North Carolina & Virginia Railroad Achieves Capacity for 286,000-lb. Freight Cars

Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W)(NYSE:GWR) announced at a ribbon-cutting today that its subsidiary North Carolina & Virginia Railroad Company, LLC (NCVA), a 56-mile short line freight railroad operating between Boykins, Va., and Tunis, N.C., has upgraded its entire line to handle 286,000-lb. railcar loadings.

Enabling customers to ship and receive 286,000-lb. railcars, matching the capacity of the national railroads, increases NCVA’s competitiveness compared to other modes of transportation. The railroad’s infrastructure previously had been limited to 271,000-lb. railcar loadings.

In an $11.6-million project to achieve the capacity improvement, NCVA installed 21 miles of continuous-welded rail; replaced 25,700 crossties, 12 turnouts and eight grade crossings; resurfaced 51 track miles, including the addition of 22,500 tons of stone ballast; and performed extensive upgrades to its Meherrin River bridge. Completed on schedule and within budget, the project was funded by a $5.8-million federal TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grant with matching funds provided by NCVA and the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

“This project means a lot to us here at Nucor,” said Bob McCracken, vice president and general manager of Nucor’s Hertford County plate mill. “Nearly 70 percent of shipments from our mill go out by rail. The improvements built by NCVA will not only help make Nucor more competitive nationally and globally, but also will help grow the entire Hertford County and Eastern North Carolina economy. We are thankful that our state and federal government officials recognized the need for this investment in critical infrastructure and supported the continued growth of our region.”

“In addition to the benefits that the TIGER project provides our customers, this public-private partnership helps make North Carolina more attractive to new business and industry looking to set up operations,” said NCVA President Andy Chunko. “All of us at NCVA greatly appreciate the partnership with USDOT and NCDOT to provide the critical funding to complete this project, as well as the special support provided by Congressman G. K. Butterfield. This was a great team effort that will provide long-term support for economic and job growth in Northeastern North Carolina.”

“This award is the culmination of dedicated advocacy and calculated efforts to fund investment in North Carolina’s rural area freight transportation network,” said Butterfield. “This investment in the Northeastern North Carolina Rail Improvement Project will provide a much-needed economic boost and help to improve the quality of life for the residents of this Eastern North Carolina region. In a region that has faced the hardships of chronic underemployment, I am excited about the prospects of job growth and employment opportunities with area companies that use rail freight services. This transportation improvement allows for continuous growth and sustainable success for the community and generations to come. I am thankful to all those who have worked hard to advocate for these improvements and to the leadership that recognized the importance of these projects and awarded this grant.”

About NCVA

North Carolina & Virginia Railroad Company, LLC, a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming Inc., transports freight including steel, soybeans, chemicals and fertilizer, interchanging with CSX at Boykins, Va. Learn more at www.gwrr.com/ncva.

About G&W

G&W owns or leases 119 freight railroads organized in eight locally managed operating regions with 8,000 employees serving 3,000 customers.

• G&W’s six North American regions serve 41 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces and include 113 short line and regional freight railroads with more than 13,000 track-miles.
• G&W’s Australia Region serves New South Wales, the Northern Territory and South Australia and operates the 1,400-mile Tarcoola-to-Darwin rail line. The Australia Region is 51.1% owned by G&W and 48.9% owned by a consortium of funds and clients managed by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets.
• G&W’s UK/Europe Region includes the U.K.’s largest rail maritime intermodal operator and second-largest freight rail provider, as well as regional rail services in Continental Europe.

G&W subsidiaries and joint ventures also provide rail service at more than 40 major ports, rail-ferry service between the U.S. Southeast and Mexico, transload services, contract coal loading, and industrial railcar switching and repair.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Genesee & Wyoming's business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191101005505/en/

Michael Williams, G&W Corporate Communications 1-203-202-8900 Web site: www.gwrr.com