The Southern Ontario Railway is a shortline railroad in the province of Ontario, owned and operated by Genesee & Wyoming Canada Inc., the Canadian subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming Inc. It operated 69 mi of track from Brantford to Nanticoke, Ontario, from 1998 to 2018. The railroad began operations in 1998, and was acquired by RailAmerica two years later. It had interchanges with the Canadian National Railway at Hamilton via trackage rights, Brantford and Paris, and interchanges with the Canadian Pacific Railway at Hamilton. On July 23, 2012, Genesee & Wyoming Inc. announced that it intended to purchase RailAmerica in a deal valued at $1.39 billion. Approval of the purchase was granted by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board on December 19, 2012. On September 18, 2018, operation of most of the Hagersville sub returned to CN. The Hamilton operations returned to CN December 13, 2018. SOR retains terminal operations at Nanticoke, and the line from Nanticoke to Garnet, mile 5.7, where it interchanges with CN. The railroad's traffic comes mainly from steel, agricultural products, petroleum products, and chemicals. The SOR carries more than 44,000 carloads a year.

Hagersville Subdivision

The Hagersville Subdivision extends from Nanticoke (Mile 0.0) to Simpson (Mile 35.0). Rail movements on this subdivision are governed by the Occupancy Control System of the Canadian Rail Operating Rules (CROR). While SOR operated the line, it was supervised by a rail traffic controller in North Bay, Ontario. The maximum authorized speed on this line is 30 mph. Two or more trains operate daily on the Subdivision. The Hydro Spur (Mile 0.0) extends south off of the Hagersville Subdivision and descends southward to Lake Erie at a 1% grade. An Imperial Oil refinery is located just south and east of Mile 0.0 and an Ontario Hydro facility is located at the southern extremity of the spur (Mile 3.17). Train movements on the spur are governed by CROR Rule 105 and have a maximum authorized speed of 10 mph.

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