(The Associated Press circulated the following article on August 2.)
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — The company that operates Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad expects to add 600 new grain cars to its fleet to handle harvest demands in South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa, a railroad official said Tuesday.
Forty-eight covered hopper cars arrived in Highmore during the weekend, where they will be loaded with wheat, Lynn Anderson, a senior vice president for the DM&E, said.
The rest will be delivered during the next five months at a rate of about 50 cars every two weeks, he said. The addition will cost about $45 million.
“It’s part of an effort on our part to improve our service capability,” Anderson said. “We’re making major strides.”
Large grain harvests in recent years created a need for more rail cars, Anderson said.
“This year we’re looking at record wheat production in the state of South Dakota,” Anderson said.
Most of the new cars will go first to South Dakota and then will be shifted to other states according to demand, he said.
DM&E also is working on a $2 billion expansion project to haul coal to eastern power plants. The company wants to extend its line to Powder River Basin coal fields in Wyoming and upgrade its existing line in South Dakota and Minnesota.
The project involves building about 280 miles of new track and upgrading 600 miles of existing track.