Lake State Railway Company

What Lake State Railway Company does

Lake State Railway Company (LSRC) is a Michigan-based regional short line freight railroad founded in 1992 by Jim George and headquartered in Saginaw. It operates approximately 375 miles of track spanning Michigan's industrial, agricultural, and manufacturing corridors — from Plymouth in the south through Saginaw to Gaylord and Alpena in the north, with branches to Midland, Bay City, and Paines. LSRC interchanges with Class I carriers CSX (at Plymouth) and CN (at Flint and Port Huron), as well as regional short lines Huron and Eastern Railway (HESR) and Mid-Michigan Railroad (MMRR), enabling shippers to reach North American markets. Its service portfolio comprises five core products: Shipping/Transportation (STB-tariff-regulated rail freight across aggregates, agricultural products, chemicals, petroleum products, plastics, metals, machinery, cement, fertilizer, forest products, and building materials), Transloading (truck-to-rail and rail-to-truck at 10 locations handling 1,250+ railcars annually), Equipment Storage (short- and long-term storage of railcars and locomotives with shop facility access), Property Management (right-of-entry permitting for railroad right-of-way), and Tariff Services (rate schedule documentation and fuel surcharges).

LSRC's revenue model is transaction-based across all five streams, with STB-filed tariffs governing freight rates and a fuel cost recovery surcharge applied on top. Go-to-market is direct sales-led with marketing representatives assigned to accounts, supplemented by event-driven community engagement (annual Toys for Tots Santa Train, ASLRRA conference participation) and earned media in Railway Age and Progressive Railroading. The customer base spans industrial/manufacturing shippers (chemicals, petroleum, metals), agricultural producers (grain, fertilizer), and transload/third-party shippers without rail spur access. The company has been privately held since founding and received a strategic investment from Antin Infrastructure Partners (Euronext Paris: ANTIN) in March 2022, which was followed by board appointments of two industry veterans (R. Matt Davis from Dow; James F. Earl from GATX), a $27M federal CRISI grant in October 2024, a $5M Michigan DOT grant in March 2024, and a December 2025 locomotive procurement from Progress Rail — collectively signaling an active capacity-expansion phase under PE ownership.

Name

Lake State Railway Company

Legal name

Lake State Railway Company

Website

https://lsrc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Lake State Railway Company (LSRC) is a Michigan-based regional short line freight railroad operating approximately 375 miles of track serving industrial, agricultural, and manufacturing shippers via STB-regulated rail freight, transloading at 10 locations, equipment storage, and Class I interchange access to CSX and CN.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Freight Rail Transportation

NAICS

Short Line Railroads (482112), Line-Haul Railroads (482111)

SIC

Railroads, Line-Haul Operating (4011), Railroad Switching & Terminal Establishments (4013)

akta.pro primary industry

Industrial & Terminal Railroads (Plant/Port Switching) (TLADACAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Dry Bulk Rail Freight (Unit Trains) (TLADAKAB), Agricultural Products Rail Operators (Grain/Fertilizer) (TLADACAH)

Keywords

• Short line rail freight
• Rail transportation services
• Transloading services
• Rail equipment storage
• Regional freight shipping

Headquarters

HQ city

Saginaw

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Freight Transportation Services: LSRC generates primary revenue by transporting freight commodities (aggregates, agricultural products, chemicals, petroleum products, plastics, metals, machinery, cement, fertilizer, forest products, building materials, transportation equipment) along its approximately 375-mile Michigan rail network. Revenue is derived from per-car/per-shipment freight rates, tariff filings, and negotiated contracts with shippers. The railroad also derives revenue from fuel cost recovery surcharges.
2. Equipment Storage: LSRC offers short-term and long-term storage of loaded or empty railcars, locomotives, and other rail equipment at its Michigan facilities, generating daily storage charges and switching fees.
3. Transloading Services: LSRC handles over 1,250 railcars per year through transload locations, offering truck-to-rail and rail-to-truck services for commodities including resins, panel products, lumber products, fertilizers, and bulk liquid products. Revenue is earned per transload transaction.
4. Property Permitting and Right-of-Entry Fees: LSRC administers permitting for contractors and third parties working on railroad property, collecting right-of-entry application fees for access to the railroad right-of-way.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Lake State Railway Company operates approximately 375 miles of rail track in Michigan providing rail freight transportation for bulk and industrial commodities including aggregates, agricultural products, chemicals, petroleum products, plastics, metals, machinery, cement, and fertilizer. The company also offers truck-to-rail and rail-to-truck transloading services at 10 Michigan locations, short-term and long-term storage of railcars and locomotives, railroad property permitting, and STB-regulated tariff documentation.

Product overview

Lake State Railway Company (LSRC) is a Michigan-based regional freight railroad offering a unified suite of rail transportation services. The company operates approximately 375 miles of track running from Plymouth through Saginaw (headquarters) to Gaylord, Alpena, Midland, Bay City, and Paines. The core product portfolio consists of Shipping/Transportation Services (rail freight transport of commodities including aggregates, agricultural products, chemicals, cement, fertilizers, metals, and petroleum products), Transloading Services (truck-to-rail and rail-to-truck services handling over 1,250 railcars annually), Equipment Storage (short/long-term railcar and locomotive storage with shop facility access), Property Management (permitting and right-of-entry services for railroad property), and Tariff Services (rate schedules and documentation). LSRC also maintains railroad interchanges with CSXT, CN, Huron and Eastern Railway, and Mid-Michigan Railroad enabling shipments throughout North America.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Shipping/Transportation Services Core rail freight transportation service operating approximately 375 miles of track throughout Michigan, shipping commodities including aggregates, agricultural products, building materials, cement, chemicals, fertilizer, forest products, machinery, metals, petroleum products, plastics, and transportation equipment. Interchanges with CSX, CN, Huron and Eastern Railway (HESR), and Mid-Michigan Railroad (MMRR) enable North American shipping reach.
• Transloading Services Truck-to-rail and rail-to-truck transloading services that provide rail economics to customers not located on an active rail spur, handling over 1,250 railcars per year through 10 transload locations across Michigan (Alpena, Bay City, Birch Run, Gaylord, Grayling, Greenbush, Midland, Saginaw, Standish, and West Branch).
• Equipment Storage Short-term and long-term storage of loaded or empty railcars, locomotives, and other rail equipment at LSRC's Michigan facilities, with full-service shop facility access, daily storage charges, and negotiated switching rates.
• Property Management Railroad property permitting and management services, including Right of Entry Applications for contractors and third parties working on or accessing the railroad right-of-way, with application fees for right-of-entry access.
• Tariff Services Tariff and rate documentation services including Fuel Cost Recovery Surcharge, General Freight Tariff, and Rate Tariff schedules, along with supporting documentation like credit applications and dimensional load forms, governed by Surface Transportation Board filings.

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• CSX Transportation (CSXT)coreTechnology or IntegrationCSX Transportation is a Class I railroad and key interchange partner of LSRC. LSRC interchanges with CSXT at Plymouth, Michigan — the southernmost point of LSRC's operating network — enabling LSRC shippers to connect to CSX's North American rail network.
• Canadian National Railway (CN)coreTechnology or IntegrationCanadian National Railway is a Class I railroad and key interchange partner of LSRC. LSRC interchanges with CN at Flint and Port Huron, Michigan, enabling cross-border connectivity to Canada and broader North American shipping reach.
• Progress Rail (a Caterpillar company)coreTechnology or IntegrationIn December 2025, LSRC announced the purchase of four SD70ACe-T4 locomotives from Progress Rail, a subsidiary of Caterpillar. This represents LSRC's largest known equipment procurement announcement and underscores the railroad's continued infrastructure investment program.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Canadian National Railway (CN): Class I railroad and LSRC interchange partner at Flint and Port Huron, providing cross-border Canada connectivity. Broader incumbent serving the same industrial corridor with national-scale freight services and serving as the gateway to LSRC's Canadian traffic lane.
• CSX Transportation: Class I railroad and key LSRC interchange partner at Plymouth, Michigan. Provides broader network reach for LSRC shippers but also represents the dominant incumbent against which LSRC competes for industrial freight along shared corridors.
• Genesee & Wyoming Inc. Major U.S. short line and regional railroad operator (now owned by Brookfield Infrastructure) with a similar business model across multiple states. Operates a portfolio of short line railroads serving industrial and agricultural customers analogous to LSRC, providing scale, geographic, and portfolio-comparable benchmarks.
• Watco Transportation Services: Diversified short line railroad, industrial switching, and rail services operator with multiple Class II and Class III railroads across the U.S. Comparable business model providing short line freight, transload, and rail services to industrial customers with a similar revenue mix.
• R.J. Corman Railroad Group: Multi-state short line railroad operator and rail services provider with a portfolio of regional railroads across the eastern and central U.S. Provides freight, transload, and rail services comparable to LSRC's offerings, and serves as a benchmark for short line operating economics.

Others

• GATX Corporation: Global railcar leasing company and adjacent ecosystem participant. LSRC board member James F. Earl is a former GATX EVP. Not a direct competitor but a rail industry peer involved in rail equipment supply, fleet management, and railcar storage — adjacent services that overlap with LSRC's storage revenue stream.
• Progress Rail (a Caterpillar company): Locomotive and rail equipment manufacturer (Caterpillar subsidiary) and key supplier to LSRC. Not a competitor but an enabling ecosystem participant providing locomotives — including the four SD70ACe-T4 units LSRC purchased in December 2025 — and rail infrastructure products to the short line sector.

Direct peers

• Indiana Rail Road: Regional short line railroad in Indiana serving a similar industrial commodity base (grain, chemicals, metals, manufactured goods). Comparable Class II regional railroad model with interchange access to Class I networks and similar customer mix to LSRC's Michigan network.
• Huron and Eastern Railway (HESR): Michigan-based short line railroad that interchanges with LSRC, operating similar freight services in adjacent territory. Comparable regional short line business model focused on industrial and agricultural commodities in Michigan, with similar Class I interchange economics.
• Mid-Michigan Railroad (MMRR): Michigan short line railroad that interchanges with LSRC, serving a similar commodity base and customer segments within Michigan. Direct regional peer with a comparable short line operating model and interchange-dependent network reach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lake-state-railway-company
• Xx.com/lakestaterail

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lake State Railway Company