PIERRE, S.D. — A state legislative committee has endorsed funding for a project to help rebuild the Sisseton-Milbank Railroad, moving the appropriation bill forward, KELO-TV reports.
The Senate Transportation committee unanimously approved the bill that would provide $6.25 million from the state’s general fund to help rebuild the railroad from its current state, which limits trains to 10 mph, to 25-mph operation. That money would be needed to help match a requested federal grant of about $25 million. The legislation, SB-16, now goes to the legislature’s Joint Committee on Appropriations.
The 37-mile Sisseton-Milbank, owned by the Twin Cities & Western, serves a grain elevator in Sisseton, but is limited to 263,000-pound cars rather than the current 286,000-pound standard because of the condition of its right-of-way [see “South Dakota seeks funds to upgrade deteriorating short line,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 13, 2022]. The improvements would allow the Sisseton elevator to add a 110-car loading facility, and the Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux Tribe would start using the line to transport propane if the route is upgraded, according to railroad president Mark Wagner.
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