Short Lines, Big Impact: How Short Line Railroads Power America’s Supply Chain with Joey Evans
The Logistics of Logistics Podcast
Release Date: 06/04/2026
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info_outlineIn “Short Lines, Big Impact: How Short Line Railroads Power America’s Supply Chain” Joe Lynch and Joey Evans, Senior Director, Government Affairs & Business Development, TNW Corporation, discuss how Class III short line railroads leverage technology, sustainability, and first-and-last-mile service to keep American commerce moving.
About Joey Evans
Joey Evans is the Senior Director, Government Affairs & Business Development, TNW Corporation. He is a seasoned rail industry professional with over 20 years of experience, leading TNW's development and execution of government affairs and strategic growth initiatives. His role oversees legislative strategy, public funding efforts, real estate and industrial development projects, and supports acquisition and expansion activities aligned with the company's long-term objectives. Joey serves as President of the Texas Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (TSLRRA) and is a member of the TxDOT Freight Advisory Committee. His career spans various leadership roles across the short line railroad industry. Prior to his current position, he led Customer Success for TNW, encompassing customer service, revenue protection, and infrastructure technology. His journey began as a conductor and engineer, where hands-on experience laid the foundation for his transition into management.
About TNW Corporation
TNW Corporation owns and operates three short line railroads — TXNW Railway, TXGN Railway, and TXR Railway — along with multiple rail logistics facilities across Texas, serving as a strategic supply chain partner to industries, shippers, fleet managers, and Class I railroads. With more than 40 years of transportation logistics experience, TNW delivers the efficiency, reliability, and customer service that keep North American commerce moving. TXNW Railway, operating in the Texas Panhandle since 1982, is a One-Stop Supercenter and boasts the largest privately owned railcar storage capacity in the United States. TXGN Railway, also a One-Stop Supercenter, has served central Texas since 1992, operating approximately 67 miles of storage and loop track with Union Pacific interchange. TXR Railway, based in Brownwood, serves the Camp Bowie Industrial Area and interchanges with BNSF Railroad. TNW's full suite of services includes rapid interchange, transloading, railcar storage, repair, cleaning, scrapping, warehousing, and rail-served industrial development.
Key Takeaways: Short Lines, Big Impact: How Short Line Railroads Power America’s Supply Chain
- In “Short Lines, Big Impact: How Short Line Railroads Power America’s Supply Chain” Joe Lynch and Joey Evans, Senior Director, Government Affairs & Business Development, TNW Corporation, discuss how Class III short line railroads leverage technology, sustainability, and first-and-last-mile service to keep American commerce moving.
- Revenue, Not Track Length, Defines Railroad Classes: Railroad classification is strictly determined by annual revenue, not physical distance. Class I railroads (the "interstates" like BNSF and UP) exceed $1 billion in annual revenue, Class II regional railroads fall between $1 billion and $47 million, and Class III short lines—where TNW Corporation operates—fall below $47 million.
- Short Lines Serve as the "First and Last Mile" for Rural America: While Class I railroads excel at long-distance freight movement, North America’s 615 short line railroads provide essential first- and last-mile service to industrial parks and rural communities. Operating in smaller towns (often under 15,000 people), short lines keep vital agricultural, manufacturing, and petrochemical hubs connected to the national rail network.
- Lowering the Barrier to Entry with Truck-to-Rail Conversions: Because one railcar holds the equivalent capacity of four trucks (4:1 ratio), TNW launched a dedicated logistics and transloading business. This allows smaller regional shippers within a 50-to-100-mile radius to enjoy the economic benefits of rail by breaking bulk rail loads down into local trucks, without requiring a massive capital investment in dedicated track infrastructure.
- High-Volume Commodities and Major Public-Private Infrastructure Investments: Short lines primarily handle heavy, bulk commodities like petrochemicals, plastics, lumber, agricultural yields, and construction aggregates (rock). To support these loads, short lines reinvest a massive 33% to 50% of their annual revenue into infrastructure, a timeline accelerated by federal CRISI (Consolidated Rail Infrastructure Safety Improvement) grants to expand track fluidity.
- Transitioning from Rail's Historic "Black Hole" to High-Tech Visibility: Spurred by rising post-COVID consumer expectations (the "Amazon experience"), TNW developed a proprietary digital portal called My TNW. This tool eliminates the historic visibility "black hole" of rail shipping by providing customers with complete data transparency, allowing them to track cars across both TNW property and intersecting Class I networks.
- Embracing AI and Autonomous Infrastructure Safety: The rail industry is heavily adopting AI, autonomous railcars, and automated track inspection tools. These automated systems travel the lines to instantly pinpoint structural micro-cracks, gauge misalignments, or railcar defects. Removing the human error factor from these tedious inspections helped the rail sector chart its safest operational year in its 200-year history in 2025.
- Meeting Corporate ESG Targets Through "Clean and Green" Operations: Rail remains one of the most inherently sustainable modes of land transportation, moving a ton of freight roughly 500 miles on a single gallon of fuel. Beyond fuel efficiency, TNW helps shippers meet strict corporate environmental goals by certifying all properties under Operation Clean Sweep, which enforces strict handling frameworks to prevent plastic pellets and commodities from spilling into local ecosystems.