Journal file photo A Swingmaster swing loader replaces 85-pound rail with new 115-pound, continuous weld rail on the Minnesota Prairie Line between Winthrop and Gibbon in August 2018.

By Fritz Busch

Staff Writer

GLENCOE — A $1.5 million federal rail improvement grant announced Thursday will improve rail service in south central Minnesota.

The project addresses deteriorating condition of the Twin Cities & Western (TC&W) Railroad on 12.2 miles of track between Glencoe and Plato.

Details include eliminating rail joints with flash-butt welding to convert existing infrastructure to continuous welded rail that is stronger, safer, reduces mainline derailments and decreases repair and maintenance costs.

Improvements will build off previous work to enable a continuous rail segment west of Glencoe all the way to the Twin Cities. The project qualifies for the statutorily-required set-aside for rural investment.

The TC&W will provide a 50% match.

Grants totaling $368 million in rail infrastructure and safety improvements announced by the Biden administration will go to projects across the country.

The TC&W and its affiliate lines, the Minnesota Prairie Line (MPL) and Sisseton Milbank Railroad include 360 miles of track serving agricultural counties in Minnesota and South Dakota, through Montevideo, Granite Falls and Renville County.

Interchanging with all Class 1 railroads in the Twin Cities, the TC&W, Minnesota’s largest short loine railroad, provides a gateway to world markets for the region with 229 miles of track from St. Paul to Milbank, S.D.

The TC&W and its affiliates, the MPL and Sisseton Milbank Railroad (SMRR) operate over 360 miles of track in Minnesota and South Dakota.

The MPL is the operator/agent of 94 miles of track between Hanley Falls and Norwood-Young America, Mn.

The TC&W offers:

• Trans-loading sites connecting the entire North American rail network. TC&W trans-loading locations include Cologne, Glencoe, Montevideo, Morton and SMRR locations in South Dakota.

• Short and long-term railcar store services.

• Light railcar repair including remove service.

• Access to developable sites and industrial parks to invest in along the railroad.

The TC&W began operating July 27, 1991, over what was formally known as the “Ortonville Line” operated by the Soo Line Railroad company (now Canadian Pacific Railway) between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Milbank, S.D.

The MPL began serving customers in October 2002, restoring rail service to a line that was dormant for two years after a prior operator ceased operations.

In July 2012, the TC&W acquired SMRR. The TC&W is a sister company of the Wahpeton, N.D.-based Red River Valley &Western Railroad.

For more information, visit tcwr.net.

(Fritz Busch can be emailed at fbusch@nujournal.com.)