(The Associated Press circulated the following article on March 9.)
YANKTON, S.D. — Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad is working with the state to buy most of the state rail system that it’s been leasing since South Dakota took over the track 20 years ago.
Bruce Lindholm, with the state Transportation Department, said BNSF is using its option to buy the core system that runs from Aberdeen through Mitchell and Yankton to Sioux City, Iowa; from Sioux Falls to Canton, and from Canton to Mitchell.
Some legal questions and obligations remain to be worked out, and the state will be paid only what it paid for the line, plus improvements, he said.
South Dakota bought the line from the bankrupt Milwaukee Road for $15 million in the early 1980s.
Lindholm said shippers along the route shouldn’t see any change in service after the sale.