CSX solicits bids on six rail segments

The Jacksonville, Fla.-based Class I railway may or may not sell sections totaling about 650 miles.    CSX Corp. is soliciting bids on six rail segments that collectively total around 650 miles.
   These properties are:
     • Massena Line: Line extending north from Syracuse, N.Y., to Canada;
     • Baldwinsville Subdivision: Branch line west of Syracuse, N.Y.;
     • West Albany and Rensselaer, N.Y.: Collection of properties near Albany, N.Y.;
     • Cumberland Valley: Feeder lines extending east of Corbin, Ky.;
     • Eastern North Carolina: Branch lines terminating in Grangers and Plymouth, N.C.;
     • And Marietta Subdivision: Branch line extending north out of Parkersburg, W.Va.
   CSX said these lines may be purchased by one buyer, multiple buyers or may end up not being sold at all, depending on the bids received.
   In January, CSX solicited bids on the Decatur and Danville Secondary Subdivisions in central Illinois and the Tallahassee and PA Subdivisions in the Florida Panhandle, which collectively total around 500 miles, a CSX spokesperson said.
   The decision to solicit these bids is in line with CSX’s implementation of scheduled railroading, which was implemented at the company in March 2017 when former CSX CEO E. Hunter Harrison took over the railway.
   The scheduled railroading system is an operating model that focuses on developing and strictly maintaining a scheduled service plan with an emphasis on optimizing assets, designed to improve customer service, reduce costs, and generate free cash flow.
   James Foote, who was named CEO in December after the death of Harrison, has been a supporter of the scheduled railroading model.