Two of Pinsly Railroad Co. short lines – Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad and the Grenada Railroad – have joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay Transport Partnership.

Developed by the EPA, SmartWay is a collaborative framework involving industry stakeholders and environmental groups to track and reduce emissions and fuel use in the transportation sector. In addition to railroads, more than 3,000 SmartWay Partners include truck, air and barge carriers and shipper, logistics, and multimodal companies.

“The SmartWay Partnership is one tool in our broader emissions reduction plan where we are prioritizing practical solutions that provide meaningful mitigation of greenhouse gasses in our operations and in the transportation sector,” Pinsly CEO Ryan Ratledge said in a statement this week. “Rail transportation is already the safest, most energy-efficient form of transportation accounting for only 2% of transportation emissions in the United States. At Pinsly we are investing in projects that drive freight traffic from truck to rail, while also working to reduce and offset our own locomotive emissions.”

The Grenada Railroad recently took delivery of three SD70M locomotives, which are expected to provide more efficient operations and reduce emissions on the 220-mile railroad.

Pinsly operates six short line railroads: Pioneer Valley Railroad in Massachusetts, Grenada Railroad in Central Mississippi, Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad in the panhandle of Florida, and in the Midwest, the Chesapeake and Indiana Railroad, Vermilion Valley Railroad, and Camp Chase Railway. The company also operates Railroad Distribution Services, which provides warehousing, storage, and trucking for non-rail served accounts via transload.

-via Press Release