(The Kansas City Start posted the following Associated Press to its website on July 2.)
OWATONNA, Minn. — The Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad will have the unrestricted right to use a 2.5-mile stretch of Union Pacific-owned track in Owatonna under an agreement between the two railroads.
The agreement was made public last Thursday in a letter written by a DM&E attorney that was filed with the federal Surface Transportation Board and posted on the agency’s Web site. A Union Pacific spokesman confirmed the agreement.
The DM&E line runs 600 miles between Winona and South Dakota. The Union Pacific line connects DM&E’s east-west-running line to the former I&M Rail Link, a north-south line that intersects the DM&E at Owatonna.
DM&E bought the former I&M line last year, renaming it the Iowa, Chicago & Eastern Railroad. But for DM&E to run trains onto the IC&E, it needed to use the Union Pacific track.
DM&E initially sought a federal order giving it the right to use the line. However, the transportation board declined to issue the order, saying it preferred a solution negotiated by the two railroads.
Terms of the agreement were not announced, but Union Pacific spokesman John Bromley said the terms were similar to a past offer made public. In that offer, Union Pacific asked for $500,000 in exchange for permanent rights of use on the Owatonna track.
DM&E President Kevin Schieffer, citing a policy against discussing specifics of private agreements, declined to comment on the terms but said he was pleased with the agreement. He previously had complained that Union Pacific’s price was unreasonably high.