Pan Am Southern, LLC is a
freight railroad jointly owned by
Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) and
CSX Corporation
CSX Corporation is an American holding company focused on rail transportation and real estate in North America, among other industries. The company was established in 1980 as part of the Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries merger. ...
subsidiary
Pan Am Railways
Pan Am Railways, Inc. (PAR) is a subsidiary of CSX Corporation that operates Class II regional railroads covering northern New England from Mattawamkeag, Maine, to Rotterdam Junction, New York. Pan Am Railways is primarily made up of former Cla ...
(PAR). After the June 2022 acquisition of PAR by CSX, PAS will be independently operated by the
Berkshire and Eastern Railroad, a subsidiary of
Genesee & Wyoming
Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) is an American short line railroad holding company, that owns or maintains an interest in 122 railroads in the United States, Canada, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom and formerly Australia. It operates ...
. PAS owns trackage known as the ''Patriot Corridor'' between
Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...
, and the
Boston, Massachusetts, area, utilizing rail lines formerly owned by the
Fitchburg Railroad
The Fitchburg Railroad is a former railroad company, which built a railroad line across northern Massachusetts, United States, leading to and through the Hoosac Tunnel. The Fitchburg was leased to the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1900. The main l ...
and later on the
Boston and Maine Railroad. It was previously operated by PAR subsidiary
Springfield Terminal Railway.
History
2008–2022
![NS 7613 Zoar MA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/NS_7613_Zoar_MA.JPG)
On May 15, 2008, Norfolk Southern Railway announced that it had come to an agreement with Pan Am Railways to "create an improved rail route between Albany, N.Y., and the greater Boston, Mass., area called the 'Patriot Corridor'."
On March 12, 2009, Norfolk Southern and Pan Am received
STB
State Security ( cs, Státní bezpečnost, sk, Štátna bezpečnosť) or StB / ŠtB, was the secret police force in communist Czechoslovakia from 1945 to its dissolution in 1990. Serving as an intelligence and counter-intelligence agency, it d ...
approval of the deal. As of May 1, 2009, each of the two companies owns 50% of Pan Am Southern. PAR's trackage between
Ayer, Massachusetts
Ayer () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Originally part of Groton, it was incorporated February 14, 1871, and became a major commercial railroad junction. The town was home to Camp Stevens, a training camp for Massa ...
and
Mechanicville, New York
Mechanicville is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 5,196 at the time of the 2010 census. It is the smallest city by area in the state. The name is derived from the occupations of early residents.
The city is lo ...
was transferred to PAS and continued to be operated and maintained by PAR's Springfield Terminal Railway Company subsidiary. NS transferred to PAS cash and property valued at $137.5 million.
Planned improvements to the route included track and signal upgrades, and expansion of terminals, including new automotive and
intermodal terminals constructed in
Ayer, Massachusetts
Ayer () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Originally part of Groton, it was incorporated February 14, 1871, and became a major commercial railroad junction. The town was home to Camp Stevens, a training camp for Massa ...
and
Mechanicville, New York
Mechanicville is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 5,196 at the time of the 2010 census. It is the smallest city by area in the state. The name is derived from the occupations of early residents.
The city is lo ...
.
Planned lines were as follows:
*
Rotterdam Junction and
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...
to CPF 312 (east of
Willows, Massachusetts[), partially via ]trackage rights
Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies.
Operating
Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may ...
over CP and MBTA ( Fitchburg Line)
**Branches from North Adams to Adams, Massachusetts
Adams is a New England town, town in northern Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was ...
; in Gardner, Massachusetts
Gardner, officially the City of Gardner, is a city in Worcester County in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,287 in the 2020 census. Gardner is home of such sites as the Blue Moon Diner, Dunn State Park, ...
; from Ayer
Ayer may refer to:
Places
* Ayer, Massachusetts, United States
** Ayer (CDP), Massachusetts, the central village in the town of Ayer
** Ayer (MBTA station), commuter rail station
* Aller, Asturias, a municipality in Spain known in Asturian as A ...
to Harvard, Massachusetts
Harvard is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is located 25 miles west-northwest of Boston, in eastern Massachusetts. A farming community settled in 1658 and incorporated in 1732, it has been home to several ...
; from Ayer to West Groton, Massachusetts via MBTA trackage rights; and from Willows to Littleton, Massachusetts via MBTA trackage rights
*White River Junction, Vermont
White River Junction is an unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Hartford in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,528 at the 2020 census, up from 2,286 in 2010, making it the largest c ...
to New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...
, partially via trackage rights over NECR and Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
( New Haven-Springfield Line)
**Branches from Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
to Derby, Connecticut
Derby is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, approximately 8 miles west-northwest of New Haven. It is located in southwest Connecticut at the confluence of the Housatonic and Naugatuck Rivers. It borders the cities of Anson ...
partially via MNCR (Waterbury Branch
The Waterbury Branch is a branch of the Metro-North Railroad New Haven Line, running north from a junction in the Devon section of Milford to Waterbury, Connecticut. Originally built as the Naugatuck Railroad, it once continued north to Winste ...
) trackage rights; from Plainville to Southington, Connecticut
Southington is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, it had a population of 43,501. Southington contains the villages of Marion, Milldale, and Plantsville.
Geography
Southington is situ ...
; and from North Haven to Cedar Hill Yard via CSX
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
trackage rights
Post Pan Am acquisition by CSX
As a result of CSX's purchase of Pan Am Railways in June 2022, Pan Am Southern will no longer be operated by PAR. CSX inherited PAR's 50 percent stake in Pan Am Southern, with competitor Norfolk Southern owning the remaining half. CSX and NS reached an agreement to have Pan Am Southern be operated by a new Genesee & Wyoming
Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) is an American short line railroad holding company, that owns or maintains an interest in 122 railroads in the United States, Canada, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom and formerly Australia. It operates ...
subsidiary named the Berkshire and Eastern Railroad, which the Surface Transportation Board (STB) approved.
The United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...
had recommended that the STB require CSX to sell its stake in PAS as a condition of the merger to prevent a reduction in competition. Railroads in New England, including Vermont Rail System
The Vermont Railway is a shortline railroad in Vermont and eastern New York, operating much of the former Rutland Railway. It is the main part of the Vermont Rail System, which also owns the Green Mountain Railroad, the Rutland's branch to Bellow ...
and Canadian Pacific Railway, had also objected to the plan for G&W to operate PAS, as it would give G&W an even more extensive network in the region than it currently has. Canadian Pacific in particular asserted in a filing to the STB that the purchase would give CSX control of both of the primary east to west rail lines in New England and leave other companies at a competitive disadvantage. The STB rejected those arguments.
References
{{Connecticut railroads, state=collapsed
Norfolk Southern Railway
Pan Am Railways
Connecticut railroads
Massachusetts railroads
New Hampshire railroads
New York (state) railroads
Vermont railroads
Spin-offs of Pan Am Railways
Non-operating common carrier freight railroads in the United States
Railway companies established in 2009
2009 establishments in New York (state)
2009 establishments in Massachusetts