Ringneck and Western Railroad Moving Forward with Line Upgrades

Courtesy of RWRR

PIERRE, S.D. – Ringneck and Western Railroad is moving forward with upgrades on a line that runs from Mitchell to Presho.

KCCR Radio spoke about the upgrades that Ringneck and Western Railroad is moving forward on. The upgrades are taking place on a line “that runs from Mitchell to Presho.”

Jack Dokken, Program Manager for Air, Rail, and Transit, said that a “meet-and-pass siding on that line in Brule County is being planned.” The board wanted to reduce its footprint to lessen the wetland impact, but they decided during a railroad board meeting to construct the siding to “10,000 feet as originally planned.” Now, they are working to get everything straightened out regarding the environmental process. 

According to KCRR, the “siding would be located two miles east of Kimball, just east of a large grain elevator on the line.” In Lyman County, another project “is also waiting for environmental studies to be completed.” For Ringneck and Western’s efficiency and growth project, the subrecipient will be working toward preliminary engineering and the environmental review. For its Increasing Rail Resiliency project, there were some anticipated challenges particularly because some of the work needs to be done within the waterways, and “the subrecipient is tasked with different hydraulic studies.”

Rail operators in the state are “busy with projects and investments in the state’s rail system,” according to Jack Dokken. While potential funding of up to $200 million in grants and applications, “the state match is relatively low from a percentage standpoint.”

The state of South Dakota has 10 active grants with more than $80 million requested via grant applications. KCCR Radio reports that the largest project is a rebuild of the Pierre to Rapid City subdivision at $84 million.