(The following report appeared on the Marshall County Times website on December 6.)
MARSHALL COUNTY, S.C. — An agreement for the sale of the state-owned railroad line to BNSF Railway Co., should go a long way towards solidifying the future of the rail line through Britton.
That’s the assessment of Marshall County Rail Authority board member Curt Jones. Pending federal approval, the $40.3 million deal could be completed yet this month.
A condition of sale is that BNSF must allow other South Dakota railroads to operate trains on the track, or, in the case of the smallest railroads, agree to haul freight for them. That includes expanded access through the BNSF transfer point in Aberdeen.
“The agreement should increase traffic over the line going through Britton which makes it more beneficial,” said Jones. “And maybe more importantly, it will help increase interest from the rest of the state in our line.”
Jones said the agreement does have restrictions that will limit rail traffic in some areas, but he didn’t feel that the pact will limit the Britton line in any way.
“It opens up the possibility of ag products going south or to any of the ethanol plants that might run short of corn,” noted Jones. “Also,
some of our corn and soybeans can now be shipped by rail through Aberdeen going south. Previously, we didn’t have any access going that direction. Hopefully, we’ll also eventually have fertilizer coming from the north to serve not only stations on this line but the rest of the state.”
The agreement allows all farm and forestry products to be transported on the line, but it does prohibit some items. Some of those include coal, cement, and fly ash from power plants. It also limited the DM&E Railroad to just 24 cars at a time going north to hook up with the Canadian Pacific Railroad.
Gov. Mike Rounds said increased access to markets will be a big plus for producers and rural communities.
“As a condition of the sale, we negotiated a settlement protecting and expanding access to the core line for our South Dakota shippers,” said Rounds. “This is access to worldwide markets that our smaller carriers have never before had. And the more we can get rail service to small rural communities, the better chance we have to keep them as viable economic entities.”
The South Dakota track was originally designed for just a single hauler, so a planned siding north of Aberdeen will also help foster rail traffic through northeast South Dakota.
“An interchange track five miles north of Aberdeen will be built so that 100-plus cars can be pulled off to the side to let traffic go through,” said Jones. “Our state rail authority is already in the process of negotiating those contracts, and that will definitely be a plus for our line.”
Jones sees the agreement as opening doors for future growth in the Britton area.
“I feel this agreement helps to solidify the rail line in Britton. It helps to make sure that Truss Pro’s has a supply of lumber, our grain business can expand, and I think, down the road, it’s a possibility that some other manufacturers may want to set up shop on this line.”
Nothing is carved in stone, but Jones is optimistic.
“We hope we’ll have more cars available from DM&E and maybe even somebody else, and that we have better access to new markets. Before we were limited because DM&E couldn’t come through Aberdeen to give us competitive markets, so we’ll see how all that works.
“But as this agreement starts operating, I’m optimistic there will be expansion,” concluded Jones. “Only time will tell.”