The 114-year-old Santa Maria Valley Railroad (SMVRR) is entering a new chapter. In a move slated to help grow traffic and improve infrastructure and customer service, the joint venture (JV) of OmniTrax, The Broe Group’s rail and real estate affiliate, and Coast Belle Rail Corporation is owner and operator of the short line, located between Los Angeles and San Francisco, Calif.
Denver, Colo.-based OmniTrax on March 12 reported entering the partnership with Coast Belle Rail Corporation, which has run the 14.7-mile SMVRR since 2006. The short line serves Central Coast Valley commercial and agricultural customers and interchanges with Union Pacific at Guadalupe (see map below). It offers numerous sidings and spurs that “support future growth capacity,” OmniTrax noted, as well as transload facilities at the Osburn Rail Yard in Santa Maria. Official operations kicked off June 11 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The additions of SMVRR in March and of Port Muskogee Railroad in May bring OmniTrax’s short line portfolio to 30 railroads, serving ports and industrial parks across the country. In 2024, the company was selected as the exclusive rail operator at Ports of Indiana-Mount Vernon and began providing switching, sorting and other services via their 8.2-mile Mount Vernon Railroad. It also acquired Central Arizona Commerce Park’s rail infrastructure and remaining park acreage.
“The Santa Maria Railroad plays a critical role in California’s supply chains and this acquisition is another key step in the expansion of the OmniTRAX Rail Network,” OmniTRAX Executive Vice President Nathan Brown said March 12. “Our agreement with Coast Belle Rail Corporation marks our first rail joint venture acquisition. As a multi-generational, privately held company, OmniTRAX has the capacity to create deal structures like this that can preserve the benefits of local involvement and knowledge.”
“This joint venture brings our companies’ collective strengths together to serve the community,” Piacente added on June 11. “By combining Coast Belle’s local passion with the national reach of OmniTRAX, we can bring new customers to the line and new jobs to the Central Coast.”
“The Santa Maria Railroad has been vital to the valley for decades and this new partnership adds the resources, relationships, and real estate development capacities to ensure that this century old railroad continues to serve Californians for generations to come,” SMVRR President Rob Himoto said. “Our shared cultural values with The Broe Group’s multi-generational ownership are not only the basis of a strong partnership, they are a fitting tribute to the dedicated families that have built the Santa Maria Railroad’s wonderful legacy of service.”
“Today [June 11] marks the fulfillment of a very personal commitment to our community, my family, and the legacy of the Santa Maria Valley Railroad,” Rob Himoto noted on June 11. “To keep pace with California’s dynamic growth, we sought a partner with the resources to grow with us and the cultural values that align with the spirit of the line. In the Broe family’s OmniTRAX, we found both. This is an exciting day for the Santa Maria Valley Railroad as we write a new chapter of shared ownership in the storied history of families entrusted with the railroad’s legacy of service.”
In a related development, Pittsburg, Kans.-based Watco Railroad Company Holdings, Inc. recently reported plans to acquire Great Lakes Central Railroad; it has been an equity investor in the GLC since 2013.
