Its main line runs between Buffalo, New York, and Eidenau, Pennsylvania, north of Pittsburgh.

Major commodities carried include paper, petroleum products, chemicals, coal, steel, and sand.

The Canadian National Railway has interchanges at Buffalo, New York and Butler, Pennsylvania.

Instead, it transfers its goods to the AVR either in Evans City or Bakerstown depending on the amount of freight it has.

Other owned and operated branch lines travel to Homer City, St Marys, and Brookville, Pennsylvania, as well as to the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.

[3] Operations began in 1988 over mostly former Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (formerly Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway) lines.

Shortly after this, the Ridge Subdivision, which had seen a Norfolk Southern coal train run-through to Shelocta was sold off to NS.