Patriot Rail, in partnership with Merced County, Calif., on Oct. 31 marked the grand opening of a new loading dock at the Castle Commerce Center (Castle) in Atwater, which it said, “lays the foundation for transforming the [Castle] Rail District into an Inland Port to serve California ports and beyond.”
This new permanent dock, completed by Marvulli Commercial Construction, is said to build on Patriot Rail’s overall investments in Castle (see map, right) since the County approved its assumption of dedicated rail service in 2022, and Patriot’s launch of the Merced County Central Valley Railroad (MCVR; scroll down for a map) to serve shippers at Castle and the Central Valley region. Patriot Rail said its investments in MCVR in just over two years include construction of 5,500 feet of new rail connection track and acquisition of 16 acres within the 70-acre Rail District as part of a 2023 merger of Hydra Logistics into the Patriot Rail network. Altogether, Patriot Rail said it has invested nearly $4 million in new construction at Castle to support first-mile/last mile dedicated rail and transloading services for customers.
According to Patriot Rail, the California State Transportation Agency in 2023 awarded $49.6 million to Merced County to build and expand the Castle Rail District as an inland port and will leverage additional private-sector development of up to 203-acre parcel for new warehouse construction.
“We are proud to serve Merced County and be their partner in growth,” said Brandy Christian, the new Patriot Rail CEO, who spoke at the grand opening event, which was attended by members of the Merced County Board of Supervisors, County Executive Officer Raul Lomeli Mendez, and Morning Star Vice President Bob Henry, among others. “Patriot Rail takes immense pride in working together to solve for the broader freight transportation needs in the Central Valley Region and the state of California.”
“It takes a strong partnership between the public and private sectors to make projects like this possible,” said Daron McDaniel, Merced County Supervisor District 3. “We appreciate our partnership with Patriot Rail and look forward to continued infrastructure investments that serve customers like Morning Star and the other rail shippers here in the Rail District, and across the County.”
