Patriot Rail to Acquire Pioneer Lines

Short line operators Pioneer Lines and Patriot Rail have announced plans to merge.

The announcement said Patriot will acquire Pioneer in a transaction that will give Patriot 31 railroad systems. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Patriot currently has 16 rail lines, although none of them are located in Ohio or its surrounding states.

Pioneer has 15 rail lines including Elkhart & Western (Indiana), Gettysburg & Northern (Pennsylvania), Indiana Southwestern (Indiana), Kendallville Terminal Railway (Indiana), Michigan Southern (Michigan), and Napoleon Defiance & Western (Ohio and Indiana).

Aside from its short line properties, Patriot operates tank car clearing, transloading, contract switching, and railcar storage, among other services.

The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval.

Pioneer Reports Injury Free Year

Short line operator Pioneer Line said this week it has achieved one year of operation without injuries at any of its 15 short lines.

In a news release, the company said its injury frequency rate is below the industry average of 2.18 per 200,000 employee on-duty hours.

In 2018 Pioneer companies had an injury rate of 15.96 in 2018. Railroad officials said changes in safety policies were made under new management that came onboard in 2019.

Pioneer Lines owns the Decatur Junction Railroad Elkhart & Western Railroad, Garden City Western Railway, Fort Smith Railroad, Georgia Southern Railroad, Gettysburg & Northern Railroad, Indiana Southwestern Railway, Kendallville Terminal Railway, Keokuk Junction Railway, Michigan Southern Railroad, Mississippi Central Railroad, Napoleon, Defiance and Western Railroad, Pioneer Industrial Railway Co., Ripley & New Albany Railroad, and Vandalia Railroad.

Ohio Short Line Debuts Pioneer’s New Look

An Ohio short line has debuted the new locomotive livery of parent company Pioneer Lines, which earlier this year changed its name from Pioneer Railcorp.

The Napoleon Defiance & Western in western Ohio has given GP20 No. 3001 a new look featuring yellow, gray and black.

The previous Pioneer locomotive livery was black with yellow lettering and chevron nose stripes.

Pioneer also gave the new look to a GP9 on the Kansas-based Garden City Western Railway.

 “Along with the new name, Pioneer Lines redesigned its company logo and will unveil logos for each of its railroads throughout the year, which will pay homage to their history and connection to the local community,” the railroad said in a statement. “While the name has changed, the personalized and flexible service that customers have come to trust and expect remains the cornerstone of Pioneer’s business.”

ND&W 3001 is currently based in Napoleon where it serves shippers on the east end of its 58-mile system that stretches between Liberty Center, Ohio, and Woodburn, Indiana.

It also has a GP9 (105) and a two other GP20s (3054 and 2026) on its motive power roster that wear various liveries of previous operators.

Pioneer is based in Denver and operates 15 short lines in 12 states. Major commodities handled include agricultural and food products, iron and steel, plastics, chemicals, building materials and forest products.

Among the Pioneer holdings are three Indiana short lines, Elkhart & Western, Indiana Southwestern and Kendallville Terminal; and one Michigan property, Michigan Southern.