmerica, based in Boca Raton, Fla., says it is the world's largest short line and regional railroad operator. It owns 49 short line and regional railroads operating approximately 12,800 route miles in the United States, Canada, Australia, Chile and Argentina. |