Long Ridge Railroad Company is seeking federal authority to acquire a 12.2-mile rail line in eastern Ohio from East Ohio Valley Railway, according to a filing with the Surface Transportation Board.
The line runs between milepost 60.5 near Powhatan Point and milepost 72.7 near Hannibal. Long Ridge Railroad, currently a noncarrier, filed a verified notice of exemption to acquire and operate the line.
The transaction is tied to a separate filing in which East Ohio Valley Railway seeks authority to continue operating the line after selling it to Long Ridge Railroad.
According to the filing, Long Ridge Railroad is a Delaware limited liability company wholly owned by MARA USA Corporation, which is owned by MARA Holdings Inc. MARA and East Ohio Valley Railway have entered into a term sheet providing for Long Ridge Railroad to acquire the line, with East Ohio Valley Railway continuing as operator.
The parties also intend to enter into a full asset purchase agreement and an operating agreement implementing the term sheet. The sale is expected to close after those agreements are signed, the related exemptions become effective, and all other closing conditions are satisfied.
Long Ridge Railroad told federal regulators the transaction does not include any interchange commitment or other provision that would limit future interchange with a third-party connecting carrier. The company also said the line is not currently subject to any such agreement.
The company certified that projected annual revenue from the transaction will not exceed $5 million and that the transaction will not make Long Ridge Railroad a Class I or Class II carrier.
The earliest the transaction may be completed is June 12, the effective date of the exemption. Petitions to stay the exemption are due by June 5, while petitions to revoke may be filed at any time.
Long Ridge Railroad said the action is categorically excluded from environmental review and historic preservation reporting requirements.
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