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Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern west lines sale slated for April
G&W will push into the PRB.
Genesee & Wyoming is quite big now and has trackage or rights in many places in the US.
Good luck to G&W. Hopefully they will be able to better serve the area and add new customers to the route!
Braden Kayganich, the meaning of the point about coal trains is a bit muddy, but I bet it boils down to CP retaining the exclusive right to do that (or not) and G&W not having the right to do it.
I would concur that it is great to see the depth of reporting that is in this article. However, I suspect that the depth of reporting found in most articles is directly proportionate to the length of the press release.
Under the terms of the sale, it is CP who may push into PRB, not G&W.
The article states " … two daily through trains to and from Tracy …" Freights from Tracy to where?
I bet the employees are happy to be able to switch companies from the tyrant at CP (aka EHH) to a (most likely, as I don’t know much about management at G&W) much better and friendlier work environment. The customers will probably also be happy about improved customer service as CP’s has for years left a lot to be desired. As for the Powder River Basin project, I don’t think that was ever a good idea from the start (the competition from UP & BNSF would be too great, the UP & BNSF both have shorter distances to markets than the DM&E could provide, and the cost would be astronomical), and will probably never happen. Great information on this article, as a sidenote. I like to see articles this thorough on the news wire.
Here we had a dynamic regional railroad (DM&E) which was poised to build into the Powder River Basin. CP comes in, ends the PRB effort, sells off the west end and leaves with the best part.
This is a really sweet deal for the CP at the going prices for rail property @ todays price’s of around $100,000/mile for real estate and track. I can only hope there is more to this transaction than what has been reported. Otherwise, the CP made somewhere around 140 million US$ on the deal. It’s especially worth noting that the track between Pierre and Rapid City, 164 miles, has a speed limit of only 10 MPH because of the condition of the track and road bed.
“DM&E/CP is retaining the common carrier obligation with respect to the handling of coal trains to, from and over the DM&E lines until Dec. 31, 2030”
This makes me think CP is retaining the right to build into the PRB, and that if it actually went ahead with construction (who knows what energy needs will transpire 5-10 years from now) would have trackage rights on the RCP&E from the junction with the new line (PRB to Wall, SD?) east to Tracy, MN. I’m sure CP, not RCP&E, would have to pay for substantial upgrades to handle coal trains.
Thanks to Steve Glischinski for a well written and informative entry.
John, there’s an ethanol plant at Aurora, South Dakota. Some of the unit trains from there make it all the way to the East Coast.
I live 12 miles west of Winona. On Sunday spotted my first unit tanker train on DM&E tracks. Eastbound. Wasn’t quick enkugh to see whether the locomotives were in the old DM&E or the CP livery or something else. I’m a train-watcher. If there have been others earlier I missed them. Anyone have any idea of place of origin? Am unaware of any DM&E connection to the North Dakota or Canadian oil fields.
G&W=The Borg.
Dislike to see G&W acquiring More rail lines. Their paint scheme is hideous & I hear “stories” all the time about their policies toward rail buffs.
Regarding “highlights” bullets 2 and 3 above: It seems that Canadian Pathetic wants to retain as much benefit of traffic as possible, without taking full responsibility for the maintenance- of-way required …
Having spent some time watching the DM&E in Belle Fouche a few summers ago, I am glad it will live on. This purchase was more-or-less a bust for CP, and I believe it was one of the reasons the old management was ousted.
Frankly, the previous management of DM&E was very enterprising. Refugees from the staff of former Senator Larry Pressler, they really did a great job. CP would have done better to hold that management team in place as a subsidiary and simply allowed them some badly-needed capital. I think that returns would now be flowing.
The new owners are very careful to get a good return on their money, so the railroad should carry on and grow slowly.
G&W is a well run operation and would not invest over 200 million to purchase a line that doesn’t provide a return on their money. I wish them luck keeping a line active that was almost left for dead 30 years ago. (Milw. rd. and CNW 4-ever)
i wish them luck.