PIERRE, S.D. — Genesee & Wyoming’s Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad is proposing to buy two sections of state-owned rail lines totaling 19.5 miles from the state of South Dakota.
At a Dec. 17 meeting of the state Railroad Board and Railroad Authority, the RCP&E proposed to pay $3.125 million for 4.2 miles of track and associated land of the Wolsey Interchange, where the RCP&E connects with BNSF Railway, and the 15.3-mile Yale Rail Line, a branch line between Yale and Huron, S.D. The RCP&E currently leases both properties, but said in a presentation to the railroad board that it was making the proposal because it recognizes that the state Department of Transportation “continues to evaluate transferring state-owned rail infrastructure to private ownership at appropriate value.”
The RCP&E proposal includes a number of conditions, including the ability of the state to repurchase the Yale Line if the RCP&E were to seek abandonment, and a right of first refusal for the state if the railroad offers to sell any or all of the properties to a third party.
KELO-TV reports that state Transportation Secretary Joel Jundt called the offer “an exciting thing for us to contemplate,” and said the board would hear public comments and make a decision at its January meeting.
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