South Dakota will ask FRA for money for $84 million Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern project
The South Dakota Railroad Board will ask the Federal Railroad Administration for $22 million to help rebuild the Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern line between Rapid City and Fort Pierre, S.D. KELO-TV reports the federal money, along with $20 million appropriated by the state legislature, would go toward an $84 million project to replace 89 miles of rail and upgrade bridges to allow for heavier, faster trains. The state funds are contingent on the federal grant, and are available until 2029. Railroad owner Genesee & Wyoming would provide $42 million for the project.
Legislator hopeful special session will provide Minnesota funding for second Amtrak train
A Winona, Minn., lawmaker says Minnesota’s state legislature is close to approving $10 million in state funding that would make possible a second daily Amtrak train between Chicago and Minneapolis-St. Paul. The Winona Post reports state Rep. Gene Pelowski (Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party) says funding is part of a budget deal that is the focus of a special legislative session, which must pass a two-year budget plan by July 2 to avoid a shutdown of the state government. Republican state Sen. Jeremy Miller said he was advocating strongly for the rail funding but declined to consider the likelihood of its passage. The $10 million, which the state failed to approve in 2020, would match a previously awarded federal grant, along with money allocated by Wisconsin and Amtrak [see “Digest: Minnesota fails to provide funding …,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 28, 2020].
Environmental report advances effort for Coachella Valley passenger service
A long-running effort to increase passenger rail service between Los Angeles and the Coachella Valley area including Palm Springs, Calif., has moved forward with release of a draft environmental impact statement, but trains on the proposed 144-mile, four-county route are still years away. The Desert Sun newspaper reports the plan would add up to five new stations between the Loma Linda-Redlands and Indio-Coachella areas for two daily round trips along the route, but the Riverside County Transportation Commission and the other agencies involved must still determine station sites and find $1 billion in funding. Palm Springs is currently served by the triweekly Sunset Limited.
John That’s modern Capitalism for you.
“South Dakota will ask FRA for money”. Money the CNW didn’t want to spend. Money that DM&E wanted to borrow from RRIF. Money that CP didn’t want to spend. So the thumb always points backwards, and let the state make up the difference.