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North Carolina Short Line Begins Operations

Charlotte Western is Jaguar Transport Holding’s eighth short line operation.

North Carolina Short Line Begins Operations

By Railfan & Railroad Staff

CHARLOTTE, N.C.. — Jaguar Transport Holding has expanded again. This week, its newest short line, Charlotte Western Railroad, began operations on 13 miles of track owned by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. The track, which connects with CSX at Mount Holly, N.C., and Norfolk Southern at Gastonia, N.C., was previously operated by Piedmont & Northern Railroad.

Jaguar is partnered with OPSEU Pension Plan Trust Fund, which invests and manages one of Canada’s largest pension funds and has significant experience investing in the surface transportation and logistics space. Jaguar is being led by two former Watco Companies employees. Jaguar also operates Missouri Eastern Railroad, Cimarron Valley Railroad, Southwestern Railroad, Washington Eastern Railroad, Oregon Eastern Railroad, Texas Eastern Railroad, and West Memphis Base Railroad. 

“We are excited for the opportunity to establish our first operation in North Carolina and the southeastern US,” said Stu Towner, CEO of Jaguar. “The railroad’s location, in a growing metro with access to both Norfolk Southern and CSX, along with the acquisition of a rail-served warehouse, provides us with an excellent opportunity to serve current and future customers and earn the right to grow alongside them and the local community. We will immediately move forward with a large project in partnership with NCDOT to build a new multi-commodity and multi-mode transload facility on our warehouse property which will create highly efficient solutions for the customers we are bringing to the property. This project, along with our focused commercial efforts to build sites along the railroad that are ready for new customers, makes this a fantastic solution for customers in the Charlotte market.” 

This article was posted on: May 5, 2022