Canadian National Railroad announced Tuesday it reached an agreement with WATCO to sell nearly a thousand miles of tracks. It includes 650 miles of branch lines of Wisconsin Central Ltd. in Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula. Also included is 250 miles of track in Ontario.

CN said this marks the successful conclusion of the sale process that CN announced and launched in July of 2020.

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers and Transportation Secretary-designee Craig Thompson praised the deal.  Evers says the announcement means not only continued freight rail service for Wisconsin’s Northwoods, but it also presents an opportunity to expand service saying this is  especially good news for the Northwoods economy and the timber and paper industries that rely heavily on freight rail to connect to major ports and markets all over the world.”

Watco currently operates the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad (WSOR), which connects to the CN line and other Class I railroads.