Anacostia Rail Holdings

What Anacostia Rail Holdings does

Anacostia Rail Holdings Company (ARH) is a privately held short-line railroad holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1997 by the shareholders of Anacostia & Pacific. The company owns and operates six freight railroads across seven U.S. states: Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad (CSS), Gulf Coast Switching Company (GCS), Louisville & Indiana Railroad (LIRC), Northern Lines Railway (NLR), New York & Atlantic Railway (NYA), and Pacific Harbor Line (PHL). Combined, the network operates more than 760 miles of track and handles approximately 2 million carloads per year, serving a base of more than 550 industrial customers across steel/metals, agriculture and grain, automotive, construction materials, paper/packaging, waste management, and energy verticals. Pacific Harbor Line operates exclusively within the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, serving 9 on-dock marine terminals and handling more than 5.6 million TEUs annually.

Revenue is generated primarily through per-carload freight rail transportation fees (transaction-based), supplemented by transloading services (rail-to-truck cargo transfer) offered across all subsidiary locations, warehouse and storage services via Precision Terminal Logistics (PTL) and The Kearney Companies, and railcar storage at SIT yards — Gulf Coast Switching provides 2,600 storage spots for Union Pacific. Pricing is quote-based, determined by origin, destination, commodity, equipment type, and volume, with bills payable within 15 days.

ARH's go-to-market is direct B2B sales via local marketing teams at each subsidiary, supplemented by an electronic customer portal (RailConnect). In 2019, ARH formed Precision Terminal Logistics as a joint venture with Brown Brothers Harriman Capital Partners to expand into transloading terminals; PTL acquired The Kearney Companies in 2021, adding 500,000+ square feet of warehouse capacity. The company pursues ESG-led differentiation through EPA SmartWay certification (all six railroads since 2021), a development agreement and investment in Remora for mobile carbon capture technology (October 2025), renewable diesel adoption (PHL reports a 70% CO2 reduction), and Tier 4 locomotive upgrades. All Anacostia carriers maintain interchange connections with every Class I railroad (BNSF, Union Pacific, CSX, Norfolk Southern, Canadian Pacific), providing shippers with neutral single-point access to the North American rail network.

Name

Anacostia Rail Holdings

Legal name

Anacostia Rail Holdings Company

Website

https://anacostia.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Anacostia Rail Holdings (ARH) is a privately held U.S. short-line railroad holding company that owns and operates six freight railroads in seven states (CSS, GCS, LIRC, NLR, NYA, PHL), handling approximately 2 million carloads per year across 760+ miles of track for 550+ industrial shippers, with affiliated transloading and warehousing via Precision Terminal Logistics.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Short Line Rail Freight Services

NAICS

Short Line Railroads (482112), Line-Haul Railroads (482111), Rail Transportation (482), Freight Transportation Arrangement (488510)

SIC

Railroads, Line-Haul Operating (4011), Railroad Switching & Terminal Establishments (4013), Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731)

akta.pro primary industry

Short Line & Regional Railroads (General Merchandise) (TLADACAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Industrial & Terminal Railroads (Plant/Port Switching) (TLADACAJ), Rail Terminal Switching, Shunting & Yard Locomotive Services (TLAJAFAF), Rail Bulk Commodities Forwarding (Grain, Minerals, Coal, Chemicals) (TLACADAI)

Keywords

• Short line railroads
• Freight rail services
• Rail transloading
• Intermodal rail operations
• Railcar storage

Headquarters

HQ city

Jeffersonville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Freight Rail Transportation Services: Revenue from transporting freight via owned/operated railroads. Provides neutral access to Class 1 railroads for shippers. Handles approximately 2 million carloads per year across all subsidiaries.
2. Transloading Services: Revenue from transferring cargo between rail and truck modes at transload facilities. Offered across all railroad subsidiaries.
3. Warehouse and Storage Services: Precision Terminal Logistics and Kearney Companies provide warehousing, storage, and material handling services at ports and inland locations.
4. Railcar Storage: Gulf Coast Switching operates SIT yards providing 2,600 car storage spots for Union Pacific. PHL offers more than 550 storage car spots.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Anacostia Rail Holdings owns and operates six U.S. short-line freight railroads providing neutral access to Class I railroads, car switching for intermodal terminals and industries, track maintenance and repair, freight transloading, train dispatching, railcar storage, and warehousing services. Combined operations handle approximately 2 million carloads per year across more than 760 miles of track in seven states.

Product overview

Anacostia Rail Holdings operates as a portfolio of short line railroads and logistics companies providing freight rail services across the United States. The company owns and operates six U.S. freight railroads (CSS, GCS, LIRC, NLR, NYA, PHL) along with two logistics subsidiaries (Precision Terminal Logistics and The Kearney Companies). Combined, the companies handle approximately 2 million carloads per year and operate more than 760 miles of track in seven states. Services include neutral access to Class 1 railroads, car switching for intermodal terminals and industries, track maintenance and repair, freight transloading, train dispatching, and warehousing. Pacific Harbor Line serves the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach as a gateway to the global supply chain, while the other railroads serve regional freight needs from the Chicago area to New York.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad (CSS) Freight railroad serving the Chicago and Northwest Indiana region, handling steel, energy, building products, and chemicals with connections to every Class I and short line railroad in the Chicago rail terminal.
• Gulf Coast Switching (GCS) Operates the Robinson SIT Yard in Dayton, Texas for Union Pacific, providing storage for plastic hoppers with 1,500 car capacity and track maintenance services using remote control locomotives.
• Louisville & Indiana Railroad (LIRC) Operates 106 miles of rail line between Indianapolis and Louisville, connecting with CSX, NS, INRD, and PAL railroads, serving agriculture, chemicals, steel, and building materials customers.
• Northern Lines Railway (NLR) Operates BNSF trackage in central Minnesota, serving the St. Cloud metropolitan area with approximately 20 customers in agriculture, lumber, paper, and building materials.
• New York & Atlantic Railway (NYA) Operates freight trains on Long Island Rail Road lines in Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk counties, connecting with BRT, CP, CSX, NS, NYNJ, and P&W railroads, and removes over 120,000 heavy truck trips from NYC roads annually.
• Pacific Harbor Line (PHL) Provides rail transportation, maintenance, and dispatching services to the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, handling intermodal containerized traffic and manifest freight at 9 on-dock marine terminals handling more than 5.6 million TEUs annually.
• Precision Terminal Logistics (PTL) Jointly owned entity operating, building, and acquiring transloading terminals across the U.S., providing material handling, storage, processing, and industrial switching services.
• The Kearney Companies Provides commodity warehousing, barge and rail transloading, full-service ocean container drayage operations, and inland freight management services at the Port of New Orleans and Georgia Port Authority, including more than 500,000 square feet of rail-served warehouse capacity and 60 acres of yard capacity.

Quantifiable outcome

• Removes over 120,000 heavy truck trips from NYC roads annually
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• RemoracoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 November 2025Pacific Harbor Line entered development agreement with Remora for mobile carbon capture technology. Remora captures diesel exhaust carbon, converts it to liquid, and sells to industries including farming, food production, and manufacturing with revenue shared with transportation partners. PHL is also an investor in Remora.
• Norfolk SouthernminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorfolk Southern announced testing agreement with Remora for mobile carbon capture technology on freight rail operations.
• Union PacificminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnion Pacific announced testing agreement with Remora for mobile carbon capture technology on freight rail operations.
• Genesee & WyomingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGenesee & Wyoming announced testing agreement with Remora for mobile carbon capture technology on freight rail operations.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• OmniTRAX: Short line railroad holding company operating more than 20 railroads across the U.S. and Canada, with affiliated logistics and industrial development services. Comparable multi-railroad platform serving similar industrial and agricultural shippers with transloading adjacencies.
• R.J. Corman Railroad Group: Privately held short line railroad and rail services operator with multiple regional railroads and switching operations. Comparable multi-state short line platform and industrial customer focus, with similar engineering and transloading adjacencies.
• Patriot Rail Company: Short line railroad holding company owning and operating 12+ regional and short line railroads across the U.S. Closely comparable multi-railroad model, regional industrial customer base, and complementary transloading services.
• Genesee & Wyoming Inc. Once the largest U.S. short line railroad operator with 100+ railroads globally before its 2019 take-private by Brookfield Infrastructure. Direct comparable in business model (multi-railroad short line holding company serving industrial shippers), scale, and customer base.
• Pioneer Railcorp: Short line railroad operator (now part of BRX Transportation under parent MxV Rail). Comparable in operating Class II/III short line freight service across multiple states to industrial customers.
• Watco Companies: Privately held transportation services company owning and operating 40+ short line railroads in the U.S. and Australia. Closely comparable in multi-state short line holding structure, industrial customer focus, and complementary transloading and terminal services.
• Iowa Interstate Railroad: Regional railroad operating between Chicago and Council Bluffs with connections to multiple Class I carriers. Comparable in serving as a regional freight railroad linking Class I networks for industrial, agricultural, and intermodal shippers.

Broad incumbents

• Brookfield Infrastructure Partners: Owner of Genesee & Wyoming and a major infrastructure investor with diversified rail and logistics holdings. Sets the benchmark valuation and strategic direction for the short line holding company category in which Anacostia competes.

Others

• CSX Transportation: Class I freight railroad that serves as both a customer (interchange partner for LIRC, NYA, CSS) and adjacent operator. Comparable as the larger rail ecosystem Anacostia's short lines connect into, and as a reference point for service quality and pricing benchmarks.

Emerging players

• Hub Group: Intermodal and logistics services company operating one of the largest U.S. intermodal fleets with transloading and warehousing capabilities. Comparable in serving shippers requiring rail-truck intermodal solutions and complementary to Anacostia's Precision Terminal Logistics franchise.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/anacostia-rail-holdings

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Anacostia Rail Holdings