Norfolk Southern has asked the U.S. Surface Transportation board to approve its acquisition of the Cincinnati Southern Railway, a Cincinnati-Chatanooga, Tennessee, route owned by the City of Cincinnati.
The city and NS have reached an agreement for NS to acquire the 338-mile line for $1.62 billion.
NS currently leases the line, an arrangement that has gone on for decades and dates to the time when it was part of the Southern Railway system.
The lease dates to 1881 when the Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific began leasing the line. It its filing with the STB, NS said the route is a key link for its Chicago-Atlanta corridor.
The sale also must be approved by votes in Cincinnati.
NS told the STB that the line hosts an average of 16 manifest freights and eight intermodal trains a day. Also using the line are about eight daily bulk commodity trains hauling coal, grain and fuel.
The current lease of the line is set to expire in 2026. Under terms of that lease, NS pays the city $25 million annually.
Tags: Cincinnati Southern Railway, City of Cincinnati, Norfolk Southern, U.S. Surface Transportation Board
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