Office of the Governor
For Immediate Release: Monday, June 3, 2002
For More Information: Bob Mercer or Mike Mueller, 773-3212

State Completes Purchase Of Britton Rail Line

(Pierre) – Gov. Bill Janklow announced Monday that the State of South Dakota has completed the purchase of the final stretch of the 73-mile railroad line that runs from Aberdeen through Britton to Geneseo Junction, North Dakota.

The line, which serves elevators at Britton, Claremont and Amherst, has been out of operation for more than two years because of wet track conditions and damage. Repair work began this spring on the South Dakota segment. Plans call for starting repairs on the North Dakota segment this summer. The goal is to restore train service this year.

“This is important to those elevators and the producers who live in the area, but it’s far bigger because it also means our agriculture producers and other shippers will have access to more markets and more competition. They will be able to connect directly to major carriers in North Dakota and South Dakota. It also opens possibilities for more processing of agriculture products in both states,” Janklow said. “This is like opening a canal between two great oceans.”

The state will pay $400,000 for the 23-mile stretch from the South Dakota border north to Geneseo Junction, N.D.. The line has been owned since 1997 by Rutland Lines Inc., operating as the Red River Valley and Western Railroad.

Janklow and Jerry Prostrollo, head of the South Dakota Railroad Authority, will attend a formal signing ceremony at noon Tuesday in Britton. The event will be held at Wikre's Family Restaurant, 754 S. Main.

The 50-mile stretch from Aberdeen to the border was donated to the State of South Dakota in June 2001 by the Burlington Northern Sante Fe railroad. The estimated cost for repairing the 50-mile segment is about $320,000. The initial projection for repairing the final 23-mile stretch from the border to Geneseo Junction, N.D., is about $250,000. Plans call for the Marshall County Railroad Authority to lease the line from the State of South Dakota and recruit a short-line railroad to operate the line.

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