(The following article by Shelley Nelson was published in the Duluth News-Tribune.)
DULUTH, Minn. — A new railroad track in Superior could help keep grain exports moving through the Twin Ports.
The City Council on Wednesday approved granting a railroad easement to the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad and Cenex Harvest States Cooperative that will help keep Harvest States competitive in a world market.
With about 80 percent of Harvest States’ inbound grain being transported by Burlington Northern-Santa Fe, it’s vital for the company to keep grain moving through the Twin Ports more efficiently, said Dan Mack, Harvest States’ vice president of transportation.
The railroad delivers trains 13 to 52 cars long to Harvest States’ waterfront facility in Superior, limiting the company to 120 to 130 cars that can be unloaded.
The rail easement granted by the council will allow Burlington Northern-Santa Fe to build a track parallel to the existing track at the site. The additional track would create the capacity for Harvest States to use larger trains, known as shuttle trains.
Shuttle trains decrease freight costs, Mack said. The economic benefit of using a 110-car shuttle train over a 52-car train is about $450 per car or 12 cents a bushel, he said.
“To be competitive, it’s important to get the cost per bushel down,” said Andy Lisak, director of the Development Association. If the city didn’t support the measure, Lisak said, it was likely grain could be diverted to facilities with the capacity to handle the larger shuttle trains.
With the local economic impact from Harvest States estimated at $16 million to $20 million annually, it’s not something the city can afford to lose, Lisak said.
“It is important to us,” Mayor Sharon Kotter said. “Harvest States needs the facility.”
Harvest States employs 45 people in Superior, with up to 60 working during the peak shipping season. Last year, about 49.6 million bushels of wheat, corn, soybeans and flax were transported through the Superior elevator.
Harvest States and the railroad have made concessions to make the new facility work. The company has agreed to replace an aging sewer line that runs in the alley where the new track is planned to be built.
“With a 100-year-old sewer and someone willing to replace it, that’s frosting on the cake,” Lisak said.