Aiken Railway
Launched in 2012, The Aiken Railway is a short line railroad operating 19 miles of track leased from Norfolk Southern in southwestern South Carolina, in the United States. The leased track consists of 12.45 miles between Warrenville and Oakwood, and 6.45 miles between Aiken and North Aiken. The Aiken Railway is a wholly owned subsidiary of Western Carolina Railway Service Corporation which also owns the Greenville & Western Railway.
History
The Aiken Railway has roots going all the way back to 1827 when the South Carolina General Assembly chartered the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company, one of the first railroads in the United States and the longest railroad in the world - 136 miles - at its inception. Aiken itself was founded as a stopover on the SCC&RR, which was completed in 1833. The second line to North Aiken, South Carolina was built in 1879 as a portion of the Edgefield, Trenton, & Aiken Railroad. Both railroads went through several mergers and eventually became part of Southern Railway. The ET&A's successor was purchased in 1898, and the SCC&RR's the following year. In 2012, Western Carolina Railway Service, entered into a lease agreement with Southern's successor NS to create the Aiken Railway. Both lines of the AIKR are the only remaining active segments of their original railroads.Route
Aiken Railway operates 2 lines:- Warrenville Line
- *Runs from Warrenville, South Carolina to just east of Montmorenci, South Carolina
- North Aiken Line
- *Runs from Aiken, South Carolina to North Aiken, South Carolina