(The following appeared on the Progressive Railroading website on August 25, 2010.)
On Monday, federal, state and local officials — including Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.) — held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the North Dakota Port Services intermodal facility in Minot, N.D. To be served by BNSF Railway Co., the facility began accepting containers the same day.
The terminal will serve as a dual-purpose facility for loading and unloading intermodal containers and oil-related products ranging from crude oil to sand used in the oil drilling process. The facility also is expected to handle large volumes of grain and other agricultural products.
“This facility opens up so many more possibilities for agriculture in our state, and helps accelerate oil revenue as well,” said Pomeroy in a prepared statement.
The federal government has provided more than $4.3 million for development projects in and around the facility since 2009.