A freight railway that has struggled for years to keep pace with regional shipping demand has a new operator, and that operator is promising real money to fix it. NETX Railway, now run by Dallas-based TNW Corp., began operations on the freight corridor connecting Greenville and Winfield, Texas, with company officials saying infrastructure upgrades will be the top priority going forward.
According to the Herald-Banner, NETX Railway operates a 66-mile freight corridor between Greenville and Winfield and serves customers in Hunt, Delta, Hopkins, Franklin and Titus counties. The line connects with Union Pacific and Kansas City Southern rail systems, giving local businesses access to broader North American and international supply chains, the paper reports. TNW Corp., described as a privately held transportation company that operates Class III railroads and logistics facilities across Texas, established NETX Railway and holds a long-term agreement with the Northeast Texas Rural Rail Transportation District, per the same report.
The transition has been documented elsewhere with more precise timing. Operating responsibility shifted to TNW Corp. under the Northeast Texas Railway reporting marks on July 6, 2026, according to the Northeast Texas Rural Rail Transportation District. Weeks later, on July 31, 2026, the district formally approved TNW as operator under a 20-year lease agreement, as reported by Texas Rail Advocates, which noted that several under-capitalized companies had previously tried and failed to keep the line running.
A Corridor With a Rough History
The corridor's exact length has been described differently across sources. Texas Rail Advocates has put it at roughly 65 miles and, separately, at 65.6 miles in describing the operational line. A federal filing cited by Railfanning.org pegged the distance at about 65.59 miles between Greenville and Winfield, while the Herald-Banner's own reporting describes a 66-mile corridor. The Railfanning.org filing also detailed NETX's proposal to lease the underlying right-of-way, acquire the track and track material, and operate the line as a common carrier.
Accounts of the line's interchange partners vary as well. The Herald-Banner and the Northeast Texas Rural Rail Transportation District both describe connections to Union Pacific and Kansas City Southern, while Texas Rail Advocates has described the line as interchanging with CPKC and Union Pacific Railroad and covering Collin, Hunt, Hopkins, Franklin and Titus counties. The line's troubled infrastructure is not new — back in 2013, NETEX officials told KETR that poor track conditions limited trains to just 10 miles per hour and had blocked upgrades between Titus and Hunt counties for years.
Fifty Million Dollars and a Multi-Year Timeline
TNW representatives told the Sulphur Springs News-Telegram that the company plans to invest $50 million into the line, including $22 million earmarked for new ties alone. The same representatives said it would take three to five years to fully stabilize the corridor, underscoring that the upgrades TNW is promising are a long-term project rather than a quick fix.
Bobby Franklin, chief operating officer of TNW Corp., said infrastructure improvements will be a priority for the new operation, according to the Herald-Banner. TNW has said it will provide competitive, dependable rail service to support economic growth and vitality in Northeast Texas, and the company expects its investment in the corridor to support industrial growth and create jobs across the region, per the same report. NETX Railway currently serves customers in the agriculture, building materials, chemicals, pipe and recycling industries, the Herald-Banner notes.
Regional Context for Freight Rail
The corridor's revival comes as regional leaders have been pushing for freight rail and connectivity upgrades across Northeast Texas. Regional leaders and partners focused on freight rail, mobility and connectivity improvements at the 2026 Northeast Texas Transportation Summit, according to Texas Rail Advocates. Nearby, the Dallas, Garland & Northeastern Railroad already serves Greenville manufacturers from Union Pacific intermodal facilities in East Dallas, operating roughly 68 miles of North Texas track and interchanging with BNSF and CPKC while offering railcar storage, according to the Greenville Economic Development Corporation.
A broader statewide analysis from the Texas Department of Transportation has examined the transportation and economic impacts of short-line railroads like NETX across the state, underscoring how corridors of this size can matter well beyond their own county lines. For Northeast Texas, the immediate test will be whether TNW's promised $50 million — and years of steady work — can finally deliver the upgrades that eluded the line's previous operators.
