The Southern Ontario Railway
is a
shortline railroad in the province of
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
, owned and operated by Genesee & Wyoming Canada Inc., the Canadian subsidiary of
Genesee & Wyoming Inc. It operated of track from
Brantford
Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County, but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully independ ...
to
Nanticoke, Ontario Nanticoke is an unincorporated community and former city located on the western border of Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada. Nanticoke is located directly across Lake Erie from the US city of Erie, Pennsylvania.
Summary
Unlike the majority of Hald ...
,
from 1998 to 2018. The railroad began operations in 1998, and was acquired by
RailAmerica
RailAmerica, Inc., based in Jacksonville, Florida, was a holding company of a number of short-line railroads and regional railroads in the United States and Canada.
In 2007, RailAmerica was acquired by Fortress Investment Group. Before that, it ...
two years later.
It had interchanges with the
Canadian National Railway at
Hamilton via
trackage rights
Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies.
Operating
Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may ...
, Brantford and
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, and interchanges with the
Canadian Pacific Railway at Hamilton.
On July 23, 2012,
Genesee & Wyoming Inc. announced that it intended to purchase RailAmerica in a deal valued at
$1.39 billion. Approval of the purchase was granted by the U.S.
Surface Transportation Board on December 19, 2012.
[Surface Transportation Board]
Decision, Case No. 42772
, December 19, 2012
On September 18, 2018, operation of most of the Hagersville sub returned to
CN.
The Hamilton operations returned to
CN December 13, 2018. SOR retains terminal operations at Nanticoke, and the line from Nanticoke to Garnet, mile 5.7, where it interchanges with CN.
The railroad's traffic comes mainly from steel, agricultural products, petroleum products, and chemicals. The SOR carries more than 44,000 carloads a year.
Hagersville Subdivision
The Hagersville Subdivision extends from Nanticoke (Mile 0.0) to Simpson (Mile 35.0). Rail movements on this subdivision are governed by the Occupancy Control System of the Canadian
Rail Operating Rules (CROR). While SOR operated the line, it was supervised by a rail traffic controller in
North Bay, Ontario
North Bay is a city in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of Nipissing District, and takes its name from its position on the shore of Lake Nipissing. North Bay developed as a railroad centre, and its airport was an important military ...
. The maximum authorized speed on this line is . Two or more trains operate daily on the Subdivision. The Hydro Spur (Mile 0.0) extends south off of the Hagersville Subdivision and descends southward to Lake Erie at a 1% grade. An Imperial Oil refinery is located just south and east of Mile 0.0 and an Ontario Hydro facility is located at the southern extremity of the spur (Mile 3.17). Train movements on the spur are governed by CROR Rule 105 and have a maximum authorized speed of 10 mph.
Locomotive Roster
References
External links
Southern Ontario Railway
{{Genesee & Wyoming
Ontario railways
RailAmerica