San Joaquin Valley Railroad

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San Joaquin Valley Railroad

Exeter Subdivision near Monson, California, in 2012
Overview
Parent company	Genesee & Wyoming
Headquarters	Exeter, California
Reporting mark	SJVR
Locale	Fresno, California and Bakersfield, California area
Dates of operation	January 2, 1992–present
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length	371 miles (597 km)[1]
Other
Website	gwrr.com/sjvr

The San Joaquin Valley Railroad (reporting mark SJVR) is one of several short line railroad companies and is part of the Western Region Division of Genesee & Wyoming Inc. It operates over about 371 miles (597 km) of owned or leased track primarily on several lines in California's Central Valley/San Joaquin Valley around Fresno and Bakersfield. The SJVR has trackage rights over Union Pacific (formerly Southern Pacific) between Fresno, Goshen, Famoso, Bakersfield and Algoso. The SJVR also operated for the Tulare Valley Railroad (TVRR) from Calwa to Corcoran and Famoso.

On January 1, 1992, the SJVR was created^[2] to obtain and operate several branch lines from the Southern Pacific. The SJVR at this time operated as three separate legal entities: the SJVR proper, the Tulare Valley Railroad (TVRR), and the Port Railroad. From 1992 to 1997, the SJVR was owned by Kyle Railways. In 1997, SJVR's parent, Kyle Railways, was sold to States Rail. In 2002 SJVR's new parent, States Rail, was purchased by RailAmerica.^[2] Genesee & Wyoming Inc. controlled RailAmerica in December 2012. Today the SJVR remains a shortline within the Genesee & Wyoming family of railroads.

There were two former San Joaquin Valley Railroads. One was incorporated by Leland Stanford and Associates in 1868 to build an 11.3-mile (18.2 km) line from Lathrop, California to the Stanislaus River and was consolidated in 1870 into the Central Pacific Railroad. The second San Joaquin Valley Railroad operated from 1892 to 1893 between Fresno and Friant over 24.1 miles (38.8 km) of track and was sold at foreclosure to the Southern Pacific.

In 1992, the SJVR operated the entire former SP line from Fresno to Famoso, but a portion north of Famoso was later abandoned.

SJVR interchanges with the BNSF Railway at Fresno and Bakersfield and with the Union Pacific at Fresno and Goshen Junction.

As of 2023, SJVR has a maximum capacity of 263,000 in Clovis Branch, and 286,000 elsewhere. Also, there are a few interchanges: BNSF (Fresno, California and Bakersfield, California); Union Pacific (Fresno, California; Goshen, California and Bakersfield, California).^[3]