(Railfanning.org News Wire) — The Wilkes-Barre Terminal Railway Co. is moving to acquire nearly 60 miles of rail lines in Luzerne County and replace R.J. Corman Railroad Company/Luzerne & Susquehanna Line as the common carrier operator on much of the network.
WBT, currently a noncarrier, filed a supplemented and restated notice of exemption with the Surface Transportation Board to acquire approximately 59.65 miles of track from the Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority and operating rights from its subsidiary, Luzerne County Rail Corporation.
The transaction includes roughly 41 miles that R.J. Corman operated under an expired lease. WBT said R.J. Corman has consented to the change in operator.
The network includes portions of the Wilkes-Barre Secondary, Kingston Industrial Track, Avoca Industrial Track, Dunmore Secondary and several other industrial tracks and branches throughout Luzerne County. Some segments are currently out of service but remain part of the transaction because WBT said it found no regulatory history showing they had been formally abandoned.
WBT plans to grant local trackage rights to Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad so it can provide immediate service to customers after the existing operator’s lease ends. The STB previously authorized those trackage rights over the in-service portions of the network.
WBT said it has contacted affected customers about the planned operator change and does not expect annual revenue from the transaction to exceed $5 million. Upon completing the acquisition, WBT would become a Class III railroad.
The exemption is scheduled to take effect Nov. 22. Petitions seeking a stay must be filed by Nov. 13.
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