3i-Backed Regional Rail Acquires Massachusetts Central Railroad
Published: August 4, 2026
By: Adam Burns
Regional Rail has added the Massachusetts Central Railroad to a portfolio that now spans 18 railroads. Doug Kroll photo.
3i-backed short-line owner and operator Regional Rail has acquired the Massachusetts Central Railroad (MCER), expanding its footprint to 18 railroads across 10 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces.
MCER is a 28-mile Massachusetts railroad providing hauling, storage, and transload services across markets that include waste, chemicals, plastics, and lumber. The transaction also includes Wildwood Reload, which offers warehousing and transloading for industrial customers in the region, according to 3i’s announcement as reported in the trade press.
“Massachusetts Central is an excellent addition to Regional Rail and reflects our broader strategy of partnering with established local operators, preserving the legacy built by entrepreneurs and prior owners, and supporting the next phase of growth,” said Rob Collins, managing partner and head of North American infrastructure at 3i.
Since partnering in July 2019, 3i and Regional Rail have grown from three railroads to 18. Beyond freight transportation, Regional Rail also provides crossing signal design, construction, inspection, and maintenance services—capabilities that increasingly matter as Class I hosts, short lines, and public agencies push grade-crossing safety programs.
For industry watchers, the deal fits a multi-year pattern of private-equity and infrastructure capital consolidating regionals and short lines that control first- and last-mile industrial traffic. Massachusetts Central’s mix of carload commodities and reload capacity is the kind of diversified short-line franchise that large holding companies favor: not a pure unit-train play, but a multi-customer industrial railroad with transload upside.
Sources: Progressive Railroading, “3i, Regional Rail acquires Massachusetts Central Railroad,” August 4, 2026; 3i / Regional Rail statements as reported.
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