Overview | |
---|---|
Headquarters | Rapid City, South Dakota |
Reporting mark | RCPE |
Locale | Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming |
Dates of operation | 2014–Present |
Predecessor | Canadian Pacific Railway |
Technical | |
Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
Length | 743 miles |
Other | |
Website | Official website |
Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad( reporting mark RCPE) is a Class II freight railroad operating across South Dakota and southern Minnesota in the northern plains of the United States. Portions of the railroad also extend into Wyoming and Nebraska. It is owned and operated by Genesee & Wyoming. The primary commodities shipped are grain, clay, and cement. [1] Operations began on June 1, 2014. [2]
Genesee & Wyoming, a holding company of mostly shortline railroads, formed the Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern to acquire the western end of the former Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad (DM&E) rail line from the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The RCPE and DM&E entered an agreement on January 2, 2014, wherein RCPE would acquire 670 miles of track and 219 miles of trackage rights from the DM&E. [3] The acquisition was completed on May 30, 2014, for $210 million. Most of its employees came over from the DM&E. [4] Operations began on June 1, 2014.
The State of South Dakota partnered with the RCPE to enhance rail service and keep agricultural commodities moving to market. [5] In 2021, the RCPE received state and federal funding totalling US$42 million to upgrade 163 miles of rail between Fort Pierre and Rapid City. [6] This project updated that portion of the line with 136 pound continuous welded rail. [7] This increased the weight capacity of rail cars from 263,000-pound to 286,000-pound and the speed limit from 10 mph to a minimum of 25 mph. [7]
The Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern owns 743 miles (1,196 km) of track. The main line runs between Tracy, Minnesota, and Rapid City, South Dakota, with branches north to Colony, in Crook County, Wyoming, and south to Dakota Junction, Nebraska. [8] Much of the main line from Tracy to Rapid City is paralleled by U.S. Route 14. The route travels the length of the state from the eastern border with Minnesota, to the western border with Wyoming, crossing the Missouri river at Pierre. [9]
There are three short branches as well:
There are interchanges with the BNSF Railway at Wolsey, South Dakota, Crawford, Nebraska, and Florence, Minnesota. The interchange with the Canadian Pacific is at Tracy, Minnesota. The RCPE has trackage rights from Tracy to Mankato, Minnesota on the CPR, where there is an interchange with the Union Pacific Railroad. [3] The RCPE also has trackage rights over the BNSF between Yale, SD to Watertown, South Dakota, and Wolsey, South Dakota to Aberdeen, South Dakota. [3] [4]
As of 2023 [update] , weight capacity between Fort Pierre, South Dakota and Tracy, Minnesota is 286,000 gross tons per axle, while the weight capacity between Onida, South Dakota and Blunt, South Dakota is 263,000 gross tons per axle. [10]
The Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway is a Class II railroad owned by Genesee & Wyoming. It operates 339 miles (546 km) of track from the Pensacola, Florida export terminals, west of downtown, north to Columbus, Mississippi, with trackage rights along BNSF Railway to Amory, Mississippi. A branch uses trackage rights along Norfolk Southern from Kimbrough, Alabama west and south to Mobile, Alabama, with separate trackage at the end of the line in Mobile.
The Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad is a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Kansas City. Before its purchase, it was the largest Class II railroad in the United States, operating across South Dakota and southern Minnesota in the Northern Plains of the United States. Portions of the railroad also extended into Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois. It interchanged with all seven U.S. Class I railroads.
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The Huron Subdivision or Huron Sub is a railway line owned and operated by the Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad (RCPE), a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming. The line stretches for 136 miles (219 km) across southwestern Minnesota and southeastern South Dakota, forming the eastern end of the RCPE shortline network. Originally the line was a part of the Chicago and North Western Railway. From 1986 it was a part of Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad, which later became a subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Railway.
The Pierre Subdivision is an east–west railway line owned and operated by the Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad (RCPE), a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming. The line stretches approximately 118 miles (190 km) across the central parts of South Dakota, connecting Pierre, South Dakota with Huron, South Dakota. It is also a part of the RCPE's east–west main route. Traffic on this line is solely freight traffic.
The Onida Subdivision is a branch line railway segment owned, maintained and operated by the Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad (RCPE), a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming. It connects the city of Onida to the company's east–west main line, the Pierre Subdivision at Blunt, South Dakota. The line is approximately 17 miles (27 km) in length.
The PRC Subdivision is a railway line owned and operated by the Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad (RCPE), a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming. The line is the company's important east–west route, connecting Pierre to Rapid City, both in South Dakota. The line is a freight-only line, stretching for approximately 170 miles (270 km) across central South Dakota. It uses the Chicago and North Western Railroad Bridge to cross the Missouri River between Pierre and Fort Pierre.
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The Tracy Subdivision or Tracy Sub is a railway line in southern Minnesota owned and operated by the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad (DM&E) subsidiary of Canadian Pacific. It begins at the end of the Waseca Subdivision in Waseca, Minnesota in the east and runs approximately 124 miles (200 km) west to Tracy, Minnesota. At Tracy, the rails continue as the Huron Subdivision of the Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad (RCPE). U.S. Highway 14 closely follows the train route.
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