Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad(reporting markRCPE) 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] In December, 2025, the RCPE offered $3.125 million to purchase two segments of state-owned track: 4.2 miles at the Wolsey Interchange with BNSF, and the 15.3-mile branch between Huron, SD, and Yale, SD. The offer included some conditions, such as the state of South Dakota being able to repurchase the Yale branch should RCPE abandon it, and the right of first refusal should the railroad sell any or all of the properties to a third party. The sale was approved in January, 2026.[8][9]
Route
The Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern owns 743 miles (1,196km) 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.[10] 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.[11]
Huron Subdivision – Tracy, Minnesota to Huron, South Dakota - 136 miles
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]
On May 17, 2020, SD40-2 #3437 collided with a 2002-built Ford F250 pickup at Rapid City East, South Dakota while leading a manifest train, but it was repaired and returned to service.[13][14][15][16] However, the unit is slated to be scrapped or rebuilt by the G&W as part a fine resolution agreement with the EPA.[17]
Locomotive fleet
The vast majority of the fleet consisted of EMD SD40-2s.
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