Corman to Acquire NS Branch Lines

R.J. Corman plans to acquire or lease 154 miles of Norfolk Southern branch lines in Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia.

The acquisitions will be operated by Corman’s Knoxville & Cumberland Gap Railroad.

They include the Jellico Line from Clinton, Tennessee, to Lot, Kentucky, and from Hyde, Tennessee, , to Clairfield, Tennessee. The deal also includes the Middlesboro Line from Beverly, Tennessee, to Cumberland Gap, Tennessee.

Corman will seek trackage rights on NS and CSX lines to connect these branches.

It also is seeking to lease from CSX the Harbell, Bennett’s Fork, and Stony Fork branches radiating from Middlesboro, Tennessee.

In a filing with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, Corman said the transactions could become effective as early as Feb. 25.

Tags: CSX, Norfolk Southern, R.J. Corman, U.S. Surface Transportation Board