Blacklands Railroad
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The Blacklands Railroad (BLR) is a short-line railroad headquartered in Sulphur Springs, Texas. The name comes from the "black gumbo" soil prevalent in the area.
BLR operates a 65.6 mile line, under contract with the Northeast Texas Rural Transportation District (NETEX), a political subdivision of the state of Texas (which holds title to the land and assets), from Greenville, Texas (where it interchanges with Kansas City Southern, through Sulphur Springs (with another KCS interchange) and Mount Vernon, Texas to the Franklin/Titus county line; from this point BLR operates via Union Pacific trackage rights to Mount Pleasant, Texas where it interchanges with UP.
BLR traffic includes forest products, grain, and agricultural products.
NETEX purchased the segment between Greenville and Sulphur Springs in 1995, and the remainder of the line in 2000. BLR received the contract to operate the line in 1999.
