Iowa Pacific Holdings


Iowa Pacific Holdings was a holding company that owned railroad properties across North America and the United Kingdom, as well as providing services such as railcar repairs, leasing, management and consulting services to other operators. The company was founded in 2001 with headquarters in Chicago, Illinois; the current CEO was Edwin E. Ellis, Jr.

Holdings

Iowa Pacific's North American freight services are operated by subsidiary Permian Basin Railways, which was formed in 2002 to operate the Texas – New Mexico Railroad and the West Texas and Lubbock Railway; since then, Iowa Pacific through Permian Basin has acquired the Arizona Eastern Railway in 2004, the San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad in 2005, the Chicago Terminal Railroad in 2006 and the Mount Hood Railroad in 2008.
In addition to freight operations, Iowa Pacific operates several passenger train operations through North America. The Rio Grande Scenic Railroad began operations in 2006, the Mount Hood Railroad, which operates both freight and passenger services, was purchased in 2008, the same year Copper Spike Excursion Train service began over Arizona Eastern trackage.
The Saratoga and North Creek Railroad began operations in the summer of 2011, offering scheduled passenger rail service, as opposed to excursion trains. Passenger operations ceased on April 7, 2018, and the final revenue freight train to remove stored tank cars operated in May 2018.
Iowa Pacific also fully owns the Dartmoor Railway and a controlling stake in the Weardale Railway, both shortlines in the United Kingdom that operate freight and passenger services; Iowa Pacific purchased the companies in 2008, operating them under the name British American Railway Services.
In 2012, Iowa Pacific acquired three railroad operations during the year:
In February 2014, Iowa Pacific began test runs of the Eastern Flyer, a proposed regular passenger train service between Oklahoma City and Tulsa. However, the company later abandoned the project after local governments failed to obtain operating rights that would have allowed the Eastern Flyer to reach stations in either of the two major cities.
In April 2015, Iowa Pacific announced a deal with the Indiana Department of Transportation and Amtrak to supply rolling stock and on-board services personnel for the Hoosier State, which runs between Chicago and Indianapolis. Indiana announced on January 30, 2017, that Amtrak would resume providing rolling stock for the Hoosier State on March 1, as Iowa Pacific was no longer able to fulfill the contract.
In May 2015, Watco Companies announced that it would purchase two Iowa Pacific subsidiaries, the Texas New Mexico Railroad and the West Texas and Lubbock Railroad.
In September 2015, Iowa Pacific took over operations of the Grenada Railway in Mississippi. The Grenada Railway, was subsequently acquired by RailUSA in August 2018 and renamed the Grenada Railroad.