Providence and Worcester Railroad Sold for $125 Million
Genesee & Wyoming Inc. has an agreement to buy Worcester’s Providence and Worcester Railroad Co. under a $125 million deal unveiled Aug. 15.
Darien, Connecticut-based G&W said the acquisition would increase its ability to serve customers and large national railroads including CSX, Norfolk Southern, Canadian Pacific and Canadian National in New England, while saving on operational costs.
“The acquisition of P&W is an excellent strategic fit with G&W’s contiguous railroads, the New England Central and the Connecticut Southern,” G&W CEO Jack Hellmann said, noting it will “ultimately enhance the efficiency and customer service of New England rail service.”
Founded in 1845, P&W operates in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York with about 140 employees and 32 locomotives across 163 miles of owned track and about 350 miles under track-access agreements, including exclusive freight access over Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor between New Haven, Connecticut, and Providence, Rhode Island.
P&W serves a diverse mix of commodities customers including aggregates, auto, chemicals, metals and lumber, handling about 43,000 carloads/intermodal units annually. It also provides rail service to ports in Providence and Davisville, Rhode Island, and New Haven, and to a U.S. Customs-bonded intermodal terminal in Worcester, Massachusetts.
The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
G&W owns or leases 121 short-line and regional freight railroads worldwide, with about 7,200 employees and more than 2,800 customers. Its acquisition of P&W is a “natural fit,” said Cowen and Co. analyst Jason Seidl: “We would not be surprised if the company makes more acquisitions of similar size and geography as it inches closer to consolidating much of the North American short-line industry.”
