State-Owned South Branch Valley Railroad Gains New Operator

Denver-based OmniTrax will operate and manage the South Branch Valley Railroad beginning on Dec. 1.

A train pulled by a blue locomotive pulls through a green rural setting under a blue sky with white clouds.

A new operator has been chosen for a state-owned shortline railroad in the Potomac Highlands.

Denver-based OmniTrax will operate and manage the South Branch Valley Railroad beginning on Dec. 1.

The South Branch Valley is a 52-mile railroad from Petersburg to Green Spring, where it interchanges with CSX. 

The line has been owned by the West Virginia Department of Transportation since 1978. The railroad is headquartered in Moorefield. 

The South Branch Valley moves freight traffic and runs the Potomac Eagle passenger trains. 

OmniTrax also operates the Winchester and Western Railroad in West Virginia. The company has 24 additional railroad properties nationwide.

Author: Curtis Tate

Curtis is our Energy & Environment Reporter, based in Charleston. He has spent more than 17 years as a reporter and copy editor for Gannett, Dow Jones and McClatchy. He has written extensively about travel, transportation and Congress for USA TODAY, The Bergen Record, The Lexington Herald-Leader, The Wichita Eagle, The Belleville News-Democrat and The Sacramento Bee. You can reach him at ctate@wvpublic.org.

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