Genesee & Wyoming Inc. announced on 30 August 2006 that it has exercised an option to purchase from Norfolk Southern (NS) 12.5 miles of previously leased rail line through Portsmouth, Chesapeake, and Suffolk, VA. GWI's subsidiary, Commonwealth Railway (CWRY), will own and continue to operate the line upon receipt of customary regulatory approvals.

In addition to current customers, CWRY intends to serve a new Portsmouth container terminal being constructed by APM Terminals North America, part of Maersk Inc, the global container shipping company and terminal operator.

APM Terminals plans to complete construction of the new $450 million port terminal, which includes a 3,200-ft. wharf, in July 2007. GWI has commenced a $14 million capital improvement project (including approximately $6 million in government grants) to meet capacity needs of the new APM terminal. The majority of the capital expenditure relates to the construction of a new marshalling yard in Suffolk to facilitate CWRY's interchange with NS and CSX. and to the installation of new track connecting the CWRY main line to the APM terminal.

The Genesee & Wyoming has also announced that its newly formed subsidiary, the Chattahoochee Bay Railroad, has acquired the assets of the Chattahoochee & Gulf Railroad Co. (CHAT) and the H&S Railroad Company (H&S) for $6.0 million in cash. Both companies are affiliates of Gulf & Ohio Railways. Running over approximately 29 miles of track between Hilton, Georgia, and Dothan, Alabama, and Taylor, Alabama, the CHAT connects GWI's Bay Line Railroad to GWI's Chattahoochee Industrial Railroad (CIRR).