MORTON, Minn — More than 100 people gathered in Morton for the grand opening of the rehabilitated Minnesota Prairie Line Railroad – which will allow freight service on a line stretching from Wood Lake to Norwood, the Associated Press reported.
Gene Lutteke manages the South Central Cooperative of Fairfax and Gibbon. He says the line will have a tremendous impact on the economy.
The Minnesota Valley Railroad Authority invested $7.5 million to put the line back in operation and save it from abandonment, which its original owner sought in 1982.
The Rail Authority hopes the state and federal governments will now help with $8 million to $10 million to bring the speed of the short-line railroad up to 25 miles per hour.