MnDOT Awards $9.6MM to 11 Rail Improvement Projects
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
Twin Cities & Western Railroad, Railway Age’s 2008 Short Line of the Year, is receiving a $328,424 grant from the Minnesota Department of Transportation to extend the stub track over a recently acquired parcel and to create a full siding with connections to its main line, enabling greater access and track capacity to support a large transload operation. (TC&W Map)
The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) is distributing a total of $9.6 million in grants to 11 freight railroad improvement projects that it said will support economic development in different regions of the state.
Grants will be provided through the Minnesota Rail Service Improvement (MRSI) program, which was established in 1976 to help strengthen Minnesota’s shipping economy by improving rail service in the state. The funding for FY 2024 was approved during the 2023 legislative special session, MnDOT reported May 7.
The program’s application period, which opened last October and closed in December, drew 19 responses requesting a total of $22.5 million. Eligible applicants include railroads, rail shippers, political subdivisions of Minnesota, and federal agencies seeking to complete a major improvement or rehabilitation of railroad rights of way or other railroad facilities. MnDOT said it evaluates each application “for completeness and whether it meets requirements for project type, budget and anticipated completion date.”
The 11 companies whose projects were selected for the FY 2024 MRSI grant program are:
- Progressive Rail, Inc. (Lakeville): $468,137 to renew and improve eight bridge structures located on the railroad’s 97-mile system of Minnesota rail lines.
- Northern Country Co-op (Lansing): $1.9 million to develop a unit train loading facility and install storage bins to hold product until it can be loaded onto a train.
- Meadowlands Farmers Co-op (Echo): $1.1 million to construct a 2,150-foot rail siding to transport fertilizer for a new agronomy center to be built adjacent to the siding.
- Seven Rivers Intermodal Terminal LLC (Winona): $511,446 to add 2,440 feet of track and two internal switches within an existing terminal to increase yard capacity and inbound shipments for distribution.
- American Crystal Sugar Company (Crookston): $960,000 to expand a packaging warehouse to cover the rail spur adjacent to the building, increasing the ability to access and load railcars.
- Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (Watkins): $1.5 million to install new railcar offloading stations with outdoor bulk storage and material handling upgrades.
- DeRock Capital Group, LLC (Hector): $246,000 to add a switch to the side track, 350 feet of rail, ties, and rail bed; to update two existing loading rail docks; and to complete groundwork next to the rail spur to increase transloading capabilities.
- City of Little Falls (Little Falls): $613,600 to reconstruct and update an existing signal to an active warning railroad crossing, install ADA-compliant pedestrian crosswalks, and close an existing road crossing of the spur line, which MnDOT said will improve safety and accessibility.
- Sanimax USA, LLC (South St. Paul): $400,000 to improve a rail loading system, enabling the direct loading of materials into railcars, and to install a conveyance system linking the truck loadout to the rail loading area.
- Minnesota Northern Railroad Company (Crookston): $1.56 million to develop land for a new industrial park and innovation center, including the installation of 2,478 feet of track and site preparation for an initial spur; a turnout from the track to the site; bin storage; and a crossing to the spur.
- Twin Cities & Western Railroad Company (Railway Age’s 2008 Short Line of the Year; near Cologne): $328,424 to extend the stub track over a recently acquired parcel and to create a full siding with connections to its main line, enabling greater access and track capacity to support a large transload operation.
“Improving Minnesota’s rail service gives local businesses more opportunities to compete in our global and national economy,” MnDOT Freight and Rail Programs Supervisor Kelly Christenson said. “The increased number of grant applications we received this year demonstrates the importance of improving the freight rail infrastructure across the state.”
MnDOT discributed approximately $6.9 million in grants to nine projects in FY 2023.
