Herzog Transit Services Inc. and Stagecoach Group joined forces to create a new company, TransitAmerica LLC. The new company will focus exclusively on U.S. rail operations and maintenance services for rail transit systems.

Herzog, headquartered in St. Joseph, Mo., is one of the most experienced private rails firms in the U.S. Stagecoach Group is based in the United Kingdom, where it runs South West Trains, Britain's largest commuter railway.

Herzog and Stagecoach will continue to serve their current clients, while TransitAmerica will pursue other projects in the U.S.

"Partnering with Stagecoach is good business for us," said Stanley Herzog, president of Herzog Transit Services. The combination of Stagecoach's expertise in passenger safety and customer service and Herzog's strong, diversified company history will create new standards in rail operations and maintenance services, he said.

Herzog Transit Services, a division of Herzog Contracting Corp., was founded in 1993 to provide a full range of services in railroad and rail transit construction, commuter rail operations, ultrasonic rail testing, rail car leasing, transit projects and heavy highway and bridge construction.

In partnership with Herzog, Stagecoach is bidding through Stagecoach Rail North America to run the heavy rail services of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, the commuter railway serving Boston and surrounding areas.

Herzog provides operations and maintenance services for commuter rail systems, including Trinity Railway Express in Dallas-Fort Worth, the Tri-County Commuter Rail Authority in south Florida and Altamont Commuter Express in Stockton, Calif.

Stagecoach Group was founded in 1980 with just two buses. It now operates about 20,000 vehicles and employs more than 40,000 people worldwide.