information about minnesota's railroads
DESCRIPTION
Information about operating railroads in Minnesota for 2011 to 2012.TRANSCRIPT
MINNESOTA’S RAILROADS
Information about
2011-2012
http.www.minnesotarailroads.com
MINNESOTA’S RAILROADS AT A GLANCENumber of railroads 19
Total mileage (8th in the nation) 4,393
Total carloads carried 2,994,400
Total tons of freight carried 203,150,000
Employees (13th in the nation) 4,222
Total wages paid $305,400,000
Average wages per employee, and fringe benefits $99,480
Railroad retirees 15,149
Payments to retirees $270.3 million
Property taxes (paid in 2010) $28,900,000
Percent ofTop commodities originated in state Carloads State’s total
Iron ore/taconite 413,600 49%Farm products 152,700 23%Food products 86,900 11%Stone, sand, gravel 36,600 5%Chemicals 21,500 3%All other 181,900 10%
TOTAL (6th in the nation) 893,300
Top commodities terminated in state Iron ore/taconite 365,800 46%Coal 142,300 28%Farm products 41,400 7%Chemicals 30,100 5%Stone, sand, gravel 19,600 2%All other 200,800 13%
TOTAL (11th in the nation) 800,100
Source: Association of American Railroads for the year 2009
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Cover photo: A Minnesota Northern freight train near the Wilds industrial yard in southwest Crookston, Minn. Photo taken December 29, 2009 by Carl Becker.
INTRODuCTION
Railroads have been a part of the Minnesota landscape since the first train operated between St. Paul and St. Anthony (now Min-
neapolis) in 1862. Railroads helped build the state, reaching west from the Mississippi and St. Croix riv-ers, where goods were offloaded onto rail cars for settlers to move west and north. For nearly 150 years, railroads have contributed to the economic well being of the state by providing vital transportation services to its citizens and industries, while paying millions of dollars to the state in taxes.
Railroads provide important commercial links
for Minnesota farmers, the taconite industry, man-ufacturers, and other businesses. Since railroads are able to move goods at very competitive rates, they are able to hold down costs for shippers, which helps promote stability and economic growth in greater Minnesota. For example, the cost of shipping agricultural products by rail is much less than the cost of shipping by truck, which helps farmers earn higher profits and lowers the costs of products for consumers.
Minnesota railroads provide a vital pathway for the movement of taconite pellets from plants on the
Minnesota’s Railroads — Contributing to the Economic Vitality of the State
Mesabi Iron Range to Lake Superior ports and inland steel mills, enabling Minnesota’s mining industry to remain competitive in world markets.
Each year, Minnesota’s railroads move thousands of containers of freight that otherwise would move by truck. By keeping this freight on the rails rather than the road, there is less pollution and highway damage — saving Minnesota taxpayers millions of dollars in highway maintenance costs. Railroads are also fuel-efficient, which helps to conserve energy and reduce pollution. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, railroads are four times more fuel efficient than trucks and roughly equal to waterborne freight. Emissions from railroad locomotives are 75 percent less than trucks, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Minnesota’s railroads are rarely in the spotlight, but go about their business quietly and efficiently. This CD provides background information about the railroad companies that operate in the state. Included are maps, a list of major commodities they carry, railroads’ economic contribution to the state and communities they serve, and a list of key per-
sonnel at each company.
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DID YOu KNOW …
● Minnesota railroads rank first in the nation in the number of tons of iron ore originated, third in origination of food products and fourth in the origination of farm products.
● A railroad car typically handles three times more freight than the average large truck.
● Railroads are roughly four times more fuel efficient than trucks and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent.
● According to the Federal Railroad Administration, railroads have increased fuel efficiency 104 percent since 1980—doubling their freight volume using the same amount of fuel.
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INDExSUBJECT PAGEAmtrak 27American Short Line and Regional Railroad Assn. 4Association of American Railroads 4BNSF Railway (Burlington Northern Santa Fe) 6CN (Canadian National) 8Canadian Pacific Railway 10Carloadings 2Class I, II and III railroads 5Cloquet Terminal Railroad Company Inc. 14Commodities handled (total for state) 2Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad (CP) 10Employees 2Federal Railroad Administration 4Iowa, Chicago & Eastern (CP) 10Introduction 3Mileage (by carrier) 5Minnesota Commercial Railway 15Minnesota, Dakota & Western Railway 16Minnesota DOT - Office of Frt., RRs & Waterways 4
WEbSITES Of MINNESOTA RAILROADS
Otter Tail Valley Railroad http://www.railamerica.com
Progressive Rail: http://www.progressiverail.com
Red River Valley & Western Railroad Company: http://www.rrvw.net
Twin Cities & Western Railroad Company: http://www.tcwr.net
Union Pacific Railroad: http://www.uprr.com
RailRoad oRganizations/associations:American Short Line and Regional RRs Assn: http://www.aslrra.org
Association of American Railroads: http://www.aar.org
Federal Railroad Administration: http://www.fra.dot.gov
MN DOT, Off. of Freight, Railroads & Waterways: http://www.dot.state.mn.us/aboutrail
MN Regional Railroads Association: http://www.minnesotarailroads.com
Minnesota Northern Railroad Company 17Minnesota Prairie Line Inc. 18Minnesota Regional Railroads Association 4Minnesota Southern Railway 19North Shore Scenic Railroad 27Northern Lines Railway 20Northern Plains Railroad, Inc. 21Otter Tail Valley Railroad 22Progressive Rail Incorporated 23Property taxes 2Red River Valley & Western Railroad 24Retirees 2Soo Line Railroad (CP) 10St. Croix Valley Railroad 25Twin Cities & Western Railroad 26Twin Cities railroad map 28Union Pacific Railroad 12Wages paid (total for state) 2Websites 4
RailRoads:Amtrak (National Railroad Passenger Corp.): http://www.amtrak.com
BNSF Railway: http://www.bnsf.com
CN: http://www.cn.ca
Canadian Pacific Railway: http://www.cpr.ca
Minnesota Commercial: http://www.mnnr.net
Minnesota Prairie Line: http://www.tcwr.net/mpl
Northern Lines Railway: http://www.anacostia.com/nlr/nlr.html
Northern Plains Railroad: http://www.nprail.com
North Shore Scenic Railroad: http://www.northshorescenicrailroad.org
MinnesotaSouthernRailroadCo.(MSWY) 42
St.CroixValleyRailroad(SCXY) 36
MinnesotaCommercialRailwayCo.(MNNR) 35
NorthShoreScenicRailroad(NSSR) 25 (St.Louis&LakeCountiesRegionalRail AuthoritybetweenDuluthandTwoHarbors)
NorthernLinesRailway,LLC(NLR) 23
CloquetTerminalRailroadCo.(CTRR) 4
Minnesota,Dakota&WesternRy.Co.(MDW) 4
RedRiverValley&WesternRailroad(RRVW) 2
Minnesota’s RailroadsRailroad Mileage owned in MinnesotaClass I
BNSFRailway(BNSF) 1,584
CanadianPacificRailway(CP) 1,222
CN(CanadianNationalRailway) 425
UnionPacificRailroad(UP) 435
NationalRailroadPassengerCorp.(Amtrak) 0
Class II
Class III
TwinCities&WesternRailroadCo.(TCWR) 146
MinnesotaNorthernRailroad(MNN) 120
MinnesotaPrairieLineInc.(MPLI) 94
ProgressiveRailInc.(PGR) 80
OtterTailValleyRailroad(OTVR) 71
NorthernPlainsRailroad(NPR) 45
MINNESOTA RAILROADS AND MILEAGEIn 2011, there are 19 railroad companies oper-
ating in Minnesota on 4,393 route miles of track. A total of 3,666 miles, or 83 percent of the mileage, is owned by the state’s Class I railroads.
Railroads are divided into three “classes” by the Surface Transportation Board (STB), which replaced the Interstate Commerce Commission as the federal economic regulator of railroads. Based on 2010 sta-tistics, Class I railroads are those that had annual operating revenue of $378.8 million or more.
Class II railroads have annual operating revenue between $30.3 million and $378.8 million. In addition, Minnesota has 14 Class III railroads, which have an-nual operating revenue of less than $30.3 million. “Regional railroads” are line-haul carriers operating at least 350 miles of road and/or earning revenue ex-ceeding $40 million, but less than a Class I. Regional and short-line railroads generally are lighter-density lines that have been spun off by a Class I carrier.
While some of these smaller lines have existed inde-pendently for years, most were created in the 1980s following passage of the Staggers Act, which helped restore railroads to profitability by freeing them from overregulation.
All carrier-owned railroad track in Minnesota must comply with safety standards set forth by the Federal Railroad Administration and is subject to periodic inspections. About two-thirds of the track in the state is FRA Class 3 or 4, permitting freight trains to operate at speeds up to 40 and 60 mph, re-spectively. All railroad equipment must also comply with federal safety standards, including regular main-tenance. In addition, railroad operating personnel must be familiar with FRA rules and regulations and successfully complete training on safety and oper-ating rules. Locomotive engineers must be certified by the FRA in order to operate a locomotive and go through recertification every three years.
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Warren
Little Falls
Moorhead
BemidjiVirginia
La Crosse
SUPERIOR
International Falls
Noyes
ToWinnipeg
FARGO
To Aberdeen
To Watertown
To Sioux City
To Chicago
To Minot
To Mandan
East Grand Forks
To Minot
BNSF in MinnesotaBNSF
Trackage rights
IOWA
WISCONSIN
MANITOBA
ONTARIO
S. D
AK
OTA
N. D
AK
OTA
Crookston
GrandForks
Hibbing
Grand Rapids
Cloquet
DULUTH
BrainerdCamp Ripley
Detroit LakesDilw
orth
Morris
Ortonville
Madison
Mankato
ROCHESTERWinonaPipestone
Marshall
Hanley Falls
Granite Falls
Willmar
Benson
LitchfieldMonticello
Delano
Browns ValleyST. CLOUD
Staples
Breckenridge
ST. PAUL
Cambridge
MINNEAPOLIS
6
SM
RAILWAY
7
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation through its subsidiary, The BNSF Railway Company, operates one of the largest railroad networks in North America with 32,000 route miles serving 28 states and two Canadian provinces. BNSF covers the western two-thirds of the United States, stretch-ing from major ports in the Pacific Northwest and Southern California to the Midwest, Southeast and Southwest, and from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. BNSF was created on September 22, 1995, from the merger of Burlington Northern Inc. (parent company of Burlington Northern Railroad) and Santa Fe Pacific Corporation (parent company of the Atchison, To-peka and Santa Fe Railway). The company has more than 40,000 employees.
BNSF is the largest railroad in Minnesota and has 1,757 employees and 1,584 miles of track. The railroad is the largest transporter of grain by rail in North America, operating 33,000 grain cars.
BNSF originated 306,526 carloads of freight in Minnesota in 2010 with 286,610 carloads terminating in the state. Principal commodities originating in Min-nesota included taconite, farm products, food prod-ucts, pulp and paper, and chemicals. Commodities terminating in the state include coal, farm products, lumber, pulp and paper, chemicals and food products. BNSF trains also carry much of the United Parcel Service traffic in and out of the Twin Cities.
In the last five years, BNSF has spent more than $321 million on capital improvements in Minnesota, primarily for track and capacity improvements.
BNSF Railway Website: http://www.bnsf.com2650 Lou Menk Drive, 2nd Floor P.O. Box 96105, Fort Worth, TX 76161-0057
Contacts: Brian J. Sweeney, State Government Affairs Phone: (651) 298-2458325 Cedar St., Ste. 620 Fax: (651) 298-7352St. Paul, MN 55101 E-mail: [email protected]
Customer Service Phone: 1-888-428-2673Industrial Development, Grace Kung (817) 867-6889, [email protected] Relations, Amy McBeth (763) 782-3212, [email protected]
Milesoftrackowned: 1,584
Employees: 1,757Payroll(2009): $120millionMinnesotataxespaid: $25million (Property,sales,income,etc.)
RailYards: Dilworth,Minneapolis, St.Paul,Willmar
IntermodalHubCenters: Dilworth,St.Paul
Shops: Brainerd,Dilworth, Minneapolis
Administrativeoffices: St.Paul
BNSF in Minnesota
In addition to money spent in Minnesota, other BNSF projects benefit the state and its shippers. For example, in the past ten years, BNSF has spent more than $1 billion just to acquire new covered hopper cars, which give Minnesota grain producers the benefits of shipping in more modern, higher capacity cars. Since 1996, BNSF has purchased more than 3,500 new locomotives, increasing the horsepower of the fleet and improving fuel efficiency.
BNSF’s largest predecessor, Burlington Northern, was formed on March 2, 1970 through the merger of the Burlington, Great Northern, Northern Pacific, and Spokane, Portland & Seattle railways. Both Great Northern and Northern Pacific had extensive rail net-works in the state.
bNSf RAILWAY
To Winnipeg
Baudette
Cook
Orr
Roosevelt
International Falls
Fort Frances
Rainy River
Virginia
Ranier
Skibo Fairbanks
Proctor
Bovey
-Cole
raine
Sherwood
SUPERIOR, WI
Breda
Wales
Mt Iron
Waldo Highland
McNair Norshor Jct.
Jordan Brimson
Allen Jct.
Mesaba Emco
Spruce Iron Jct. Keenan
Zim
Sax Kelsey Payne
Burnett Alborn
Saginaw Munger
Adolph
Colby
Auror
a Biw
abik
McKinl
ey
Gilbert
Wilpen
Buhl
Brewer Steelton
Saunders
Saunders
Ambridge
Wyman
Fairlane
BNSF Pengil
ly
Calumet-
Marble
Hibbing
Minorca
Nopeming Jct.
Oliver
Pokegama
Pokegama
Peyton
LAKE SUPERIOR
DULUTH
NSSR
Warroad
Williams
Forbes
Shelton Shelton
S T . L O U I S
L A K E
I T A S C A
C A R L E T O N
K O O C H I C H I N G
L A K E O F T H E W O O D S
R O S E A U
Wolf
M I N N E S O T A W I S C O N S I N
To Chicago
Central Lakes
Whiteface
Shaw
Taft Bartlett
Peary
Two Harbors
Melrude
C A N A D A
U N I T E DS T A T E S
To Stevens Point,Chicago
Marine
Dresser
Osceola
Withrow
Copas
MNNR Yard
Humboldt Yard New Brighton
MinneapolisSt. Paul
CPR
CN
Trackage rights
WISCONSIN
Maple IslandMaple IslandHENNEPIN
RAMSEY
WASHINGTON
HENNEPIN
RAMSEY
WASHINGTON
8
IOWA
MINNESOTA
F R E E B O R N M O W E R
Glenville
ALBERT LEA
To Waterloo
LyleMyrtle
London
9
CN
CN operates approximately 20,000 route miles of line in the U.S. and Canada and is the only rail network that connects all three coasts: the Pacific, the Atlantic, and the Gulf of Mexico. CN has approxi-mately 22,300 employees.
In November 1995, the CN became a publicly owned company with U.S. shareholders owning about two-thirds of the stock. CN acquired control of Illinois Central Corp. in July 1999. In October 2001, CN acquired Wisconsin Central Transporta-tion Corporation. On May 10, 2004, CN acquired the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway from Great Lakes Transportation LLC. The Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific Railway, which has been a CN subsidiary since 1912, was integrated into CN’s U.S. operations in the 1990s.
CN’s principal main line in Minnesota extends across the northeastern part of the state via the Duluth/Superior gateway, providing an essential link between Western Canada and the Midwest. Another CN main line connects the Twin Cities with central Wisconsin, Green Bay and Chicago. Other CN lines in the Upper Midwest serve Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
The Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range was formed in 1938 when the Duluth, Missabe and Northern and the Duluth and Iron Range merged. With the acqui-sition of the DMIR, CN has become the largest rail carrier of iron ore in North America.
Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific started as a logging railroad serving mills in the Virginia area with pre-
CN Phone: 1-800-452-7332, ext. 3508Southern Region (708) 332-350817641 South Ashland Ave. Website: http://www.cn.caHomewood, IL 60430-1345
Contacts:
Patrick Waldron Phone: (708) 332-4377Mgr. Public Affairs Cell: (708) 990-5771 FAX: (708) 332-4361 E-mail: [email protected]
Paul Hackett, Superintendent Phone: (218) 628-4106 Proctor Transportation Office Cell: (218) 410-13631052 Railroad Avenue FAX: (218) 628-4152 Proctor, MN 55810 E-mail: [email protected]
Milesoftrackowned: 425
Employees: 465
Principalcommodities: Grain,lumber,potash, woodpulp,sulphur,paperproducts, ironore,fertilizer,coal,petroleumcoke
CN in Minnesota
decessor companies dating back to 1901. The DWP was incorporated in 1912 under the control of the Canadian Northern, which had constructed the line south of Lake of the Woods through Minnesota in 1900 under its subsidiary Minnesota & Manitoba. Ca-nadian Northern became part of CN in 1919, but its U.S. subsidiaries (Grand Trunk Western and the DWP) retained their separate identities into the 1990s.
Wisconsin Central’s roots go back more than a century to 1871, when the original Wisconsin Central Railway was formed. It was operated by the Soo Line (now Canadian Pacific) from 1909 until 1987, when it was acquired by WC.
The Cedar River Railroad was an Illinois Central subsidiary until mid-1999, when IC merged with CN. CEDR track extends north from CN’s Chicago-Omaha main line at Waterloo, Iowa to Glenville, Minn, near Albert Lea. Total mileage is 102, including 19 miles of track in Minnesota.
Mankato
Bemidji
Cloquet
HibbingVirginia
La Crosse
SUPERIOR
ToWinnipeg
To Minot, Portal
IOWA
WISCONSIN
MANITOBA
ONTARIO
S. D
AK
OT
A
NO
RT
H D
AK
OT
A
Wabasha
HastingsRed Wing
Dresser
Savag
e
GrandForks
Hopkins
To Chicago
Detroit Lakes
MINNEAPOLISMINNEAPOLIS ST. PAULST. PAUL
International FallsInternational Falls
ROCHESTER
Rockford
Rockford
Buffalo
Buffalo
Rosemount
Farmington
Rosemount
FarmingtonNorthfield
Northfield
Lake CityLake City
ShakopeeShakopee
La CrescentLa Crescent
DULUTHDULUTH
BrainerdBrainerd
Grand RapidsGrand Rapids
FARGO
FARGO
PaynesvillePaynesville
GlenwoodGlenwood
AlexandriaAlexandria
ST. CLOUDST. CLOUD
ErskineErskine
PlummerPlummer GullyGully
Thief River FallsThief River Falls
NoyesNoyes
AndoverAndover
Cambrid
ge
Cambrid
ge
To Rapid City
To Mason City
Waseca
Waseca
Janesville
Janesville EyotaEyota
New RichlandNew Richland
New Ulm
New Ulm
Sleepy Eye
Sleepy Eye
Springfield
Springfield
Balaton
BalatonTracyTracy
Lake Benton
Lake Benton
Lamberton
Lamberton
Albert aAustinJackson
HartlandHartland
Owatonna
Owatonna
Claremont
Claremont
Dodge Center
Dodge Center WinonaMinnesota City
Albert Lea
To Quad Cities,Chicago, Kansas City
BrownsvilleBrownsvilleDelavan
AlphaAlpha
Sherburn
Sherburn
Fairmont
Fairmont
Welcome
Welcome Easton
Easton
Granada
Granada
Winnebago
Winnebago
Hayward
WellsWells
BloomingPrairie
Alden
Canadian Pacific in MinnesotaCP
Trackage rights
6,456,530
10
Canadian Pacific Phone: 1-800-766-7912 501 Marquette Avenue South Website: http://www.cpr.ca Suite 1525Minneapolis, MN 55402
Contacts: Herb M. Jones, Government Affairs Phone: (605) 782-1223 T. J. Nelson, Municipal Affairs (605) 782-1222 Ed Greenberg, Communications (612) 851-5616 Lin Gartner, Commercial Development (612) 904-5932 Jim Krieger, Public Works Engineer (612) 904-5994
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Canadian Pacific Railway Limited operates a 14,800-mile rail network linking the principal cities of Canada from Montreal to Vancouver, and the U.S. Midwest and Northeast. CP’s U.S. operations are conducted by its subsidiaries: Soo Line; Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern; and the Delaware and Hudson Railway. Alliances with other carriers extend CP’s market reach throughout the U.S. and into Mexico.
CP’s freight traffic generated revenues of C$4.9 billion in 2010 of which 43 percent came from bulk products such as grain, coal, sulfur and fertilizers. Carload shipments of industrial and consumer prod-ucts, automotive and forest products accounted for 29 percent of CP’s revenues. The remaining 28 percent came from intermodal traffic moving in con-tainers and trailers.
CP operates a fleet of 1,703 locomotives, of which 61 percent are AC traction locomotives acquired since 1995 and designed to improve overall fuel ef-ficiency and reliability. CP’s freight car fleet totals 56,200 cars.
CP owns and operates 1,222 miles of track in Min-nesota with major classification yards at Minneapolis, St. Paul and Glenwood. CP also has major locomotive and freight car repair facilities in St. Paul, where shop capacity has been expanded several times.
CP has held a major stake in the Soo Line since 1888 and purchased full control of the railroad in 1990. The Soo Line operates 750 miles in Minnesota from the Mississippi River at La Crosse through the Twin Cities and north to North Dakota and Canada. Soo Line also accesses Duluth-Superior.
In October 2008, CP assumed operational con-trol of the DM&E Railroad. Operating 472 miles in Minnesota, DM&E’s main line begins in Winona and stretches west to the Black Hills of South Dakota. DM&E lines also include track previously owned by
CANADIAN PACIfIC
the Soo from Owatonna to Mason City, Iowa, Austin to Minnesota Lake and Jackson, Minn.; and south of LaCrescent, along the Mississippi River.
Although system operations are fully integrated with CP, Soo Line and DM&E remain as separate companies due to different laws, labor contracts and other unique characteristics in the U.S.
CP’s administrative departments, equipment maintenance, train dispatching and crew calling fa-cilities are concentrated in Minnesota. The railway’s U.S. training facility for locomotive engineers and conductors is located in the Twin Cities and uses state of the art simulators and other equipment to prepare and certify crews for their assignments.
CP operates an intermodal terminal in Minne-apolis, loading highway trailers and international containers, which flow across the world to and from Minnesota. Adjacent to the intermodal site is a facility for transloading goods between trucks and freight cars. CP also operates a large distribution center for new and used automobiles at Cottage Grove, where hundreds of vehicles arrive by train and are transferred to highway auto carriers to take them to dealers across five states.
CP in MinnesotaMilesoftrackowned: 1,222
Operatedundertrackagerights: 520
Employees: 1,671
Payrollexcludingbenefits(2010): $95.2million
Majoremploymentlocations: Glenwood, Minneapolis,St.Paul, ThiefRiverFalls
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BricelynBricelyn
Grand Rapids
Little Falls
Moorhead
ST. CLOUD
Winona
Brainerd
HibbingVirginia
La Crosse
DULUTH
SUPERIOR
Cambridge
To Sioux City
GrandForks
Union Pacific in MinnesotaUnion Pacific
Trackage rights
IOWA
WISCONSIN
MANITOBA
ONTARIO
SO
UT
H D
AK
OTA
NO
RT
H D
AK
OTA
Trimont Blue Earth
To Mason City
To Chicago
To Chicago
FARGO
Chaska
New Prague
St. PeterSt. Peter
Shakopee
ShakopeeMontgomery
Montgomery
PlymouthPlymouthMINNEAPOLISMINNEAPOLIS
ST. PAUL
ST. PAUL
Bayport
Bayport
Hudson
South St. PaulSouth St. Paul
RosemountRosemount
Clarks GroveAlbert LeaClarks Grove
Albert Lea
HartlandHartland
MadeliaMadeliaButterfieldButterfield
St. JamesSt. James
WelcomeWelcomeFairmontFairmont
WorthingtonWorthington
WindomWindom
MankatoMankato OwatonnaOwatonna
NorthfieldNorthfieldCannon FallsLe SueurLe Sueur
Belle PlaineBelle Plaine
EllendaleEllendale
FaribaultFaribault
International Falls
13
Union Pacific Railroad Phone: (402) 544-50001400 Douglas Street 1-888-870-8777Omaha, NE 68179 Website: http://www.uprr.com
Contacts: Phones: FAX:Jim Harrel, Real Estate Sales—Omaha (402) 544-8557 (402) 501-0340 Rod Peterson, Property Leases—Omaha (402) 544-8644 (402) 501-0340Mark Davis, Corporate Relations—Omaha (402) 544-5459 (402) 501-0011Mike Blackley, Public Engineering—Omaha (402) 544-8144 (402) 233-2892
Wayne Borg, Industrial Develop.—Woodridge, IL (630) 427-2355 (402) 233-3356
Michael Payette, Government Affairs, Suite 1910 (312) 777-2000 (312) 777-2020 101 North Wacker Drive; Chicago, IL 60606
Union Pacific Railroad (UP), a subsidiary of Union Pacific Corporation, operates in the western two-thirds of the United States. UP serves 23 states with 32,000 miles of track linking every major West Coast and Gulf Coast port.
Union Pacific traces its history back more than 140 years when it was created to build the first trans-continental railroad, which was completed on May 10, 1869. All of UP’s Minnesota trackage was part of the former Chicago and North Western Railway (C&NW), which was purchased by UP in 1995. The company employs about 48,000 people.
Union Pacific owns and operates 659 miles of track in Minnesota, with 412 employees. In 2010 in Minnesota, the company had a payroll of $32.4 mil-lion, and made purchases totaling $83.8 million.
Union Pacific owns two busy rail corridors in the southern portion of Minnesota. The “Spine Line” runs south from the Twin Cities to Kansas City, Mo. The other major corridor runs southwest from the Twin Cities through Mankato and Worthington to Sioux City, Iowa. This line has been extensively rebuilt with new ties, ballast and welded rail since it was acquired from the C&NW. UP also has trackage rights over the BNSF Railway from the Twin Cities to Duluth.
The transportation and engineering departments that oversee the track territory in Minnesota, north-ern Iowa and Wisconsin are part of the “Twin Cities Service Unit,” which is based in St. Paul. Between 2004 and 2010, Union Pacific made $100 million of capital improvements to its Minnesota lines. UP’s equipment fleet benefits the state. UP owns 8,200 locomotives.
Union Pacific in Minnesota
Milesoftrackowned: 435
Employees: 412
Payroll(2010): $32.4million
PurchasesfromMNvendors: $83.8million
Railyards: AlbertLea,EastMinneapolis, Mankato,Savage,St.Paul,SouthSt.Paul
Autodistributionfacility: St.Paul(DrakeStreet)
Administrativeoffices: St.Paul
uNION PACIfIC RAILROAD
In 2010, UP originated 141,766 carloads of freight in Minnesota with 81,547 carloads terminating in the state. Principal commodities handled by the Union Pacific in Minnesota include coal, taconite, agricultural products, automobiles and sand. UP serves unit train shippers in prime corn and soybean areas including flour mills, malt houses, soybean pro-cessors and many rail-to-river transfer stations. Also, UP is serving the rapidly growing ethanol market in southern Minnesota.
The railroad’s top customers in Minnesota are Xcel Energy and Unimin. Unimin is the largest producer of industrial sand in the U.S. Its twin sand plants at Kasota and Ottawa (both served by UP) represent the largest production facilities for frac sand in the nation. Inbound shipments of Mazda, Mitsubishi and Toyota automobiles are handled at the railroad’s Drake Street ramp in St. Paul.
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The Cloquet Terminal Railroad Company (CTRR), a subsidiary of Sappi Fine Paper North America, owns four miles of track in the city of Cloquet. The railroad has running rights on about 20 miles of yard track in Cloquet, and interchanges traffic with the BNSF Railway and Canadian Pacific.
The railroad has 23 full-time employees: 20 hourly and 3 salaried. The company owns three diesel locomotives: two 600-h.p. units and one 1,000-h.p. unit. CTRR owns 160 freight cars, including 75 used exclusively to serve the Sappi mill.
Cloquet Terminal’s major shipper is Sappi. The railroad also serves the United States Gypsum (USG) factory in Cloquet, which makes ceiling tiles. CTRR handles approximately 10,000 cars per year.
CLOQuET TERMINAL RAILROAD COMPANY INC.315 St. Louis Avenue Phone: (218) 878-0604Dunlap Island FAX: (218) 879-6558 Cloquet, MN 55720 E-mail: [email protected]
Contact: Robert Purcell, Resident Manager
Milesoftrackowned: 4
Employees: 23
Locomotives: 3
Totalcarloads: 10,000
Principalcommodities: Logs,paperproducts andpulp
Administrativeoffices: Cloquet
CTRR in Minnesota
CLOQUET
CTRR/BNSF interchange
BNSF To Grand Forks
BNSF To Duluth/Superior
Sappi MillCTRR Shops
St. Louis River
15
The Minnesota Commercial Railway (MNNR) operates on 122 miles of track (including operating rights on other railroads) in Anoka, Hennepin, Ramsey and Washington counties. Minnesota Com-mercial connects with all Twin Cities railroads.
MNNR extends the railroad’s economic benefits to non-rail served customers through truck-rail trans-load programs. Commercial Transload of Minnesota operates a 60,000 sq. ft. warehouse that specializes in handling heavy steel and other materials. CTM Trucklines, Inc. operates 18 trucks handling steel, lumber, heavy equipment and other commodities. A warehouse, transload facility and team track in Fridley offer reload services for much of the metro area.
The railroad serves a total of ten Minnesota com-
munities with a main line extending from St. Paul into the northern suburbs of Anoka County and east to Bayport and Hugo. Minnesota Commercial trains also use BNSF, Canadian Pacific, and Union Pacific tracks to reach other carriers’ yards in Minneapolis and St. Paul for interchange. Amtrak trains travel over the Minnesota Commercial to reach the Midway depot in St. Paul. In addition, MNNR services Amtrak trains.
The railroad serves 130 customers including seven grain elevators and two flour mills in the Twin Cities. Major customers include: RockTenn, Andersen Window, several Weyerhaeuser plants and the Hugo and Roseville industrial parks.
The Minnesota Commercial began operations in 1987 when it acquired the Minnesota Transfer Railway Company—at the time handling only 8,000 revenue units. In 2010, the Minnesota Commercial handled more than 41,000 revenue units. In the past three years, Minnesota Commercial has spent about $6 million for capital improvements.
The Minnesota Transfer Railway was incorpo-rated in 1883 as a switching line and was owned by the major railroads in the Twin Cities area. Rail lines operated today by Minnesota Commercial include those acquired from the old Minnesota Transfer in 1987, plus lines from other Class I carriers.
MINNESOTA COMMERCIAL RAILWAY508 Cleveland Avenue North Phone: (651) 632-9000 St. Paul, MN 55114 FAX: (651) 646-8337 Website: http://www.mnnr.netContact:Wayne Hall, Director of Operations Phone: (651) 632-9022. [email protected] Richardson, Dir. of Finance & Asst. to Pres. (651) 632-9008John Walsh, Chief Mechanical Officer-Locomotives (651) 632-9020
Milesoftrackowned: 35
Employees: 88
Annualpayroll: $4.7million
Totalrevenueunits(2010): 41,312
Commoditiescarried: Lumber,steel,paper, winesandbeers,potash, consumergoods
Numberoflocomotives: 32
Freightcars: 80
MNNR in Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS
White BearLake
Arden Hills
Fridley
Roseville
To Bayport
Merriam Park CPR
New Brighton
ST. PAUL
Hugo
UP-BNSFUP
Little Canada
BNSFNorthtownYard
CP St. Paul YardUP Belt Yard
Minnesota CommercialTrackage Rights
Amtrak depot
Belt LineCrossing
K O O C H I C H I N G
RanierFalls Jct.
International Falls
Ft. Frances
RainyLake
CN/BNSF to Duluth-Superior
CN toWinnipeg
ONTARIO
101 2nd Street Phone: (218) 285-5290 International Falls, MN 56649 FAX: (218) 285-5742
Contact: Darwin Joslyn, General Manager E-mail: [email protected]
MINNESOTA, DAKOTA & WESTERN RAILWAY
The Minnesota, Dakota & Western Railway (MD&W) serves a vital role in northern Minnesota’s papermaking industry by providing rail service to paper mills in International Falls, Minn. and Fort Frances, Ontario.
The railway switches pulpwood, chemicals and other raw materials used in the papermaking process and removes the finished paper products for interchange with the CN. The MD&W has a fleet of 2,000 freight cars, which helps assure prompt, cost-effective rail service for Boise, Inc.—the largest employer in Koochiching County and the owner of the railway.
Minnesota, Dakota & Western consists of four route miles of track and four locomotives. A modern car and locomotive shop has been constructed by the railway at International Falls. All track and equipment is operated and maintained locally by a work force of 33 employees. MD&W invests $200,000 annually to improve track, machinery and vehicles. The company handled 10,000 carloads in 2010, mostly related to pa-per or paper products. Along with its rail operation, the MD&W operates an Intermodal Hub Center with CN to transport paper shipments from International Falls, Fort Frances and Kenora.
The Minnesota, Dakota & Western dates to August 15, 1910 and is one of the last vestiges of Minnesota’s once vast logging railroad system. Its predecessor, the International Bridge & Terminal Company, was incorporated in 1906.
Milesoftrackowned: 4
Employees: 33
Revenueunits(2010): 10,000
Commoditiescarried: Woodpulp,pulpwood, chemicals,otherrawmaterials andfinishedpaperproducts
Numberoffreightcars: 2,000
Numberoflocomotives: 4
Payroll:(2010) $2,300,000
Headquarters,railyard,shops:
InternationalFalls
MD&W in Minnesota
16
MD&W Railwaya Boise Company
17
P.O. Box 705 (mailing address) Phone: 1-888-200-04151420 S. Main St. (218) 281-4704Crookston, MN 56716 FAX: (218) 281-4705
Contacts: Lee Lautt, Manager Administration & Marketing Phone: (218) 281-1750 E-mail: [email protected] Spiering, Operations Supervisor E-mail: [email protected] LeAnn Halland, Customer Service E-mail: [email protected]
The Minnesota Northern Railroad Company (MNN) was formed in December 1996 when the company purchased 204 miles of track from the BNSF Railway. Lines extend from Crookston north to Roseau and St. Hilaire, south from Crookston to Shelly and east to Tilden Junction. Minnesota Northern also serves the “Wilds” industrial yard in the southwest corner of Crookston.
Minnesota Northern connects with BNSF at Crookston and CP at Thief River Falls. Total mileage owned and operated is 197, including trackage rights over other railroads.
Based in Crookston, Minnesota Northern has 18 employees and handles approximately 9,000 carloads annually. Principal commodities carried are grain, seeds, sugar and sugar by-products, ag-gregates, coal, feeds and fertilizers.
The company has ten locomotives; freight cars are supplied by BNSF or CP and MNN has leased 40 grain hopper cars. Minnesota Northern grain customers can reach mar-kets throughout North America, via MNN’s connections with BNSF and CP.
K I T T S O N
M A H N O M E N
M A R S H A L L
N O R M A N
P E N N I N G T O N
P O L K
R E D L A K E
R O S E A U
Badger
BeltramiClimax Erskine
Greenbush
Holt
Middle River
NielsvilleShelly
Strathcona
St. HilaireSt. Hilaire
Roseau
Thief River Falls
Tilden Jct.EldredEldred
BNSF to Grand Forks BNSF to Grand Forks
CrookstonCrookston
LAKE OF THE WOODS
MINNESOTA NORTHERN RAILROAD COMPANY
Minnesota Northern in MinnesotaMilesoftrackowned: 120
Employees: 18
Payroll:(2010) $750,000
Totalcarloads: 9,000
Commodities: Grain,seeds, sugarandsugarby-products, aggregates,coal,feeds,fertilizers
Numberoflocomotives: 10
Numberoffreightcars: 40
Headquarters,railyards,shops: Crookston
RAILROAD
MIN
NES
OTA NORTHE
RN
TH
E NORTH STAR L
INE
MINNESOTA PRAIRIE LINE INC.
Milbank
AppletonOrtonville
Ortonville
Odessa
MilanMilan
North Watson
North Watson
MontevioMontevideo
Wegdahl
Wegdahl
Granite Falls
Minnesota Falls
Minnesota Falls
Sacred Heart
Sacred Heart
Renvil
le
Renvil
leDan
ube
Danub
e
Ruebe
l
Ruebe
lOl
ivia
Oliv
iaBi
rd Is
land
Bird
Isla
ndHe
ctor
Hect
orBu
ffalo
Lak
e
Buffa
lo L
ake
Stew
art
Stew
art
Brow
nton
Brow
nton
GLE
GLEN
COE
Plat
oPl
ato
Norw
ood
Norw
ood
Bong
ards
Bong
ards
Colo
gne
Colo
gne Pigs Eye/
Daytons Bluffyards
Pigs Eye/Daytons Bluff
yardsJona
than
Jona
than
SOUTHDAKOTA
Hopk
ins
Hopk
ins
Chan
hass
en
Chan
hass
en
MINNEAPOLISST. PAUL
MINNEAPOLISST. PAULMINNESOTACamdenCamden
SavageSavage
Minnesota Prairie LineTwin Cities & WesternTrackage rights
Fairf
axFa
irfax
Hanley Falls
Echo
Belv
iew
Delh
i
Woo
d La
ke
Woo
d La
ke
Redw
ood
Falls
Morto
n
Gibb
onGi
bbon
Fran
klin
Fran
klin
Win
thro
p
Win
thro
pGa
ylord
Gaylo
rdAr
lingt
on
Arlin
gton
Green IsleGreen IsleHamburgHamburg
H E N N E P I N
Y E L L O W M E D I C I N E R E N V I L L E
L A C Q U I P A R L E
C H I P P E W A
S W I F T
B I G S T O N E
K A N D Y O H I
M C L E O D
S I B L E Y
C A R V E R
S C O T T D A K O T A
A N O K A
R A M S E Y
W A S H I N G T O N
R E D W O O D
2925 12th Street East Phone: (320) 864-7200Glencoe, MN 55336 Website: http://www.tcwr.net/mpl FAX: (320) 864-7220
Contacts: Mark Wegner, President (320) 864-7204 [email protected] Craig Glaeser, Dir. Marketing & Sales (320) 864-7206 [email protected] Robin Bergeron, Director, Sales (320) 864-7211 [email protected] Bob Suko, Gen. Manager, Operations (320) 864-7210 [email protected] Tim Jeske, Dir. Mechanical & Maintenance (320) 864-7214 [email protected] Minnesota Valley Regional Rail authority Julie Rath, Administrator for MVRRA (507) 637-4084 [email protected] Bob Fox, Chair, MVRRA Website: http://www.mvrra.org
The Minnesota Prairie Line Inc. (MPL), is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Twin Cities & West-ern Railroad based in Glencoe, Minn. MPL serves some of the most productive agricultural counties of Minnesota. MPL is the operator on 94 miles of track between Norwood and Hanley Falls, Minn., which is owned by the Minnesota Valley Regional Railroad Authority (MVRRA).
Restoration started in April 2002 and MPL be-gan operations in October 2002. With restoration of dependable service, rail traffic has been increasing year after year. Annual track upgrades are being made with a goal of achieving 25 mph operation by 2011 from Winthrop east to Norwood. MPL works in partnership with the MVRRA and the communities it serves to enhance rural economic development.
MPL is the first railroad in Minnesota and the first in the nation to operate locomotives using five percent biodiesel fuel, which is supplied by FUMPA Biofuels—an MPL customer in Redwood Falls.
Milesoftrackoperated: 94
Locomotives 2
Freightcars: 175
Totalcarloads: Morethan6,000
Commodities: Grains,fertilizer,biodiesel, cannedvegetables,DDGs, ethanol,saltandbutter
Headquarters: Glencoe
Maintenanceshops: Glencoe,Morton
MPL in Minnesota
PRAIRIE LINE
M
INNESOTA
18
Prior to MPL’s operation of the rail line, it was operated by a series of short lines following abandon-ment by the Chicago and North Western in 1980. The line was originally part of the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway’s line to the Missouri River.
19
N O B L E SR O C K
Adrian
Beaver Creek
Hills
Jasper
Rushmore
LUVERNE
Worthington
UP to Sioux City,
Omaha
Agate
BNSF to Sioux City,
Lincoln
BNSF to Willmar,
Twin Cities
Manley
Garretson
SIOUX FALLS
SOUTHDAKOTA
IOWA
MINNESOTA
UP to Mankato,
Twin Cities
MINNESOTA SOUTHERN RAILWAYOther railroads
Magnolia
106 East Fletcher Street Phone: (507) 283-4269P.O. Box 562 FAX: (507) 283-4272Luverne, MN 56156 Contact: Brent Polanchek
The Minnesota Southern Railway (MSWY) op-erates freight service on 42 miles of track from a connection with the Union Pacific at Agate (south of Worthington) to a connection with the BNSF Railway at Manley.
Minnesota Southern is based in Luverne and em-ploys seven people. The railroad operates in Nobles and Rock counties and serves seven Minnesota com-munities. Principal commodities carried include ani-mal feed, ethanol, fertilizer, and waste oil. Minnesota Southern carried 625 carloads in 2010, which helped keep 2,200 trucks off the highways last year.
The railroad is a large contributor to the local economy. In 2010, the company spent approximately $200,000 on purchases in the state. For the last five years, the railroad has focused on right-of-way improvements. Thousands of new ties have been installed, rock ballast distributed to improve drain-age, and bridges removed.
The company was founded in November 2001
MINNESOTA SOuTHERN RAILWAY, INC.
and is privately owned. The track is owned by a re-gional rail authority, and is operated by Minnesota Southern under a 20-year lease agreement. The line from Agate to Manley once belonged to the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway (later part of the Chicago and North Western) and was part of a branch line from Worthington to Sioux Falls, S.D.
Milesoftrackoperated: 42
Employees: 7
Annualpurchases: $200,000
Locomotives 2
Totalcarloads 625
Commodities: Feed,ethanol,fertilizer, wasteoil
Administrativeoffices: Luverne
MSWY in Minnesota
20
2015 Sixth Street North Phone: (320) 253-8130 St. Cloud, MN 56303 FAX: (320) 253-5282 Website: http://www.anacostia.com/nlr/nlr.htmlContacts: Daniel C. Rickel, President Phone: (320) 253-5983James Zanoth, Office Manager/Customer Service (320) 253-8130Justin Chalich, Manager Maintenance/Operations (320) 252-2718 FAX: (320) 259-0395
NORTHERN LINES RAILWAY, LLC
Northern Lines Railway (NLR) was formed in late 2004 and on April 23, 2005 began operating on 23 miles of track leased from BNSF Railway in St. Cloud, Minn., with branch lines extending to St. Joseph and Cold Spring, Minn.
NLR connects with BNSF at St. Cloud and handles approximately 8,750 carloads annually, providing daily switching service to major customers including Borgert Products, Inc., Cold Spring Granite, Elec-trolux, Maiers Transport & Warehousing, American Iron, Knife River Corp., Manion’s Wholesale Building Supply, Mathew Hall Lumber, Northern Metals, Quad Graphics, Martin Marietta, RockTenn and Wenner Gas Co. In addition, NLR offers multiple transload locations for customers lacking a rail siding.
Since beginning operations in 2005, NLR has com-pleted a tie replacement project along the St. Joseph spur and a switch tie replacement project in the St. Cloud yard. In 2009, NLR constructed about 1.5 miles of main track to facilitate a new road in Waite Park. In 2010, Wenner Gas expanded by building a new rail-served tank car unloading facility in Rockville and closed their operation in Cold Spring.
Northern Lines has two locomotives and a wide range of freight cars are supplied by BNSF.
NLR is a member of the Anacostia & Pacific Com-pany, Inc. (www.anacostia.com), a transportation and development firm based in Chicago and New York, which has developed eight new railroads since it was formed in 1985.
At one time, NLR’s lines were operated by the Great Northern Railway, which was merged into Bur-lington Northern when it was created in 1970.
Northern Lines RailwayMilesoftrackoperated: 23
Employees: 6Totalcarloads: 7,500Locomotives 2PurchasesinMinnesota $250,000Principalcommodities: Aggregate,scrapsteel, pulpboard,paperandlumber.
Administrativeoffices: St.Cloud
NO
RT
HERN LINES
RAILWAY
Cold Spring
St. Joseph ST. CLOUD
S T E R N S
S H E R B U R N E
B E N T O N
BNSF to Fargo, Pacific Northwest
BNSF to Minneapolis, Chicago, Kansas City
Rockville
M A R S H A L L
P E N N I N G T O N
R E D L A K E
Alvarado VikingWarren
Thief River Falls
Radium
CPR to Canada
CPR to Twin Cities
To NorthDakotaPoints
P O L K
NORTHDAKOTA
Oslo
100 Railroad AvenueP.O. Box 38 Phone: (701) 229-3330 Fordville, ND 58231 FAX: (701) 229-3365 Web: www.nprail.comContacts: Larry R. Jamieson, President [email protected] J. Chalich, Asst. VP Marketing/Sales [email protected] C. Omdahl, Asst. VP Car Repair [email protected] L. Gullickson, Manager Operations [email protected]
The Northern Plains Railroad was formed in January 1997 when the company leased 388 miles of branch lines in Minnesota and North Dakota from Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). Lines extend west from Thief River Falls to Devils Lake, N.D. and run north and west from Fordville, N.D. to a connection with the CP at Kenmare, N.D. Northern Plains also connects with CP at Thief River Falls.
Based in Fordville N.D., Northern Plains has 63 employees. Northern Plains serves 40 communities, including six in Minnesota.
The company has 22 locomotives and 60 freight cars. A majority of freight cars are supplied by CP. Northern Plains grain customers can reach all grain markets through NPR’s connections with CP.
Northern Plains Rail Services, a NPR affiliate, performs running repairs, contract maintenance services, and painting for locomotives and freight cars at its shops located in Erskine, Minn. and Ford-
NORTHERN PLAINS RAILROAD, INC.
Northern PlainsMilesoftrack: 410(45milesinMinnesota)
Employees: 63
Payroll(2010) $4.1million
Totalcarloads: 19,828
Locomotives: 22
Freightcars: 60
Principalcommodities: Smallgrains, aggregates,fertilizer
Administrativeoffices: Fordville,N.D.
ville, N.D. NPRS is now a M1003 AAR certified shop. In addition, NPRS constructs and maintains tracks on a contract basis. NPRS services locomotives on a contract basis as well.
Northern Plains was named 2010 Regional Rail-road of the Year by Railway age magazine.
21
22
200 North Mill Street Phone: 1-800-726-7921 Fergus Falls, MN 56537 FAX: (218) 736-7636 Website: http://www.railamerica.com
Contact: James Bonner, Assistant General Manager Cell: (218) 205-6448Troy Dodds, Operations Manager
OTTER TAIL VALLEY RAILROAD COMPANY
Otter Tail Valley Railroad Company (OTVR) op-erates 71 miles of former Burlington Northern (now BNSF) trackage between Fergus Falls and Moorhead/Dilworth, Minn. Branch lines extend from Fergus Falls to French and Hoot Lake, plus a five-mile branch from Barnesville to Downer. OTVR also serves the Moorhead McCara Industrial Park. There are six com-munities served by the Otter Tail Valley Railroad.
Otter Tail Valley was formed in 1986. RailAmerica, Inc. purchased the railroad in September 1996 from its owners, Anacostia & Pacific Company, Inc. OTVR is one of 43 railroads owned by RailAmerica. Princi-pal commodities transported by Otter Tail Valley are grain, coal and ethanol. The railroad handles approxi-mately 14,000 carloads annually and is locally man-aged. The company owns six 1,750-2,000 h.p. diesel locomotives and a fleet of covered hoppers. Other freight cars are supplied through BNSF Railway, or are customer leased/owned. OTVR interchanges traffic with BNSF at Dilworth yard, just east of Moorhead.
The line now operated by OTVR was once part of the Great Northern Railway’s main line between St. Cloud and Fargo/Moorhead. Great Northern merged into Burlington Northern when it was created in 1970.
Otter Tail Valley in MinnesotaMilesoftrackowned: 71
Employees: 11
Locomotives: 6
Totalcarloads: 14,000
Principalcommodities: Grain,coal,ethanol
Administrativeoffices: FergusFalls
SOUTH DAKOTA
NORTH DAKOTA
MINNESOTA
Fergus Falls
South Moorhea
d
Dilworth
Barnes
ville
Lawndale
Rothsay
Carlisl
e
Baker
Hoot Lak
e
French
BNSF to Minneapolis–St. PaulBNSF to Seattle,Portland
Fargo
Otter Tail Valley RailroadTrackage rights
Sabin
Northfield
Faribault
Cannon Falls
ST. PAUL
Lakeville
MINNEAPOLIS
CPR to Canada
EaganRichfieldRichfield
RosemountRosemount
CPR, UP to Chicago
PGR
Trackage rights
Other railroads
Randolph
Bloomington
UP to Kansas City, Texas
23
Progressive Rail Incorporated is a contract rail carrier that operates nearly 80 miles of line on behalf of the Canadian Pacific and Union Pacific railroads in the greater Twin Cities area, including operations to Cannon Falls, Northfield and Faribault, Minn. Ad-ministration offices are located in Lakeville.
The railroad has 75 full-time employees and owns nine diesel locomotives and a fleet of 12 60-ft. RBL and other equipped boxcars.
Progressive Rail began operations on September 25, 1996 in Airlake Industrial Park in Lakeville, for-merly operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway. In February 2001, Progressive Rail leased nine miles of track from CP, known as the Dan Patch Line, from Bloomington to south Minneapolis.
PROGRESSIVE RAIL INCORPORATED
Milesoftrackownedandoperated: 80
Employees: 75
Locomotives: 9
Totalcarloads: 11,751
Principalcommodities: Forestproducts, cement/flyash,pipe,paper, plastics,cannedgoods, chemicals,buildingproducts,salt
Administrativeoffices: Lakeville
Progressive Rail in Minnesota
In March 2004, in partnership with the Union Pacific, PGR acquired the former Cannon Falls subdi-vision and operations to Faribault, Minn. This expan-sion provides PGR with access to over 450 acres of rail-served industrial development property. In May 2004, PGR assumed operations of Canadian Pacific’s yard in Northfield, Minn, tying into its current Airlake Industrial Park operation and the Rosemount to Ea-gandale industrial spur.
Progressive Rail also offers transloading services, which allows customers to transfer cargo from rail to truck, as well as provide temporary storage of materi-als in a heated, 110,000 sq. ft. warehouse.
PROGRESSIVE RAILINCORPORATED
Airlake Industrial Park Phone: (952) 985-724521778 Highview Ave. 1-888-PRO-RAIL (776-7245)Lakeville, MN 55044 FAX: (952) 985-7626 E-mail: [email protected]: Website: http://www.progressiverail.comDave Fellon, President E-mail: [email protected] Van Gemert, Chief Executive Officer [email protected] Whiteley, Chief Financial Officer [email protected] Jenkins, VP Customer Service [email protected] Gillman, VP Carload Connection [email protected]
Milesoftrackowned: 440(2inMinnesota)Employees: 100
Totalcarloads: 55,000
Locomotives 13
Commodities: Sugar,cornsyrup,aggregates, lumber,plastic,fertilizer, petroleumproducts,coal,steel, farmmachinery,agprocessingby-products
Administrativeoffices: Wahpeton,N.D.
Operationsandcarrepairfacility: Breckenridge
24
RED RIVER VALLEY & WESTERN RAILROAD CO.
Contacts: Website: http://www.rrvw.net Andrew J. Thompson, President & CEO P.O. Box 608 Phone: (701) 642-8257Daniel L. Zink, Director of Administration 116 South Fourth St. FAX: (701) 642-5102 Wahpeton, ND 58074
Sharon Trudell, VP Marketing 501 Minnesota Ave. Phone: (218) 643-4994Dan Keogh, Manager Transportation Breckenridge, MN 56520 FAX: (218) 643-4980Cal Gruebele, Manager Track & StructuresDave Volk, Manager - Car Shop
road and customers. Specialized equipment includes an automated washer for cleaning tank cars.
Since 1987, more than $20 million has been allo-cated for capital projects, including relaying 50 miles of track with heavier rail. In addition, RRVW spends about $4 million each year on track maintenance. More than 100 miles of track are surfaced each year for smoother operation.
RRVW in Minnesota
The Red River Valley & Western Railroad Com-pany (RRVW) began operations on July 19, 1987 over track acquired from Burlington Northern Railroad (now BNSF). Since then, RRVW has doubled its freight volume and has moved more than 883,000 carloads of freight for customers. RRVW employs about 100 people, up from 45 at start-up.
RRVW owns or operates on 576 route miles of track (31 miles in Minnesota, including trackage rights). It is one of the larger of the approximately 550 regional and short line railroads operating in the United States and RRVW was named 2005 Regional Railroad of the Year by Railway age.
RRVW presently has about 60 customers in Min-nesota and North Dakota. The railroad serves ap-proximately 35 grain elevators (including two shuttle train facilities in Breckenridge), which generate more than 50 percent of the traffic. The railroad’s loco-motive shops and a large marshaling yard are located in Breckenridge, Minn., while administrative offices are located across the Red River in Wahpeton, N.D.
In mid-2009, RRVW dedicated a new two-track, 19,200 sq.ft. freight car repair facility in Breckenridge to handle running and contract repairs for the rail-
Doran
Kent
Tenney
W I L K I N
R I C H L A N D
Barney
Colfax
Dwight
Mooreton
Wahpeton
Breckenridge
N. DAKOTA
MINNESOTA
To Casselton
S. DAKOTA
Geneseo
BNSF to Minneapolis
BNSF to Fargo/Moorhead
CampbellAberdeen
Line Jct.
CampbellAberdeen
Line Jct.Fairmount
Fairmount
Hankinson
Lidgerwood
Hankinson
Lidgerwood
To OakesTo Oakes
RRV&W Breckenridge AreaRRV&W
Trackage rights
Red RiverValley Western
R A I L R O A D C O M P A N Y
Hinckley
Harris
North Branch
Rock Creek
Pine City
BNSF to Duluth/Superior
BNSF
C H I S A G O
P I N EK A N A B E C
I S A N T I
Rush City
BNSF to Minneapolis
25
ST. CROIx VALLEY RAILROAD175 West 4th Street Phone: 1-888-200-0415 P.O. Box 563 (mailing address) (320) 358-0383Rush City, MN 55069 FAX: (320) 358-0276
Contacts:Lee Lautt, Manager Admin. & Marketing Phone: (218) 281-1750 E-mail: [email protected] Spiering, Operations supervisor E-mail: [email protected] Halland, Customer Service E-mail: [email protected]
The St. Croix Valley Railroad owns and oper-ates 36 miles of former BNSF Railway trackage from Hinckley to North Branch. Interchange is made with BNSF at Hinckley.
St. Croix Valley has two employees and serves three communities: North Branch, Pine City and Rush City. The railroad is operated as a subsidiary of Minnesota Northern Railroad Co. (MNN). SCXY was purchased from BNSF in September 1997.
Principal commodities carried include grain, flour, and fertilizers. The railroad handles approxi-mately 3,000 carloads annually and is locally man-aged. The railroad owns two locomotives; all freight cars are supplied by BNSF.
The line from Hinckley to North Branch once belonged to the Northern Pacific Railway and was part of its main line from Duluth to St. Paul.
St. Croix Valley in MinnesotaMilesoftrackowned: 36
Employees: 2
Payroll:(2010) $150,000
Annualcarloads: 3,000
Principalcommodities: Grain,flour, fertilizers
Locomotives: 2
Headquarters,railyards,shops: RushCity
ST.
C
ROIX VALLE
Y
RAILROAD
THE SKALLY LINE
Milbank
AppletonOrtonville
Ortonville
Odessa
MilanMilan
North Watson
North Watson
MontevioMontevideo
Wegdahl
Wegdahl
Granite Falls
Minnesota Falls
Minnesota Falls
Sacred Heart
Sacred Heart
Renvil
le
Renvil
leDan
ube
Danub
e
Ruebe
l
Ruebe
lOl
ivia
Oliv
iaBi
rd Is
land
Bird
Isla
ndHe
ctor
Hect
orBu
ffalo
Lak
e
Buffa
lo L
ake
Stew
art
Stew
art
Brow
nton
Brow
nton
GLE
GLEN
COE
Plat
oPl
ato
Norw
ood
Norw
ood
Bong
ards
Bong
ards
Colo
gne
Colo
gne Pigs Eye/
Daytons Bluffyards
Pigs Eye/Daytons Bluff
yardsJona
than
Jona
than
SOUTHDAKOTA
Hopk
ins
Hopk
ins
Chan
hass
en
Chan
hass
en
MINNEAPOLISST. PAUL
MINNEAPOLISST. PAULMINNESOTACamdenCamden
SavageSavage
Twin Cities & WesternMinnesota Prairie LineTrackage rights
Fairf
axFa
irfax
Hanley Falls
Echo
Belv
iew
Delh
i
Woo
d La
ke
Woo
d La
ke
Redw
ood
Falls
Morto
n
Gibb
onGi
bbon
Fran
klin
Fran
klin
Win
thro
p
Win
thro
pGa
ylord
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TWIN CITIES & WESTERN RAILROAD COMPANY2925 12th Street East Phone: (320) 864-7200 or 1-800-290-TCWR (8297)Glencoe, MN 55336 Website: www.tcwr.net FAX: (320) 864-7220 Contact: Mark Wegner, President (320) 864-7204 [email protected] Craig Glaeser, Dir. Marketing and Sales (320) 864-7206 [email protected] Robin Bergeron, Dir., Sales (320) 864-7211 [email protected] Bob Suko, Gen. Manager, Operations (320) 864-7210 [email protected] Tim Jeske, Dir. Mechanical & Maintenance (320) 864-7214 [email protected] Katie Masog, Dir. of Accounting (320) 864-7207 [email protected] Sue Bombeck, Office Manager (320) 864-7201 [email protected] Lori Koelln, Mgr. Car Accounting & Utilization (320) 864-7216 [email protected] Holli Schafer, Mgr. Revenue Accounting (320) 864-7203 [email protected] Diane McCall, Mgr. Transportation Services (320) 864-7213 [email protected]
The Twin Cities and Western Railroad (TC&W) operates 229 miles of track and trackage rights serving some of the most productive agricultural counties of Minnesota. TC&W shipments consist primarily of commodities in the agricultural markets. TC&W also provides intermodal service between Montevideo and St. Paul.
Operations began on July 27, 1991 over track and trackage rights acquired from the Soo Line Railroad (now Canadian Pacific) between the Twin Cities and Milbank, S.D.—formerly known as the “Ortonville Line.” Prior to TC&W and Soo Line, the track was part of the former Milwaukee Road’s main line pro-viding freight and passenger service to the Pacific Northwest. The main line was constructed in the 1870s by the Hastings & Dakota Railway.
TC&W interchanges in the Twin Cities with BNSF, CN, CP, MNNR and UP. TC&W has direct access to Camden Place barge terminal on the Mississippi River in North Minneapolis and Savage on the Min-nesota River. TC&W can access all other major river
Milesoftrackowned: 146
Employees: 68
Payrollandfringes: $5.6million
Locomotives: 12
Freightcars: Morethan700
Totalcarloads: 18,000
Commodities: Aggregates,animalfats/tallow, beetpulp,canned/frozenvegetables, coal,DDGs,ethanol,fertilizers, forestproducts,grainsand organicgrains,pellets,sugar
Headquarters: Glencoe
Maintenanceshops: Glencoe,Morton
TC&W in Minnesota
TC W&
terminals in Minneapolis and St. Paul through use of connecting rail carriers.
In 2008, TC&W was named Regional Railroad of the Year by Railway age magazine.
AMTRAK(National Railroad Passenger Corporation) Website: http://www.amtrak.com525 West Van Buren StreetSuite 200 Phone: (312) 880-5118Chicago, IL 60607 FAX: (312) 880-5167
Contact: Derrick L. James E-mail: [email protected] Director of Government Affairs Amtrak’s long-distance, Chicago to Seattle and Portland, Ore., Empire Builder passenger train operates over 373 miles of BNSF Railway, Canadian Pacific Railway and Minnesota Commercial Railway trackage in Minnesota. The Empire Builder operates daily serving Winona, Red Wing, St. Paul-Minneapolis, St. Cloud, Staples and Detroit Lakes. Total ridership at Minnesota stations in Fiscal Year 2010 was 188,881.
Amtrak has 20,000 employees including 43 in Minnesota. Payroll in the state in fiscal year 2010 was approximately $2.9 million. Amtrak spent $66 million for goods and services in Minnesota in FY 2010. Minnesota is in Amtrak’s Central Division, which is based in Chicago. Amtrak owns and operates St. Paul Midway Station.
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Amtrak provides passenger rail service over a nationwide network of 21,000 route miles, serving 525 destinations in 46 states and three Canadian provinces. In FY 2010, Amtrak carried nearly 29 million passengers, an all-time record and the seventh ridership gain in eight years. The Empire Builder is the most popular long-distance passenger train in America and last year carried a total of 533,493 passengers.
Amtrak actively seeks partnerships with state governments to expand rail passenger service on existing and new routes. Amtrak partners with 15 states to operate 170 daily trains over 19 routes.
Amtrak continues to support development of the Midwest Regional Rail System, which includes a plan to establish a higher-frequency, trip-time competitive service between the Twin Cities, Madison, Milwaukee, and Chicago. Amtrak will relocate the St. Paul station stop to St. Paul Union Depot when Ramsey County completes a renovation of the historic structure, joining light rail, local and intercity and possibly commuter rail.
NORTH SHORE SCENIC RAILROAD Phone: (218) 722-1273 or 1-800-423-1273St. Louis & Lake Counties Regional Rail Authority FAX: (218) 733-7596 506 West Michigan Street Website: http://www.northshorescenicrailroad.orgDuluth, MN 55802
Contact: Tim Schandel, Dir. of RR Operations
The North Shore Scenic Railroad provides tourist passenger service during the summer and fall months between Duluth and Two Harbors, 25 miles. The track is owned by the St. Louis & Lake Counties Regional Rail Authority, which purchased the track from the Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway. The railroad is operated under contract by the Lake Superior Railroad Museum of Duluth. Steam-powered trains are operated on the last three weekends of August and the first two weekends of September using Soo Line Pacific Class locomotive No. 2719, built by American Locomotive Co. in 1923.
OTHER RAILROADS SERVING MINNESOTA
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2011
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MINNESOTA’SRAILROADS