JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Jan. 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Patriot Rail Company LLC (Patriot Rail) announced today that it has acquired, through the bankruptcy process, the assets of Alderman Railcar Services, Inc., a railcar repair and cleaning service provider located in Central Virginia. The repair facility will operate under its new name, Blue Ridge Railcar Repair LLC (Blue Ridge).

The Blue Ridge facility is located in Keysville, Virginia, 16 miles from the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) interchange via the Buckingham Branch Railroad (BB). The shop is a M-1003 AAR certified railcar repair facility with 21 acres of land, paint and blast capabilities, and 11,000 feet of track capacity which allows for up to 130 "repair in progress" cars to be stored at any given time. Blue Ridge will repair, clean, and paint a wide array of railcar types including boxcars, hoppers, gondolas, and flatcars.

There is projected to be a shortage of certified railcar repair facilities across North America over the next several years. It is Patriot's intention to use this facility as a foundation for best practices that will be used to establish and grow additional repair facilities to address this shortage.

"We are excited about this investment, as it supports Patriot Rail's long-term strategy to expand the mechanical repair services within the rail industry," says President and CEO, John Fenton. "Our operational strategy for Blue Ridge is designed to provide fleet owners with a network that delivers consistent, high-quality and responsive maintenance services that will reduce overall fleet downtime."

The acquisition was finalized on December 31, 2013 and is scheduled to be fully operational in February 2014.

Patriot Rail Company LLC ("Patriot Rail") is a leading operator of short line and regional railroads in the United States. The company currently owns and operates 13 short line freight railroads comprising approximately 500 total rail miles across 13 states. Patriot Rail is owned through an investment vehicle managed by SteelRiver Infrastructure Partners.

For more information, visit Patriot Rail Company LLC online at www.patriotrail.com.

SteelRiver Infrastructure Partners is an independent investment management firm with over $4 billion of AuM that invests in infrastructure in North America for the long term, seeking out assets and businesses that provide essential services with stable cash flows, and often operating within a regulated framework. SteelRiver's long-term approach to infrastructure investing is characterized by a significant emphasis on value added through in-house asset management and experienced infrastructure investment professionals.

For more information on SteelRiver please visit www.steelriverpartners.com.

MEDIA CONTACT

Patriot Rail Company LLC
Maureen A. Donnelly
Assistant Vice President, Communications
(904) 423-2543
maureen.donnelly@patriotrail.com

SOURCE Patriot Rail Company LLC