Decatur, Ill (WAND) – Decatur & Eastern Railroad is a new freight rail service which will be replacing CSX Transportation at Decatur and Danville subdivisions in Illinois and Indiana.
“There were multiple bidders for this line,” said Ryan McCrady, President of the Economic Development Corporation of Decatur and Macon County. “That shows that a number of people see this as a very ripe opportunity for their business and it’s a sign of the robustness of our economy especially in the manufacturing and distribution side of things.”
WATCO Companies is the owner of Decatur & Eastern. The company is the winning bidder of 126.7 miles of CSX track running from Decatur into Indiana. CSX is pulling out of lower density, non-core routes. The change is not expected to impact shippers.
Labor notification is the first step in the acquisition process. WAND TV has obtained a July 6, 2018 filing with the Surface Transportation Board stating the notification was made, “…on the national offices of the labor unions representing CSX employees working on the involved rail line.”
WATCO/Decatur & Eastern states in the same filing there will be employment opportunities in both Decatur and Paris, Illinois. The Paris Industrial Track is part of the deal. WATCO indicated Decatur & Eastern will be hiring five engineers, four conductors, a track inspector, a locomotive laborer, two track laborers and two track foremen. CSX employees will be given an option to remain with CSX if they do not accept a position with WATCO, retire or resign.
In a statement from CSX on Friday the company states, “Subject to receiving STB (Surface Transportation Board) approval through the standard regulatory process, CSXT anticipates Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad assuming operations over the Decatur lines in mid-September.”
The rail lines have a long history in central and eastern Illinois. The CSX line in Decatur was at one time operated by the Baltimore & Ohio (B&O). The Danville & Paris lines were at one time affiliated with the New York Central.
CSX put the Illinois lines up for sale in January. The company is attempting to sell a total of six rail segments with 650 miles of track across the nation.
WATCO is based in Pittsburg, Kansas. The company bills itself as one of the nations largest short line holding companies operating 38 short line railroads on more than 5,100 miles of track.
(Photo by WAND reporter Doug Wolfe: Outbound CSX freight takes an ethanol train over Lake Decatur in October 2011)
