17 October 2007
DM&E Trains Move Faster Through Pierre
Pierre South Dakota USA - Trains traveling through Pierre
and Fort Pierre will be moving at faster speeds thanks to recent track improvements by the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad.
DM&E trains will now be running through the area at speeds of up to 40 miles per hour, compared to the current speed of 10 mph,
according to a release from the Sioux Falls-based railroad.
"The big change is going to be that the trains are going to block the crossing for less of a time," said Pierre Mayor Dennis
Eisnach said. "Because we've got brand new rail, that means they can travel faster. Does that present some safety concerns?
Probably some. I'm not sure how much more than what the normal traffic is."
DM&E officials said most trains will travel through the area at a maximum of 25 miles per hour and the new speeds are consistent
with the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Railroad Administration.
"I think this is a very positive thing," Eisnach said. "We've got better rails than we had before, we have better safety
because the rails are there and the trains are going to be going faster at the intersections."
Canadian Pacific Railway has completed its acquisition of DM&E but the deal is under review by the U.S. Surface Transportation
Board. That process could take more than six months, officials have said.
Canadian Pacific announced in September it would pay $1.48 billion cash for the DM&E and its subsidiaries. If CP follows through on
the DM&E's long-planned expansion project to carry coal from the Powder River Basin of Wyoming, the deal could cost CP
an additional $1 billion.
DM&E wants to rebuild 600 miles of track across South Dakota and Minnesota and add 260 miles of track around the southern end of
the Black Hills to the Wyoming coal fields.
The rebuilt railroad would haul low-sulfur coal east to power plants, allowing CP to compete with Union Pacific and BNSF
Railway, which combined to carry about 450 million tons of coal from the basin last year.
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