Newest GWI short line debuts
Written by Douglas John BowenGenesee & Wyoming Inc.'s newest rail subsidiary, Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad, Inc. (RCP&E), began operations Sunday, June 1, 2014, as Canadian Pacific completed the sale of the line, the western stretch of the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern.
GWI paid about $210 million for 670 miles of right-of-way, and about $7.5 million more for the purchase of certain inventory, equipment, and vehicles, Darien, Conn.-based GWI said Friday, May 30.
“We have the right people, locomotives, equipment, and track infrastructure in place to provide the customer-focused service for which short line railroads are known,” says RCP&E President Brad Ovitt. “The RCP&E will be locally managed and operated, which enables decisions to be made closest to the customer and empowers our people to resolve issues with the goal of operating safely and exceeding customer expectations.”
Customers on the line currently ship approximately 52,000 carloads annually of grain, bentonite clay, ethanol, fertilizer, and other products, GWI said.
Headquartered in Rapid City, S.D., RCP&E operates northwest to Colony, Wyo., southwest to Dakota Junction, Neb., and east to Tracy, Minn. Mechanical shops are located in Rapid City and Huron, S.D., with train crew-start/change locations in Rapid City, Belle Fourche, Pierre, Huron and Brookings, S.D., and Tracy, Minn.
RCP&E interchanges with Class I carriers BNSF, Canadian Pacific, and Union Pacific, as well as short line Nebraska Northwestern.
