Navy Security Buyout Derails Local Virginia Railroad Service
Published Date: 3/27/2026
Notice
Summary
Buckingham Branch Railroad wants to stop running trains on a 4.2-mile track between Virginia Beach and Norfolk, Virginia, because the U.S. Navy is buying nearby land for security reasons. This change mainly affects one local shipper, Gordon Paper, and will happen after the Navy’s purchase is finalized. The railroad says keeping the line open won’t make sense financially or operationally anymore.
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 2 costs, 0 mixed.
Local Shipper May Lose Rail Service
Buckingham Branch seeks to discontinue service over a 4.2-mile rail line between Diamond Springs (milepost SN 6.7) and Coleman Place (milepost SN 2.5). The petition says local traffic on the line derives from a single shipper, Gordon Paper, so that business could lose rail service if the discontinuance is approved.
Rail Employees Receive Job Protections
The notice says any employee adversely affected by the discontinuance will be protected by the employee-protection conditions set forth in the Oregon Short Line Railroad decision (360 I.C.C. 91 (1979)). Those protections will apply as a condition of this exemption.
Opportunity to File Offers of Financial Help
Parties interested in submitting an Offer of Financial Assistance (OFA) must file a formal expression of intent by April 6, 2026. An OFA for subsidy will be due no later than 120 days after the petition filing or 10 days after service of a decision granting the petition, whichever occurs sooner.
No Interim Trail Use or Environmental Review Now
Because this is a discontinuance (not an abandonment), the Board states interim trail use/railbanking and public use conditions are not appropriate, and the discontinuance does not require an environmental review (any environmental review would occur during a subsequent abandonment).
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Key Dates
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Previous: 2026-05940, Canonie Atlantic Co.-Abandonment Exemption-in the City of Virginia Beach and the City of Norfolk, Va.; Buckingham Branch Railroad Company-Discontinuance Exemption-in the City of Virginia Beach and the City of Norfolk, Va.
Canonie Atlantic Co. and Buckingham Branch Railroad want to stop using about 2.3 miles of rail track in Virginia Beach and Norfolk, Virginia. Canonie Atlantic has owned the track since 1985 but never ran trains on it, while Buckingham Branch has operated it since 2018. This change means the rail line will be abandoned and service discontinued soon, affecting local rail operations and possibly shifting some freight to trucks.
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