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Information about
MINNESOTA’S
RAILROADS
2011-2012
http.www.minnesotarailroads.com
MINNESOTA’S RAILROADS AT A GLANCE
Number 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 of
Top 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
Cover photo: A Minnesota Northern
freight train near the Wilds industrial
yard in southwest Crookston, Minn.
Photo taken December 29, 2009 by
Carl Becker.
2
INTRODuCTION
Minnesota’s Railroads — Contributing to the Economic Vitality of the State
R
ailroads have been a part of the Minnesota Mesabi Iron Range to Lake Superior ports and inland
landscape since the first train operated steel mills, enabling Minnesota’s mining industry to
between St. Paul and St. Anthony (now Min- remain competitive in world markets.
neapolis) in 1862. Railroads helped build the state,
reaching west from the Mississippi and St. Croix riv- Each year, Minnesota’s railroads move thousands
ers, where goods were offloaded onto rail cars for of containers of freight that otherwise would move by
settlers to move west and north. For nearly 150 years, truck. By keeping this freight on the rails rather than
railroads have contributed to the economic well the road, there is less pollution and highway damage
being of the state by providing vital transportation — saving Minnesota taxpayers millions of dollars
services to its citizens and industries, while paying in highway maintenance costs. Railroads are also
millions of dollars to the state in taxes. fuel-efficient, which helps to conserve energy and
reduce pollution. According to the U.S. Department
Railroads provide important commercial links of Energy, railroads are four times more fuel efficient
for Minnesota farmers, the taconite industry, man- than trucks and roughly equal to waterborne freight.
ufacturers, and other businesses. Since railroads Emissions from railroad locomotives are 75 percent
are able to move goods at very competitive rates, less than trucks, according to the U.S. Environmental
they are able to hold down costs for shippers, which Protection Agency.
helps promote stability and economic growth in
greater Minnesota. For example, the cost of shipping Minnesota’s railroads are rarely in the spotlight,
agricultural products by rail is much less than the but go about their business quietly and efficiently.
cost of shipping by truck, which helps farmers earn This CD provides background information about
higher profits and lowers the costs of products for the railroad companies that operate in the state.
consumers. Included are maps, a list of major commodities they
carry, railroads’ economic contribution to the state
Minnesota railroads provide a vital pathway for and communities they serve, and a list of key per-
the movement of taconite pellets from plants on the sonnel at each company.
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.
3
INDEx
SUBJECT PAGE
Amtrak 27 Minnesota Northern Railroad Company 17
American Short Line and Regional Railroad Assn. 4 Minnesota Prairie Line Inc. 18
Association of American Railroads 4 Minnesota Regional Railroads Association 4
BNSF Railway (Burlington Northern Santa Fe) 6 Minnesota Southern Railway 19
CN (Canadian National) 8 North Shore Scenic Railroad 27
Canadian Pacific Railway 10 Northern Lines Railway 20
Carloadings 2 Northern Plains Railroad, Inc. 21
Class I, II and III railroads 5 Otter Tail Valley Railroad 22
Cloquet Terminal Railroad Company Inc. 14 Progressive Rail Incorporated 23
Commodities handled (total for state) 2 Property taxes 2
Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad (CP) 10 Red River Valley & Western Railroad 24
Employees 2 Retirees 2
Federal Railroad Administration 4 Soo Line Railroad (CP) 10
Iowa, Chicago & Eastern (CP) 10 St. Croix Valley Railroad 25
Introduction 3 Twin Cities & Western Railroad 26
Mileage (by carrier) 5 Twin Cities railroad map 28
Minnesota Commercial Railway 15 Union Pacific Railroad 12
Minnesota, Dakota & Western Railway 16 Wages paid (total for state) 2
Minnesota DOT - Office of Frt., RRs & Waterways 4 Websites 4
WEbSITES Of MINNESOTA RAILROADS
RailRoads:
Amtrak (National Railroad Passenger Corp.): Otter Tail Valley Railroad
http://www.amtrak.com http://www.railamerica.com
BNSF Railway: Progressive Rail:
http://www.bnsf.com http://www.progressiverail.com
CN: Red River Valley & Western Railroad Company:
http://www.cn.ca http://www.rrvw.net
Canadian Pacific Railway: Twin Cities & Western Railroad Company:
http://www.cpr.ca http://www.tcwr.net
Minnesota Commercial: Union Pacific Railroad:
http://www.mnnr.net http://www.uprr.com
Minnesota Prairie Line:
http://www.tcwr.net/mpl RailRoad oRganizations/associations:
American Short Line and Regional RRs Assn:
Northern Lines Railway: http://www.aslrra.org
http://www.anacostia.com/nlr/nlr.html
Association of American Railroads:
Northern Plains Railroad: http://www.aar.org
http://www.nprail.com
Federal Railroad Administration:
North Shore Scenic Railroad: http://www.fra.dot.gov
http://www.northshorescenicrailroad.org
MN DOT, Off. of Freight, Railroads & Waterways:
http://www.dot.state.mn.us/aboutrail
MN Regional Railroads Association:
http://www.minnesotarailroads.com
4
MINNESOTA RAILROADS AND MILEAGE
In 2011, there are 19 railroad companies oper- While some of these smaller lines have existed inde-
ating in Minnesota on 4,393 route miles of track. A pendently for years, most were created in the 1980s
total of 3,666 miles, or 83 percent of the mileage, is following passage of the Staggers Act, which helped
owned by the state’s Class I railroads. restore railroads to profitability by freeing them from
overregulation.
Railroads are divided into three “classes” by the
Surface Transportation Board (STB), which replaced All carrier-owned railroad track in Minnesota
the Interstate Commerce Commission as the federal must comply with safety standards set forth by the
economic regulator of railroads. Based on 2010 sta- Federal Railroad Administration and is subject to
tistics, Class I railroads are those that had annual periodic inspections. About two-thirds of the track
operating revenue of $378.8 million or more. in the state is FRA Class 3 or 4, permitting freight
trains to operate at speeds up to 40 and 60 mph, re-
Class II railroads have annual operating revenue spectively. All railroad equipment must also comply
between $30.3 million and $378.8 million. In addition, with federal safety standards, including regular main-
Minnesota has 14 Class III railroads, which have an- tenance. In addition, railroad operating personnel
nual operating revenue of less than $30.3 million. must be familiar with FRA rules and regulations and
“Regional railroads” are line-haul carriers operating successfully complete training on safety and oper-
at least 350 miles of road and/or earning revenue ex- ating rules. Locomotive engineers must be certified
ceeding $40 million, but less than a Class I. Regional by the FRA in order to operate a locomotive and go
and short-line railroads generally are lighter-density through recertification every three years.
lines that have been spun off by a Class I carrier.
Minnesota’s Railroads
Railroad Mileage owned
in Minnesota
Class I
BNSF Railway (BNSF) 1,584 Minnesota Southern Railroad Co. (MSWY) 42
Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) 1,222 St. Croix Valley Railroad (SCXY) 36
CN (Canadian National Railway) 425 Minnesota Commercial Railway Co. (MNNR) 35
Union Pacific Railroad (UP) 435 North Shore Scenic Railroad (NSSR) 25
National Railroad Passenger Corp. (Amtrak) 0 (St. Louis & Lake Counties Regional Rail
Authority between Duluth and Two Harbors)
Class II Northern Lines Railway, LLC (NLR) 23
Cloquet Terminal Railroad Co. (CTRR) 4
Minnesota, Dakota & Western Ry. Co. (MDW) 4
Class III Red River Valley & Western Railroad (RRVW) 2
Twin Cities & Western Railroad Co. (TCWR) 146
Minnesota Northern Railroad (MNN) 120
Minnesota Prairie Line Inc. (MPLI) 94
Progressive Rail Inc. (PGR) 80
Otter Tail Valley Railroad (OTVR) 71
Northern Plains Railroad (NPR) 45
5
SM
BNSF in Minnesota
BNSF
Trackage rights R A I LWAY
To
Winnipeg
MANITOBA
Noyes
International Falls
ONTARIO
Warren
Grand
Forks
East Grand Forks
Crookston
To Minot
Bemidji Hibbing
Virginia
O
TH
Grand Rapids
G
th
LU
R
To Minot
or
FA
lw
U
Di
D
To Mandan Moorhead Detroit Lakes
Cloquet
N. DAKOTA
SUPERIOR
Staples
Breckenridge Brainerd
Camp Ripley
Little Falls
Browns Valley
Morris ST. CLOUD Cambridge
Ortonville Benson
To Aberdeen Monticello WISCONSIN
Litchfield
Delano
Madison Willmar ST. PAUL
To Watertown
Granite Falls MINNEAPOLIS
Hanley Falls
Marshall
Mankato
Pipestone Winona
S. DAKOTA
ROCHESTER La
Crosse
To Sioux City IOWA
To Chicago
6
bNSf RAILWAY
BNSF Railway Website: http://www.bnsf.com
2650 Lou Menk Drive, 2nd Floor
P.O. Box 96105, Fort Worth, TX 76161-0057
Contacts:
Brian J. Sweeney, State Government Affairs Phone: (651) 298-2458
325 Cedar St., Ste. 620 Fax: (651) 298-7352
St. Paul, MN 55101 E-mail: brian.sweeney@bnsf.com
Customer Service Phone: 1-888-428-2673
Industrial Development, Grace Kung (817) 867-6889, grace.kung@bnsf.com
Media Relations, Amy McBeth (763) 782-3212, amy.mcbeth@bnsf.com
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation In addition to money spent in Minnesota, other
through its subsidiary, The BNSF Railway Company, BNSF projects benefit the state and its shippers. For
operates one of the largest railroad networks in example, in the past ten years, BNSF has spent more
North America with 32,000 route miles serving 28 than $1 billion just to acquire new covered hopper
states and two Canadian provinces. BNSF covers cars, which give Minnesota grain producers the
the western two-thirds of the United States, stretch- benefits of shipping in more modern, higher capacity
ing from major ports in the Pacific Northwest and cars. Since 1996, BNSF has purchased more than 3,500
Southern California to the Midwest, Southeast and new locomotives, increasing the horsepower of the
Southwest, and from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. fleet and improving fuel efficiency.
BNSF was created on September 22, 1995, from the
merger of Burlington Northern Inc. (parent company BNSF’s largest predecessor, Burlington Northern,
of Burlington Northern Railroad) and Santa Fe Pacific was formed on March 2, 1970 through the merger
Corporation (parent company of the Atchison, To- of the Burlington, Great Northern, Northern Pacific,
peka and Santa Fe Railway). The company has more and Spokane, Portland & Seattle railways. Both Great
than 40,000 employees. Northern and Northern Pacific had extensive rail net-
works in the state.
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 in Minnesota
Miles of track owned: 1,584
BNSF originated 306,526 carloads of freight in Employees: 1,757
Minnesota in 2010 with 286,610 carloads terminating Payroll (2009): $120 million
in the state. Principal commodities originating in Min-
nesota included taconite, farm products, food prod- Minnesota taxes paid: $25 million
ucts, pulp and paper, and chemicals. Commodities (Property, sales, income, etc.)
terminating in the state include coal, farm products, Rail Yards: Dilworth, Minneapolis,
lumber, pulp and paper, chemicals and food products. St. Paul, Willmar
BNSF trains also carry much of the United Parcel Intermodal Hub Centers: Dilworth, St. Paul
Service traffic in and out of the Twin Cities.
Shops: Brainerd, Dilworth,
In the last five years, BNSF has spent more than Minneapolis
$321 million on capital improvements in Minnesota, Administrative offices: St. Paul
primarily for track and capacity improvements.
7
To Winnipeg
Warroad CANADA
ROSEAU Roosevelt Rainy River
Fort
Williams Frances
Baudette
LAKE Ranier
OF THE UNITED
International Falls
WOODS S TAT E S
Orr
AL
KOOCHICHING
BE
FREEBORN MOWER Cook
RT
Minorca
wa ey
I TA S C A
bik
Bi Kinl
Mc ert
LE
Emco
lb
Lo
Virginia
Gi
A
Mesaba
nd
Mt Iron Wyman
Shelton
Co rora
on
Allen Jct.
Glenville
lby
le
Pe met- aine
Lyle
illy rb
Skibo
Au
Buhl Wolf
ng Ma
MINNESOTA Spruce
lu ler
Iron Jct. Fairbanks
Ca -Co
My
g en d
F
y
BNS Keenan
bin ilp woo
ve
LAKE
rtl
IOWA Forbes Peary Breda
Hib W her Fairlane
Bo
son Jordan
e
S
Zim Central Brim Norshor Jct.
Lakes McNair
Sax Melrude
Whiteface Wales
Kelsey Highland
To Payne Shaw
Waldo
Waterloo Taft
Alborn Two Harbors R
Burnett Bartlett RIO
Saginaw U PE
or ES
R
SS
ph
LAK
Munger t
oc
N
ol
Pr
Ad
S T. L O U I S
Dresser Nopeming Jct. DULUTH
CARLETON Brewer
Osceola Steelton
Oliver SUPERIOR, WI
ma
ga rs e
ke de dg
on
WASHINGTON Po Saun bri
yt
To Chicago
Pe
Copas Am
M I N N E S O TA WISCONSIN
Marine
HENNEPIN Maple Island
RAMSEY
Withrow To Stevens Point,
R
CP Chicago
Humboldt Yard
New Brighton
St. Paul WISCONSIN
Minneapolis
MN
NR
Ya
r
d
CN
Trackage rights
8
CN
CN Phone: 1-800-452-7332, ext. 3508
Southern Region (708) 332-3508
17641 South Ashland Ave. Website: http://www.cn.ca
Homewood, IL 60430-1345
Contacts:
Patrick Waldron Phone: (708) 332-4377
Mgr. Public Affairs Cell: (708) 990-5771
FAX: (708) 332-4361
E-mail: Patrick.Waldron@cn.ca
Paul Hackett, Superintendent Phone: (218) 628-4106
Proctor Transportation Office Cell: (218) 410-1363
1052 Railroad Avenue FAX: (218) 628-4152
Proctor, MN 55810 E-mail: Paul.Hackett@cn.ca
CN operates approximately 20,000 route miles decessor companies dating back to 1901. The DWP
of line in the U.S. and Canada and is the only rail was incorporated in 1912 under the control of the
network that connects all three coasts: the Pacific, Canadian Northern, which had constructed the line
the Atlantic, and the Gulf of Mexico. CN has approxi- south of Lake of the Woods through Minnesota in
mately 22,300 employees. 1900 under its subsidiary Minnesota & Manitoba. Ca-
nadian Northern became part of CN in 1919, but its
In November 1995, the CN became a publicly U.S. subsidiaries (Grand Trunk Western and the DWP)
owned company with U.S. shareholders owning retained their separate identities into the 1990s.
about two-thirds of the stock. CN acquired control
of Illinois Central Corp. in July 1999. In October Wisconsin Central’s roots go back more than a
2001, CN acquired Wisconsin Central Transporta- century to 1871, when the original Wisconsin Central
tion Corporation. On May 10, 2004, CN acquired the Railway was formed. It was operated by the Soo Line
Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway from Great (now Canadian Pacific) from 1909 until 1987, when it
Lakes Transportation LLC. The Duluth, Winnipeg was acquired by WC.
& Pacific Railway, which has been a CN subsidiary
since 1912, was integrated into CN’s U.S. operations The Cedar River Railroad was an Illinois Central
in the 1990s. subsidiary until mid-1999, when IC merged with CN.
CEDR track extends north from CN’s Chicago-Omaha
CN’s principal main line in Minnesota extends main line at Waterloo, Iowa to Glenville, Minn, near
across the northeastern part of the state via the Albert Lea. Total mileage is 102, including 19 miles
Duluth/Superior gateway, providing an essential link of track in Minnesota.
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 CN in Minnesota
and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
Miles of track owned: 425
The Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range was formed Employees: 465
in 1938 when the Duluth, Missabe and Northern and
Principal commodities: Grain, lumber, potash,
the Duluth and Iron Range merged. With the acqui-
wood pulp, sulphur, paper products,
sition of the DMIR, CN has become the largest rail
iron ore, fertilizer, coal, petroleum coke
carrier of iron ore in North America.
Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific started as a logging
railroad serving mills in the Virginia area with pre-
9
Canadian Pacific in Minnesota
CP
Trackage rights
To
Winnipeg
MANITOBA
Noyes
International Falls
ONTARIO
Thief River Falls
Grand
Forks Plummer Gully
Erskine
Bemidji
NORTH DAKOTA
Virginia
Hibbing
Grand Rapids
O
G
R
FA
DULUTH
Detroit Lakes 6,456,530
Cloquet
SUPERIOR
Brainerd
To Minot,
Portal
Alexandria
ge
id
br
Glenwood
m
Ca
ST. CLOUD WISCONSIN
Ro alo
Paynesville Dresser
rd
ff
fo
Andover
Bu
ck
S. DAKOTA
MINNEAPOLIS ST. PAUL
Hopkins
Shakopee Hastings
ge
Ro arm rtth Ce
Red Wing
Ro
Sl
va
Ne
se mmin ffieente
se
ee
Fa No e C ontt
La
Sa
La
Sp erto
Lake City
m o gtt ld r
w
pr on
py
py
m
ou on
Ba
Ba
rin
Ul
un
b
Wabasha
Ey
E
Do are a
ntt
m
lat
Ja
Ja
gff
Tr
Tr
To Rapid
a
Ow ec
Ow c
r
Cl nna Haywa
e
iel
ac
dg m
ne
on
on
ed
W illle
W
cy
ge
City
at a
a
d
as
sv
a
s
oo
Minnesota City
La
Ey
Winona
yo
Mankato
ke
k
ta
W rran on
a
Be
in nad t
nn a
New Richland RO
ntt
n
G iirmo e
Blooming
G m e
La Crosse
Fa llco rn
W herb ha
W he b a
eb a
on
Hartland
ba
S Alp
CH La Crescent
e u
n
Prairie
go
om
ES
o
W Brownsville To Chicago
rd
Jackson ell A Austin
Albert a TE
Ea lava
De
s lde Albert Lea R
st n
s
n
on
o
IOWA To Mason City
To Quad Cities,
Chicago, Kansas City
10
CANADIAN PACIfIC
Canadian Pacific Phone: 1-800-766-7912
501 Marquette Avenue South Website: http://www.cpr.ca
Suite 1525
Minneapolis, 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
Canadian Pacific Railway Limited operates a the Soo from Owatonna to Mason City, Iowa, Austin
14,800-mile rail network linking the principal cities to Minnesota Lake and Jackson, Minn.; and south of
of Canada from Montreal to Vancouver, and the U.S. LaCrescent, along the Mississippi River.
Midwest and Northeast. CP’s U.S. operations are
conducted by its subsidiaries: Soo Line; Dakota, Although system operations are fully integrated
Minnesota & Eastern; and the Delaware and Hudson with CP, Soo Line and DM&E remain as separate
Railway. Alliances with other carriers extend CP’s companies due to different laws, labor contracts and
market reach throughout the U.S. and into Mexico. other unique characteristics in the U.S.
CP’s freight traffic generated revenues of C$4.9 CP’s administrative departments, equipment
billion in 2010 of which 43 percent came from bulk maintenance, train dispatching and crew calling fa-
products such as grain, coal, sulfur and fertilizers. cilities are concentrated in Minnesota. The railway’s
Carload shipments of industrial and consumer prod- U.S. training facility for locomotive engineers and
ucts, automotive and forest products accounted conductors is located in the Twin Cities and uses
for 29 percent of CP’s revenues. The remaining 28 state of the art simulators and other equipment to
percent came from intermodal traffic moving in con- prepare and certify crews for their assignments.
tainers and trailers.
CP operates an intermodal terminal in Minne-
CP operates a fleet of 1,703 locomotives, of which apolis, loading highway trailers and international
61 percent are AC traction locomotives acquired containers, which flow across the world to and from
since 1995 and designed to improve overall fuel ef- Minnesota. Adjacent to the intermodal site is a facility
ficiency and reliability. CP’s freight car fleet totals for transloading goods between trucks and freight
56,200 cars. cars. CP also operates a large distribution center
for new and used automobiles at Cottage Grove,
CP owns and operates 1,222 miles of track in Min- where hundreds of vehicles arrive by train and are
nesota with major classification yards at Minneapolis, transferred to highway auto carriers to take them to
St. Paul and Glenwood. CP also has major locomotive dealers across five states.
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
CP in Minnesota
1888 and purchased full control of the railroad in Miles of track owned: 1,222
1990. The Soo Line operates 750 miles in Minnesota Operated under trackage rights: 520
from the Mississippi River at La Crosse through the
Employees: 1,671
Twin Cities and north to North Dakota and Canada.
Soo Line also accesses Duluth-Superior. Payroll excluding benefits (2010): $95.2 million
Major employment locations: Glenwood,
In October 2008, CP assumed operational con- Minneapolis, St. Paul,
trol of the DM&E Railroad. Operating 472 miles in Thief River Falls
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
11
Union Pacific in Minnesota
Union Pacific
Trackage rights
MANITOBA
International Falls
ONTARIO
Grand
Forks
Virginia
Hibbing
Grand Rapids
NORTH DAKOTA
O
G
R
FA
DULUTH
Moorhead
SUPERIOR
Brainerd
Little Falls
ST. CLOUD Cambridge
WISCONSIN
L
U
ds ort
A
.P
Hu yp
on
Ba
ST
Plymouth
To Chicago
MINNEAPOLIS South St. Paul
Chaska
SOUTH DAKOTA
Belle Plaine Rosemount
Sh
New Prague
ak
ak
Cannon Falls
op
Le Sueur Northfield
ee
e
Mo
Mo
nt
n
St. Peter Faribault
go
go
m
er
Madelia Owatonna
y
Mankato
y
Butterfield Winona La
Windom St. James Hartland Ellendale Crosse
Trimont Blue Earth Clarks Grove
Worthington Welcome To Chicago
Bricelyn Albert Lea
Fairmont
To Sioux City IOWA To Mason City
12
uNION PACIfIC RAILROAD
Union Pacific Railroad Phone: (402) 544-5000
1400 Douglas Street 1-888-870-8777
Omaha, 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) 501-0340
Mark Davis, Corporate Relations—Omaha (402) 544-5459 (402) 501-0011
Mike 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 In 2010, UP originated 141,766 carloads of freight
Union Pacific Corporation, operates in the western in Minnesota with 81,547 carloads terminating in
two-thirds of the United States. UP serves 23 states the state. Principal commodities handled by the
with 32,000 miles of track linking every major West Union Pacific in Minnesota include coal, taconite,
Coast and Gulf Coast port. agricultural products, automobiles and sand. UP
serves unit train shippers in prime corn and soybean
Union Pacific traces its history back more than areas including flour mills, malt houses, soybean pro-
140 years when it was created to build the first trans- cessors and many rail-to-river transfer stations. Also,
continental railroad, which was completed on May 10, UP is serving the rapidly growing ethanol market in
1869. All of UP’s Minnesota trackage was part of the southern Minnesota.
former Chicago and North Western Railway (C&NW),
which was purchased by UP in 1995. The company The railroad’s top customers in Minnesota
employs about 48,000 people. are Xcel Energy and Unimin. Unimin is the largest
producer of industrial sand in the U.S. Its twin sand
Union Pacific owns and operates 659 miles of plants at Kasota and Ottawa (both served by UP)
track in Minnesota, with 412 employees. In 2010 in represent the largest production facilities for frac
Minnesota, the company had a payroll of $32.4 mil- sand in the nation. Inbound shipments of Mazda,
lion, and made purchases totaling $83.8 million. Mitsubishi and Toyota automobiles are handled at
the railroad’s Drake Street ramp in St. Paul.
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 Union Pacific in Minnesota
Cities through Mankato and Worthington to Sioux
City, Iowa. This line has been extensively rebuilt with Miles of track owned: 435
new ties, ballast and welded rail since it was acquired
from the C&NW. UP also has trackage rights over the Employees: 412
BNSF Railway from the Twin Cities to Duluth. Payroll (2010): $32.4 million
The transportation and engineering departments Purchases from MN vendors: $83.8 million
that oversee the track territory in Minnesota, north- Rail yards: Albert Lea, East Minneapolis,
ern Iowa and Wisconsin are part of the “Twin Cities Mankato, Savage, St. Paul, South St. Paul
Service Unit,” which is based in St. Paul. Between
2004 and 2010, Union Pacific made $100 million of Auto distribution facility: St. Paul (Drake Street)
capital improvements to its Minnesota lines. UP’s Administrative offices: St. Paul
equipment fleet benefits the state. UP owns 8,200
locomotives.
13
CLOQuET TERMINAL RAILROAD COMPANY INC.
315 St. Louis Avenue Phone: (218) 878-0604
Dunlap Island FAX: (218) 879-6558
Cloquet, MN 55720 E-mail: Robert.Purcell@cloquet-trc.com
Contact: Robert Purcell, Resident Manager
The Cloquet Terminal Railroad Company (CTRR),
a subsidiary of Sappi Fine Paper North America, owns CTRR in Minnesota
four miles of track in the city of Cloquet. The railroad
Miles of track owned: 4
has running rights on about 20 miles of yard track
in Cloquet, and interchanges traffic with the BNSF Employees: 23
Railway and Canadian Pacific. Locomotives: 3
The railroad has 23 full-time employees: 20 Total carloads: 10,000
hourly and 3 salaried. The company owns three diesel Principal commodities: Logs, paper products
locomotives: two 600-h.p. units and one 1,000-h.p. and pulp
unit. CTRR owns 160 freight cars, including 75 used Administrative offices: Cloquet
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.
BNSF To
Grand Forks
St. Louis R
iver
CTRR Shops
Sappi Mill
CTRR/BNSF
interchange
CLOQUET
BNSF To
Duluth/Superior
14
MINNESOTA COMMERCIAL RAILWAY
508 Cleveland Avenue North Phone: (651) 632-9000
St. Paul, MN 55114 FAX: (651) 646-8337
Website: http://www.mnnr.net
Contact:
Wayne Hall, Director of Operations Phone: (651) 632-9022. whall@mnnr.net
Joe Richardson, Dir. of Finance & Asst. to Pres. (651) 632-9008
John Walsh, Chief Mechanical Officer-Locomotives (651) 632-9020
The Minnesota Commercial Railway (MNNR) The railroad serves 130 customers including
operates on 122 miles of track (including operating seven grain elevators and two flour mills in the Twin
rights on other railroads) in Anoka, Hennepin, Cities. Major customers include: RockTenn, Andersen
Ramsey and Washington counties. Minnesota Com- Window, several Weyerhaeuser plants and the Hugo
mercial connects with all Twin Cities railroads. and Roseville industrial parks.
MNNR extends the railroad’s economic benefits The Minnesota Commercial began operations
to non-rail served customers through truck-rail trans- in 1987 when it acquired the Minnesota Transfer
load programs. Commercial Transload of Minnesota Railway Company—at the time handling only 8,000
operates a 60,000 sq. ft. warehouse that specializes revenue units. In 2010, the Minnesota Commercial
in handling heavy steel and other materials. CTM handled more than 41,000 revenue units. In the past
Trucklines, Inc. operates 18 trucks handling steel, three years, Minnesota Commercial has spent about
lumber, heavy equipment and other commodities. $6 million for capital improvements.
A warehouse, transload facility and team track in
Fridley offer reload services for much of the metro The Minnesota Transfer Railway was incorpo-
area. rated in 1883 as a switching line and was owned by
the major railroads in the Twin Cities area. Rail lines
The railroad serves a total of ten Minnesota com- operated today by Minnesota Commercial include
munities with a main line extending from St. Paul into those acquired from the old Minnesota Transfer in
the northern suburbs of Anoka County and east to 1987, plus lines from other Class I carriers.
Bayport and Hugo. Minnesota Commercial trains also
use BNSF, Canadian Pacific, and Union Pacific tracks
to reach other carriers’ yards in Minneapolis and St. Fridley Hugo
Paul for interchange. Amtrak trains travel over the
Minnesota Commercial to reach the Midway depot in White Bear
Lake
St. Paul. In addition, MNNR services Amtrak trains. Arden Hills
MNNR in Minnesota New Brighton
Little Canada
Miles of track owned: 35
Employees: 88 Belt Line Roseville
Crossing
Annual payroll: $4.7 million
Total revenue units (2010): 41,312 Minnesota Commercial
Trackage Rights
Commodities carried: Lumber, steel, paper, BNSF
wines and beers, potash, Northtown To Bayport
consumer goods Yard
UP-BNSF
Number of locomotives: 32 Amtrak depot UP
MINNEAPOLIS
Freight cars: 80 ST. PAUL
CP
Merriam Park R
CP St. Paul Yard
UP Belt Yard
15
MINNESOTA, DAKOTA & WESTERN RAILWAY
101 2nd Street Phone: (218) 285-5290
International Falls, MN 56649 FAX: (218) 285-5742
Contact: Darwin Joslyn, General Manager E-mail: DarwinJoslyn@boiseinc.com
The Minnesota, Dakota & Western Railway The Minnesota, Dakota & Western dates to
(MD&W) serves a vital role in northern Minnesota’s August 15, 1910 and is one of the last vestiges of
papermaking industry by providing rail service to Minnesota’s once vast logging railroad system. Its
paper mills in International Falls, Minn. and Fort predecessor, the International Bridge & Terminal
Frances, Ontario. Company, was incorporated in 1906.
The railway switches pulpwood, chemicals
and other raw materials used in the papermaking
process and removes the finished paper products MD&W in Minnesota
for interchange with the CN. The MD&W has a fleet
of 2,000 freight cars, which helps assure prompt, Miles of track owned: 4
cost-effective rail service for Boise, Inc.—the largest Employees: 33
employer in Koochiching County and the owner of
the railway. Revenue units (2010): 10,000
Commodities carried: Wood pulp, pulpwood,
Minnesota, Dakota & Western consists of four chemicals, other raw materials
route miles of track and four locomotives. A modern and finished paper products
car and locomotive shop has been constructed by the Number of freight cars: 2,000
railway at International Falls. All track and equipment
is operated and maintained locally by a work force Number of locomotives: 4
of 33 employees. MD&W invests $200,000 annually to Payroll: (2010) $2,300,000
improve track, machinery and vehicles. The company
Headquarters, rail yard, shops:
handled 10,000 carloads in 2010, mostly related to pa-
per or paper products. Along with its rail operation, International Falls
the MD&W operates an Intermodal Hub Center with
CN to transport paper shipments from International
Falls, Fort Frances and Kenora.
O N TA R I O
Rainy
CN to Lake
Ft. Frances
Winnipeg
Ranier
Falls Jct.
International
Falls
MD&W Railway CN/BNSF to
a Boise Company Duluth-Superior
KOOCHICHING
16
MINNESOTA NORTHERN RAILROAD COMPANY
P.O. Box 705 (mailing address) Phone: 1-888-200-0415
1420 S. Main St. (218) 281-4704
Crookston, MN 56716 FAX: (218) 281-4705
Contacts:
Lee Lautt, Manager Administration & Marketing Phone: (218) 281-1750
E-mail: mnn@rrv.net
Richard Spiering, Operations Supervisor E-mail: mnnrs@rrv.net
LeAnn Halland, Customer Service E-mail: mnnll@rrv.net
The Minnesota Northern Railroad Company
(MNN) was formed in December 1996 when the Minnesota Northern in Minnesota
company purchased 204 miles of track from the
BNSF Railway. Lines extend from Crookston north Miles of track owned: 120
to Roseau and St. Hilaire, south from Crookston Employees: 18
to Shelly and east to Tilden Junction. Minnesota Payroll: (2010) $750,000
Northern also serves the “Wilds” industrial yard in
the southwest corner of Crookston. Total carloads: 9,000
Commodities: Grain, seeds,
Minnesota Northern connects with BNSF at sugar and sugar by-products,
Crookston and CP at Thief River Falls. Total mileage aggregates, coal, feeds, fertilizers
owned and operated is 197, including trackage rights
over other railroads. Number of locomotives: 10
Based in Crookston, Minnesota Northern has Number of freight cars: 40
18 employees and handles approximately 9,000
Headquarters, rail yards, shops: Crookston
carloads annually. Principal commodities carried
are grain, seeds, sugar and sugar by-products, ag-
gregates, coal, feeds and fertilizers.
LAKE OF
The company has ten locomotives; freight cars THE WOODS
are supplied by BNSF or CP and MNN has
leased 40 grain hopper cars. Minnesota Roseau
Northern grain customers can reach mar-
kets throughout North America, via MNN’s Badger
connections with BNSF and CP. Greenbush
KITTSON Strathcona ROSEAU
Middle River
Holt
TA NOR
MARSHALL
SO Thief River Falls
TH
MINNE
St. Hilaire PENNINGTON
ERN
BNSF to
Grand Forks RED LAKE
TH
E
Crookston
IN
E
NO L
R R T H S TA R
AI
LRO AD Eldred
Climax Tilden Jct. Erskine
Nielsville Beltrami POLK
Shelly
NORMAN MAHNOMEN
17
MINNESOTA PRAIRIE LINE INC.
2925 12th Street East Phone: (320) 864-7200
Glencoe, MN 55336 Website: http://www.tcwr.net/mpl
FAX: (320) 864-7220
Contacts: Mark Wegner, President (320) 864-7204 mwegner@tcwr.net
Craig Glaeser, Dir. Marketing & Sales (320) 864-7206 cglaeser@tcwr.net
Robin Bergeron, Director, Sales (320) 864-7211 rbergeron@tcwr.net
Bob Suko, Gen. Manager, Operations (320) 864-7210 bsuko@tcwr.net
Tim Jeske, Dir. Mechanical & Maintenance (320) 864-7214 tjeske@tcwr.net
Minnesota Valley Regional Rail authority
Julie Rath, Administrator for MVRRA (507) 637-4084 julie@redwoodfalls.org
Bob Fox, Chair, MVRRA Website: http://www.mvrra.org
The Minnesota Prairie Line Inc. (MPL), is a Prior to MPL’s operation of the rail line, it was
wholly owned subsidiary of the Twin Cities & West- operated by a series of short lines following abandon-
ern Railroad based in Glencoe, Minn. MPL serves ment by the Chicago and North Western in 1980. The
some of the most productive agricultural counties of line was originally part of the Minneapolis & St. Louis
Minnesota. MPL is the operator on 94 miles of track Railway’s line to the Missouri River.
between Norwood and Hanley Falls, Minn., which
is owned by the Minnesota Valley Regional Railroad
Authority (MVRRA).
MPL in Minnesota
Restoration started in April 2002 and MPL be-
gan operations in October 2002. With restoration of Miles of track operated: 94
dependable service, rail traffic has been increasing Locomotives 2
year after year. Annual track upgrades are being
Freight cars: 175
made with a goal of achieving 25 mph operation by
2011 from Winthrop east to Norwood. MPL works in Total carloads: More than 6,000
partnership with the MVRRA and the communities it Commodities: Grains, fertilizer, biodiesel,
serves to enhance rural economic development. canned vegetables, DDGs,
ethanol, salt and butter
MPL is the first railroad in Minnesota and the Headquarters: Glencoe
first in the nation to operate locomotives using five
percent biodiesel fuel, which is supplied by FUMPA Maintenance shops: Glencoe, Morton
Biofuels—an MPL customer in Redwood Falls.
BIG STONE
eill
e
tovnlv
n i
l
Orro
Ot
Od
ess
a
ANOKA
e ton
ppl
SWIFT
KANDYOHI WASHINGTON
A
n MINNEAPOLIS
Mil
an tso HENNEPIN
Milbank Wa C H I P P E W A MINNESOTA
rth ioo ST. PAUL
Hop ssen
No vev
ide
kins
otet
Camden
onn ahl alls Fal art
ls
nha
M gd F ta He
n
E
M
RAMSEY
atha
Pla NCO
ake
d
e e so d Pigs Eye/
Cha
W anit e e
lan
L A C Q U I PA R L E
Ru ville
Olilv be
Co ards
Bir a
Da bel
ton
Gr Minn acr
Bo ood
oL
ne
Daytons Bluff
Jon
ivi
d Is
nu
ia
r
rt
e
n
cto
log
S
wn
E
yards
ffal
Re
ng
wa
rw
o
yards
GL
t
O
Bro
He
No
Bu
Ste
Hanley Falls Savage
SOUTH YELLOW MEDICINE RENVILLE MCLEOD
CARVER
Hamburg SCOTT D A K O TA
DAKOTA Green Isle
e
Lak
SIBLEY
ho
ton
w
ES O
Ec
od
N
lvie
lhi
ing
rd
ls
IN
op
Wo
in
Fra n
x
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Fal
Minnesota Prairie Line
ylo
De
rto
rfa
Be
bo
nkl
Arl
thr
Fai
Mo
Gib
Ga
ood
Twin Cities & Western
TA
Win
REDWOOD
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Trackage rights
dw
Re
PR
AI
RIE LIN
E
18
MINNESOTA SOuTHERN RAILWAY, INC.
106 East Fletcher Street Phone: (507) 283-4269
P.O. Box 562 FAX: (507) 283-4272
Luverne, MN 56156
Contact: Brent Polanchek
The Minnesota Southern Railway (MSWY) op- and is privately owned. The track is owned by a re-
erates freight service on 42 miles of track from a gional rail authority, and is operated by Minnesota
connection with the Union Pacific at Agate (south of Southern under a 20-year lease agreement. The line
Worthington) to a connection with the BNSF Railway from Agate to Manley once belonged to the Chicago,
at Manley. St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway (later part of
the Chicago and North Western) and was part of a
Minnesota Southern is based in Luverne and em- branch line from Worthington to Sioux Falls, S.D.
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 MSWY in Minnesota
Southern carried 625 carloads in 2010, which helped
keep 2,200 trucks off the highways last year. Miles of track operated: 42
Employees: 7
The railroad is a large contributor to the local
Annual purchases: $200,000
economy. In 2010, the company spent approximately
$200,000 on purchases in the state. For the last Locomotives 2
five years, the railroad has focused on right-of-way Total carloads 625
improvements. Thousands of new ties have been
installed, rock ballast distributed to improve drain- Commodities: Feed, ethanol, fertilizer,
age, and bridges removed. waste oil
Administrative offices: Luverne
The company was founded in November 2001
BNSF to
Willmar,
Twin Cities
Jasper
SOUTH
DAKOTA ROCK NOBLES UP to
Mankato,
Twin Cities
Garretson
LUVERNE Magnolia Adrian
Rushmore
ley
n
Worthington
Ma
Beaver Creek Agate
MINNESOTA
SIOUX FALLS Hills
BNSF to UP to
Sioux City, IOWA Sioux City,
Lincoln Omaha
MINNESOTA SOUTHERN RAILWAY
Other railroads
19
NORTHERN LINES RAILWAY, LLC
2015 Sixth Street North Phone: (320) 253-8130
St. Cloud, MN 56303 FAX: (320) 253-5282
Website: http://www.anacostia.com/nlr/nlr.html
Contacts:
Daniel C. Rickel, President Phone: (320) 253-5983
James Zanoth, Office Manager/Customer Service (320) 253-8130
Justin Chalich, Manager Maintenance/Operations (320) 252-2718
FAX: (320) 259-0395
Northern Lines Railway (NLR) was formed in late Northern Lines has two locomotives and a wide
2004 and on April 23, 2005 began operating on 23 range of freight cars are supplied by BNSF.
miles of track leased from BNSF Railway in St. Cloud,
Minn., with branch lines extending to St. Joseph and NLR is a member of the Anacostia & Pacific Com-
Cold Spring, Minn. pany, Inc. (www.anacostia.com), a transportation and
development firm based in Chicago and New York,
NLR connects with BNSF at St. Cloud and handles which has developed eight new railroads since it was
approximately 8,750 carloads annually, providing formed in 1985.
daily switching service to major customers including
Borgert Products, Inc., Cold Spring Granite, Elec- At one time, NLR’s lines were operated by the
trolux, Maiers Transport & Warehousing, American Great Northern Railway, which was merged into Bur-
Iron, Knife River Corp., Manion’s Wholesale Building lington Northern when it was created in 1970.
Supply, Mathew Hall Lumber, Northern Metals, Quad
Graphics, Martin Marietta, RockTenn and Wenner
Gas Co. In addition, NLR offers multiple transload Northern Lines Railway
locations for customers lacking a rail siding.
Miles of track operated: 23
Since beginning operations in 2005, NLR has com- Employees: 6
pleted a tie replacement project along the St. Joseph Total carloads: 7,500
spur and a switch tie replacement project in the St.
Cloud yard. In 2009, NLR constructed about 1.5 miles Locomotives 2
of main track to facilitate a new road in Waite Park. Purchases in Minnesota $250,000
In 2010, Wenner Gas expanded by building a new Principal commodities: Aggregate, scrap steel,
rail-served tank car unloading facility in Rockville pulp board, paper and lumber.
and closed their operation in Cold Spring. Administrative offices: St. Cloud
BNSF to Fargo, Pacific Northwest
RN L
HE
NORT
IN
E
S
BENTON
R Y
STERNS
AIL
WA ST. CLOUD
St. Joseph
Rockville SHERBURNE
Cold Spring
BNSF to Minneapolis,
Chicago, Kansas City
20
NORTHERN PLAINS RAILROAD, INC.
100 Railroad Avenue
P.O. Box 38 Phone: (701) 229-3330
Fordville, ND 58231 FAX: (701) 229-3365
Web: www.nprail.com
Contacts:
Larry R. Jamieson, President larry_jamieson@nprail.com
Jesse J. Chalich, Asst. VP Marketing/Sales jesse_chalich@nprail.com
Robin C. Omdahl, Asst. VP Car Repair robin_omdahl@nprail.com
Todd L. Gullickson, Manager Operations todd_gullickson@nprail.com
The Northern Plains Railroad was formed in ville, N.D. NPRS is now a M1003 AAR certified shop.
January 1997 when the company leased 388 miles In addition, NPRS constructs and maintains tracks
of branch lines in Minnesota and North Dakota from on a contract basis. NPRS services locomotives on
Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). Lines extend west a contract basis as well.
from Thief River Falls to Devils Lake, N.D. and run
north and west from Fordville, N.D. to a connection Northern Plains was named 2010 Regional Rail-
with the CP at Kenmare, N.D. Northern Plains also road of the Year by Railway age magazine.
connects with CP at Thief River Falls.
Northern Plains
Based in Fordville N.D., Northern Plains has 63
employees. Northern Plains serves 40 communities, Miles of track: 410 (45 miles in Minnesota)
including six in Minnesota. Employees: 63
Payroll (2010) $4.1 million
The company has 22 locomotives and 60 freight
cars. A majority of freight cars are supplied by CP. Total carloads: 19,828
Northern Plains grain customers can reach all grain Locomotives: 22
markets through NPR’s connections with CP. Freight cars: 60
Northern Plains Rail Services, a NPR affiliate, Principal commodities: Small grains,
performs running repairs, contract maintenance aggregates, fertilizer
services, and painting for locomotives and freight Administrative offices: Fordville, N.D.
cars at its shops located in Erskine, Minn. and Ford-
CPR to
Canada
MARSHALL
Radium
To North Oslo Viking
Dakota Alvarado Warren
Points
Thief River Falls
PENNINGTON
NORTH
DAKOTA
POLK RED LAKE
CPR to
Twin Cities
21
OTTER TAIL VALLEY RAILROAD COMPANY
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) 205-6448
Troy Dodds, Operations Manager
Otter Tail Valley Railroad Company (OTVR) op- The line now operated by OTVR was once part of
erates 71 miles of former Burlington Northern (now the Great Northern Railway’s main line between St.
BNSF) trackage between Fergus Falls and Moorhead/ Cloud and Fargo/Moorhead. Great Northern merged
Dilworth, Minn. Branch lines extend from Fergus Falls into Burlington Northern when it was created in
to French and Hoot Lake, plus a five-mile branch 1970.
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 Otter Tail Valley in Minnesota
its owners, Anacostia & Pacific Company, Inc. OTVR
is one of 43 railroads owned by RailAmerica. Princi- Miles of track owned: 71
pal commodities transported by Otter Tail Valley are Employees: 11
grain, coal and ethanol. The railroad handles approxi- Locomotives: 6
mately 14,000 carloads annually and is locally man-
aged. The company owns six 1,750-2,000 h.p. diesel Total carloads: 14,000
locomotives and a fleet of covered hoppers. Other Principal commodities: Grain, coal, ethanol
freight cars are supplied through BNSF Railway, or are
Administrative offices: Fergus Falls
customer leased/owned. OTVR interchanges traffic
with BNSF at Dilworth yard, just east of Moorhead.
ad
he
or
Mo
th
or
h
ut
lw
BNSF to Seattle,
So
Di
BNSF to Minneapolis–St. Paul
Portland
o
rg
ille
Fa
in
sv
b
e
Sa
rn
Ba
le
r
da
ke
Ba
wn
La
y
sa
th
Ro
ke
le
La
s
rli
ot
Ca
Ho
Fergus Falls
ch
en
NORTH DAKOTA
Fr
SOUTH DAKOTA MINNESOTA
Otter Tail Valley Railroad
Trackage rights
22
PROGRESSIVE RAIL INCORPORATED
Airlake Industrial Park Phone: (952) 985-7245
21778 Highview Ave. 1-888-PRO-RAIL (776-7245)
Lakeville, MN 55044 FAX: (952) 985-7626
E-mail: info@progressiverail.com
Contacts: Website: http://www.progressiverail.com
Dave Fellon, President E-mail: dfellon@progressiverail.com
Lon Van Gemert, Chief Executive Officer lvangemert@progressiverail.com
Doug Whiteley, Chief Financial Officer dwhiteley@progressiverail.com
Duane Jenkins, VP Customer Service djenkins@progressiverail.com
Jeff Gillman, VP Carload Connection jgillman@progressiverail.com
Progressive Rail Incorporated is a contract rail In March 2004, in partnership with the Union
carrier that operates nearly 80 miles of line on behalf Pacific, PGR acquired the former Cannon Falls subdi-
of the Canadian Pacific and Union Pacific railroads vision and operations to Faribault, Minn. This expan-
in the greater Twin Cities area, including operations sion provides PGR with access to over 450 acres of
to Cannon Falls, Northfield and Faribault, Minn. Ad- rail-served industrial development property. In May
ministration offices are located in Lakeville. 2004, PGR assumed operations of Canadian Pacific’s
yard in Northfield, Minn, tying into its current Airlake
The railroad has 75 full-time employees and owns Industrial Park operation and the Rosemount to Ea-
nine diesel locomotives and a fleet of 12 60-ft. RBL gandale industrial spur.
and other equipped boxcars.
Progressive Rail also offers transloading services,
Progressive Rail began operations on September which allows customers to transfer cargo from rail to
25, 1996 in Airlake Industrial Park in Lakeville, for- truck, as well as provide temporary storage of materi-
merly operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway. In als in a heated, 110,000 sq. ft. warehouse.
February 2001, Progressive Rail leased nine miles of
track from CP, known as the Dan Patch Line, from
Bloomington to south Minneapolis.
Progressive Rail in Minnesota
Miles of track owned and operated: 80
Employees: 75
CPR to Canada
Locomotives: 9
ST. PAUL Total carloads: 11,751
MINNEAPOLIS Principal commodities: Forest products,
CPR, UP to Chicago cement/flyash, pipe, paper,
Richfield plastics, canned goods,
Bloomington Eagan chemicals, building products, salt
Rosemount Administrative offices: Lakeville
Lakeville
Randolph
Cannon Falls
Northfield PROGRESSIVE RAIL
PGR INCORPORATED
Trackage rights
Other railroads
Faribault
UP to Kansas City, Texas
23
RED RIVER VALLEY & WESTERN RAILROAD CO.
Contacts: Website: http://www.rrvw.net
Andrew J. Thompson, President & CEO P.O. Box 608 Phone: (701) 642-8257
Daniel 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) 643-4994
Dan Keogh, Manager Transportation Breckenridge, MN 56520 FAX: (218) 643-4980
Cal Gruebele, Manager Track & Structures
Dave Volk, Manager - Car Shop
The Red River Valley & Western Railroad Com- road and customers. Specialized equipment includes
pany (RRVW) began operations on July 19, 1987 over an automated washer for cleaning tank cars.
track acquired from Burlington Northern Railroad
(now BNSF). Since then, RRVW has doubled its freight Since 1987, more than $20 million has been allo-
volume and has moved more than 883,000 carloads cated for capital projects, including relaying 50 miles
of freight for customers. RRVW employs about 100 of track with heavier rail. In addition, RRVW spends
people, up from 45 at start-up. about $4 million each year on track maintenance.
More than 100 miles of track are surfaced each year
RRVW owns or operates on 576 route miles of for smoother operation.
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 RRVW in Minnesota
Railroad of the Year by Railway age. Miles of track owned: 440 (2 in Minnesota)
Employees: 100
RRVW presently has about 60 customers in Min-
nesota and North Dakota. The railroad serves ap- Total carloads: 55,000
proximately 35 grain elevators (including two shuttle Locomotives 13
train facilities in Breckenridge), which generate more
than 50 percent of the traffic. The railroad’s loco- Commodities: Sugar, corn syrup, aggregates,
motive shops and a large marshaling yard are located lumber, plastic, fertilizer,
in Breckenridge, Minn., while administrative offices petroleum products, coal, steel,
are located across the Red River in Wahpeton, N.D. farm machinery, ag processing by-products
Administrative offices: Wahpeton, N.D.
In mid-2009, RRVW dedicated a new two-track,
19,200 sq.ft. freight car repair facility in Breckenridge Operations and car repair facility: Breckenridge
to handle running and contract repairs for the rail-
BNSF to
To Casselton Fargo/Moorhead
Red River Colfax
MINNESOTA
Kent
Valley W estern N. DAKOTA
WILKIN
R A I L R O A D C O M PA N Y
Dwight Breckenridge
To Oakes
Wahpeton
Ba
Mo
Doran
rne
or
RRV&W Breckenridge Area
et
y
on
RRV&W RICHLAND
Campbell
Trackage rights
Aberdeen
Line Jct.
Ge
Li eo
Ha
Ha
dg
dg
n
Fa
Fa
Te
es
nk
nk
er
e
irm
nn
r
in
wo
w
ns
ey
so
ou
ou
on
od
n
BNSF to
d
nt
n
S. DAKOTA Minneapolis
24
ST. CROIx VALLEY RAILROAD
175 West 4th Street Phone: 1-888-200-0415
P.O. Box 563 (mailing address) (320) 358-0383
Rush City, MN 55069 FAX: (320) 358-0276
Contacts:
Lee Lautt, Manager Admin. & Marketing Phone: (218) 281-1750
E-mail: mnn@rrv.net
Richard Spiering, Operations supervisor E-mail: mnnrs@rrv.net
LeAnn Halland, Customer Service E-mail: mnnll@rrv.net
The St. Croix Valley Railroad owns and oper- Principal commodities carried include grain,
ates 36 miles of former BNSF Railway trackage from flour, and fertilizers. The railroad handles approxi-
Hinckley to North Branch. Interchange is made with mately 3,000 carloads annually and is locally man-
BNSF at Hinckley. aged. The railroad owns two locomotives; all freight
cars are supplied by BNSF.
St. Croix Valley has two employees and serves
three communities: North Branch, Pine City and The line from Hinckley to North Branch once
Rush City. The railroad is operated as a subsidiary of belonged to the Northern Pacific Railway and was
Minnesota Northern Railroad Co. (MNN). SCXY was part of its main line from Duluth to St. Paul.
purchased from BNSF in September 1997.
BNSF to
Duluth/Superior
St. Croix Valley in Minnesota
Hinckley
Miles of track owned: 36
Employees: 2
SF
BN Payroll: (2010) $150,000
Annual carloads: 3,000
Principal commodities: Grain, flour,
fertilizers
BNSF to Minneapolis Locomotives: 2
Pine Headquarters, rail yards, shops: Rush City
City
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25
TWIN CITIES & WESTERN RAILROAD COMPANY
2925 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 mwegner@tcwr.net
Craig Glaeser, Dir. Marketing and Sales (320) 864-7206 cglaeser@tcwr.net
Robin Bergeron, Dir., Sales (320) 864-7211 rbergeron@tcwr.net
Bob Suko, Gen. Manager, Operations (320) 864-7210 bsuko@tcwr.net
Tim Jeske, Dir. Mechanical & Maintenance (320) 864-7214 tjeske@tcwr.net
Katie Masog, Dir. of Accounting (320) 864-7207 kmasog@tcwr.net
Sue Bombeck, Office Manager (320) 864-7201 sbombeck@tcwr.net
Lori Koelln, Mgr. Car Accounting & Utilization (320) 864-7216 lkoelln@tcwr.net
Holli Schafer, Mgr. Revenue Accounting (320) 864-7203 hschafer@tcwr.net
Diane McCall, Mgr. Transportation Services (320) 864-7213 dmccall@tcwr.net
The Twin Cities and Western Railroad (TC&W) terminals in Minneapolis and St. Paul through use of
operates 229 miles of track and trackage rights connecting rail carriers.
serving some of the most productive agricultural
counties of Minnesota. TC&W shipments consist In 2008, TC&W was named Regional Railroad of
primarily of commodities in the agricultural markets. the Year by Railway age magazine.
TC&W also provides intermodal service between
Montevideo and St. Paul.
TC&W in Minnesota
Operations began on July 27, 1991 over track and
trackage rights acquired from the Soo Line Railroad Miles of track owned: 146
(now Canadian Pacific) between the Twin Cities and Employees: 68
Milbank, S.D.—formerly known as the “Ortonville
Payroll and fringes: $5.6 million
Line.” Prior to TC&W and Soo Line, the track was
part of the former Milwaukee Road’s main line pro- Locomotives: 12
viding freight and passenger service to the Pacific Freight cars: More than 700
Northwest. The main line was constructed in the
1870s by the Hastings & Dakota Railway. Total carloads: 18,000
Commodities: Aggregates, animal fats/tallow,
TC&W interchanges in the Twin Cities with BNSF, beet pulp, canned/frozen vegetables,
CN, CP, MNNR and UP. TC&W has direct access to coal, DDGs, ethanol, fertilizers,
Camden Place barge terminal on the Mississippi forest products, grains and
River in North Minneapolis and Savage on the Min- organic grains, pellets, sugar
nesota River. TC&W can access all other major river Headquarters: Glencoe
Maintenance shops: Glencoe, Morton
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26
OTHER RAILROADS SERVING MINNESOTA
AMTRAK
(National Railroad Passenger Corporation) Website: http://www.amtrak.com
525 West Van Buren Street
Suite 200 Phone: (312) 880-5118
Chicago, IL 60607 FAX: (312) 880-5167
Contact: Derrick L. James E-mail: jamesde@amtrak.com
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 1-800-423-1273
St. Louis & Lake Counties Regional Rail Authority FAX: (218) 733-7596
506 West Michigan Street Website: http://www.northshorescenicrailroad.org
Duluth, 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.
27
To St. To Duluth To
Cloud Hugo
10
B
N
1 65
SF
35W
R
To 169
MNN
Monticello 12 ANOKA
BN
S 610
F
B
35E
NSF
94
To Withrow,
35E CN to Wisconsin
10
RAMSEY
694 252 CP
494 694 61
To
MNNR
Glenwood 94
BNSF
CP
Central Ave.
University Ave.
Universityl Ave.
36
R
MNN
CP
HENNEPIN 100 81
WASHINGTON
BN
36 694
SF
169
51 5
CP
280 To Eau Claire
35E 120
55 St. Paul
28
12 394 UP
BNSF
BNS
To Willmar F BNSF
5
MNNR 94 94
CP
61
CP Minneapolis 55 3
7 5 13
35W
100
62 52
62
&W 110
TC 212 77
To Glencoe 169
5 494 94 494
149
169
52
CP
212
C
UP 55
P
PGR
BNS
13
F
Mississippi R.
35E
PG
35W
R
61
52
P
U
101
TC
Cliff Road
&
UP
W
To Mankato 77
BNSF, CP to
CP La Crosse
SCOTT D A K O TA
To Northfield To Mason City
7-10-06
MINNESOTA’S
RAILROADS
2011
2011
