JOPLIN, Mo., May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Charlotte Western Railroad (CER), a wholly owned subsidiary of Jaguar Transport Holdings (Jaguar), began rail operations on May 2nd, 2022. It acquired leasehold rights to approximately 13 miles of track owned by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT).
“We are excited for the opportunity to establish our first operation in North Carolina and the southeastern US,” said Stu Towner, CEO of Jaguar. “The railroad’s location, in a growing metro with access to both Norfolk Southern and CSX, along with the acquisition of a rail served warehouse, provides us with an excellent opportunity to serve current and future customers and earn the right to grow alongside them and the local community. We will immediately move forward with a large project in partnership with NCDOT to build a new multi-commodity and multi-mode transload facility on our warehouse property which will create highly efficient solutions for the customers we are bringing to the property. This project, along with our focused commercial efforts to build sites along the railroad that are ready for new customers, makes this a fantastic solution for customers in the Charlotte market.”
Charlotte Western is the eighth shortline railroad for Jaguar, who has partnered with OPTrust, one of Canada’s largest pension plans. Other Jaguar railroads include Missouri Eastern Railroad, Cimarron Valley Railroad, Southwestern Railroad, Washington Eastern Railroad, Oregon Eastern Railroad, Texas Eastern Railroad, and West Memphis Base Railroad.
About Jaguar Transport Holdings
Jaguar is a transportation and logistics company headquartered in Joplin, MO. Since 2018, Jaguar has focused on safety, team culture, service to customers, and innovation to help drive its growth. Jaguar operates eight short line railroads and multiple other rail served sites across the United States. Jaguar is partnered with OPSEU Pension Plan Trust Fund (“OPTrust”), which invests and manages one of Canada’s largest pension funds and has significant experience investing in the surface transportation and logistics space. For more information, please visit www.jag-transport.com.
About OPTrust
With net assets of over $25 billion, OPTrust invests and manages one of Canada’s largest pension funds and administers the OPSEU Pension Plan (including OPTrust Select), a defined benefit plan with over 100,000 members. OPTrust is a global investor in a broad range of asset classes including Canadian and foreign equities, fixed income, real estate, infrastructure and private markets, and has a team of highly experienced investment professionals located in Toronto, London and Sydney.