RailTex was a transportation holding company that specialized in owning and operating short line railroads across North America.
Based in San Antonio, Texas, the public company was a leader in making unprofitable lines shed by Class I railroads into viable transportation routes.
Operating the railroad the company quickly developed a formula for a series of successful takeovers, including: In 1986 it acquired its second short line, Austin & Northwestern Railroad.In 1989 it sold its rail car business to Chrysler.
In 1996, RailTex was part of a consortium with Companhia Vale do Rio Doce that was awarded a concession to operate the 4,400-mile Center Eastern Network in Brazil.
It had 26 railroads over approximately 4,100 route miles in the southeastern, midwestern and New England regions of the United States, as well as Eastern Canada and Mexico.