Patriot Rail and Merced County Celebrate Grand Opening of New Loading Dock at Castle

(MERCED, Calif. October 30, 2024) – Patriot Rail, in partnership with Merced County, proudly announces the grand opening of a state-of-the-art loading dock at the Castle Commerce Center “Castle”, marking a significant milestone in the growth and expansion of the Castle Rail District. 

This development builds on Patriot’s overall investments in Castle since the County approved Patriot’s assumption of dedicated rail service at Castle in 2022, and Patriot’s launch of the Merced County Central Valley Railroad (MCVR) to serve shippers at Castle and the Central Valley region.  Patriot Rail investments in MCVR in just over two years include construction of 5,500 feet of new rail connection track and acquisition of16 acres within the 70-acre Rail District as part of a 2023 merger of Hydra Logistics into the Patriot Rail network.  Altogether, Patriot has invested nearly $4 million in new construction at Castle to support first-mile/final mile dedicated rail and transloading services for customers. 

Patriot Rail’s CEO Brandy Christian, members of the Merced County Board of Supervisors, County Executive Officer Raul Lomeli Mendez, and Morning Star Vice President Bob Henry offered warm remarks at the event.

“We are proud to serve Merced County and be their partner in growth. Patriot Rail takes immense pride in working together to solve for the broader freight transportation needs in the Central Valley Region and the state of California,” said Brandy Christian, Patriot Rail CEO.

“It takes a strong partnership between the public and private sectors to make projects like this possible,” said Daron McDaniel, Merced County Supervisor District 3.” We appreciate our partnership with Patriot Rail and look forward to continued infrastructure investments that serve customers like Morning Star and the other rail shippers here in the Rail District, and across the County.”

The successful completion of the permanent dock is a testament to the hard work and dedication of Marvulli Commercial Construction. This local Central Valley firm has been instrumental in driving development in Merced since 2016, and their efforts have made this milestone possible.

The new loading dock at Castle lays the foundation for transforming the Rail District into an Inland Port to serve California ports and beyond.  In 2023, the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) awarded $49.6M to Merced County to   build and expand the Castle Rail District as an inland port and will leverage additional private sector development of up to 203-acre parcel for new warehouse construction.

About Patriot Rail
Patriot Rail Company owns and operates over 30 short line freight railroads across the country together with three nationally recognized scenic excursion trains. As one of the largest short line holding companies in North America, Patriot Rail has a presence in 24 states. Supporting services for customers include transloading, railcar storage, and real estate and logistics planning and assistance. For more information, visit https://patriotrail.com/