OmniTRAX, a privately held rail management company, recently purchased three Arkansas railroads. The company will begin operation of the lines on June 1.
The company acquired Dardanelle and Russellville Railroad, located within the Arkansas River Valley’s industrial center; and Ouachita Railroad, and Camden & Southern Railroad that serve Southern Arkansas’s commodity customers. The railroads are part of regional and national supply chains and connect with the North American Rail Freight Network through interchanges with the Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway.
Under the new ownership agreement, former owners Danny Robbins and Michael Robbins will join OmniTRAX and will manage rail operations.
“As a family-owned railroad, OmniTRAX found a shared philosophy with the Robbins family and a common appreciation for the critical role that regional railroads play in serving our communities and strengthening our nation,” Nathan Brown, OmniTRAX chief strategy officer, said. “These acquisitions maintain trusted local relationships while adding expanded reach and resources to serve Arkansas for generations to come.”
The purchases allow OmniTRAX to enter a new economic market. Nearly a dozen Fortune 500 facilities are located in the Arkansas River Valley, and Arkansas’s cumulative economic growth has been 40 percent higher than the national average for the past five years.