Our Services

Equipment Financing

As advisors to the rail industry for nearly 25 years , we understand your capital needs and business opportunities — and how to get you funded.    We’ve obtained equipment, railcar and locomotive financing for contractors, short lines, transloaders and shippers.

Experience the SRF difference from the first conversation about your immediate and longer-term requirements.

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Or contact Cliff Bassman at 215-564-3122 or cbassman@strategicrail.com

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Project and Business Finance

Strategic Rail Finance applies substantial focus and creativity to our clients’ projects. This approach leverages their assets and structures funding toward better terms, lower rates, and flexible covenants, while providing a significant increase in overall access to capital.

  • Transload facilities
  • Intermodal facilities
  • Rail line, rail siding, and rail yard construction
  • Rail bulk-loading and logistics facilities
  • Rail car storage facilities
  • Production and manufacturing facilities
Equipment Finance

From individual equipment financing to annual lines of credit, Strategic Rail Finance efficiently coordinates funding with attention to all the administrative details. And with the largest network of relationships in the industry, we also assist in sourcing and leasing railcars, MOW equipment, locomotives, railcar movers, intermodal cranes, and hi-rail trucks.

  • Locomotive financing
  • Railcar financing
  • Rolling stock loans
  • Maintenance of Way (MOW) equipment financing
  • Lift and loading equipment financing
  • Railcar and locomotive leasing
  • Rail equipment lines of credit
  • Sale-Leasebacks of existing equipment
  • Upgrades and rebuilds of rail and production equipment
Business Finance

Strategic Rail Finance has brought capital to rail-related businesses since 1994. Growing your business in a capital-intensive industry requires funding beyond the usual array of bank options. Our consulting team includes executives from inside and outside the rail industry, providing you with the ideal guidance for your next round of growth or turnaround capital.

  • Growth finance
  • Long-term access to capital
  • Acquisition finance
  • Equity capital
Federal and State Government Funding

Strategic Rail Finance has a long-established record of success in communicating the financial and social benefits of public- and private-sector infrastructure projects to government officials. Strategic Rail Finance’s consulting team includes former congressional staff as well as the recent heads of the FRA Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) Program and the USDOT Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) Program.

  • United States Department of Transportation (USDOT)
  • Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) Program
  • Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) Program
  • Transportation Improvement Financing and Improvement Act (TIFIA) Program
  • Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Grants
  • United States Economic Development Administration (EDA)
  • United States Department of Agriculture
  • State Transportation Funding Programs

Rail Industry Intelligence

At the heart of Strategic Rail Finance’s Rail Industry Intelligence consulting is the vast amount of industry and government relationships and knowledge represented by its massive contact database built over the course of advising clients since 1994.

When taking on our clients’ unique challenges we have access to this extensive network of relationships for quickly gaining comprehensive insights that inform our innovative, well-grounded solutions.

SRF provides seasoned executive-level consulting for business and government leaders working on significant opportunities and/or challenges.

SRF improves our clients’ position from the first conversation to the creation of a breakthrough solution to project completion.

Market Introduction

We inform your rail marketing opportunities with a deep understanding of the industry and its players. 

  • Market analysis
  • Creative marketing development
  • Regulatory process consulting
  • Relationship and network building
Business Evaluation

Your business development questions are answered with the same critical eye and due diligence that SRF brings to its financing work providing accurate assessments toward solid decisions.

  • Site analysis
  • Service analysis
  • Business plan analysis
  • Comprehensive due diligence
  • Business plan development
  • Presentation development
Acquisition and Divestiture Support

We know opportunities can be fleeting so we quickly apply our comprehensive business intelligence process to help you size up and implement an individual acquisition or divestiture project or an entire strategy.

  • Acquisition profiling and identification
  • Potential buyer targeting and due diligence
  • Business plan development
  • Presentation development
  • Acquisition debt and equity raises
Rail Operations Expertise

Our combination of rail-industry experienced executives and financial advisors integrate the technical and commercial sides of railroading in support of your successful rail development projects.

  • Rail service design
  • Rail equipment and rolling stock sourcing and specifications
  • Transportation facility design
  • Class I, II, and III relations
  • Federal, state, and local government relations
  • Surface Transportation Board relations
  • Federal Railroad Administration relations

Public Sector Consulting

Port authorities, rail authorities, economic development agencies, and other governing and legislative entities value Strategic Rail Finance’s extensive rail-industry knowledge and financial expertise.

Our principals are particularly respected at all levels of government for their in-depth understanding of the economics and financing of all phases of rail operations.

This combination of competencies, along with a wide network of relationships delivers a high return on investment from limited public sector dollars.

Transportation Project Development

When you want to make smart decisions toward successful developments, Strategic Rail Finance quickly gathers a comprehensive understanding of the project and its surrounding landscape. In addition to expanding your actionable knowledge, we move projects ahead by creating new supportive relationships.

  • Market assessment
  • Shipper interviews
  • Social cost-benefit analysis
  • Facility and service design
  • Class I, II, and III relations
  • Federal government relations
  • Operator due diligence and selection
Project Finance

Strategic Rail Finance moves equally as well in the public and private funding spheres. This dual competence leads to intelligent, innovative combinations, a necessary ingredient for successful funding and operation of transportation developments.

  • Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) Loans
  • USDOT TIGER and CMAQ Grants
  • USDOT TIFIA Loans
  • US Department of Commerce EDA Grants and Loans
  • US Department of Agriculture economic development loans
  • State funding programs
  • Integrated public/private-sector financing solutions

Strategic Rail Marketing

Wish you could find a marketing agency that has lived and breathed the freight rail industry for decades?  

Now you have.

Providing sales and marketing services for our clients is a natural outgrowth of our financial and management consulting work.   While preparing business models to attract investment for an expanding transload operation or rail-served industrial park, we delve deeply into our clients’ customer-attraction strategies and how best to position the facility for growth.

In our 23 years, we have assembled the team and technology to blend unsurpassed expertise in the rail industry with the broadest portfolio of tactics for lead generation, target marketing and digital commerce.

When railroad, ports, contractors and shippers engage Strategic Rail Marketing they get a part-time marketing director to spark and facilitate creative thinking that quickly drives business growth.

First, we help create or refine the strategy for targeting customers.  Then we organize and deploy the tactics that best leverage your budget for maximum impact.

Whether you are seeking an effective online presence, dynamic lead generation, or new product launch, a smart strategy and strong tactical plan will coalesce your team’s energy for breakthrough results.

Strategic Development

  • Refine business model and revenue streams

  • Articulate brand identity and position in the marketplace.

  • Prepare an sales and marketing action plan

 

Tactical Tools

  • Web design and development (websites, landing pages, e-commerce)

  • Graphic  design and production

  • Copywriting and email marketing

  • Integrated prospecting

  • Paid and Earned Search Optimization

  • Strategic partner and affiliate programs

 

Call us at 215-564-3122 to explore how we can work together.

 

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