Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad
Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad
Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad began operations in 1986 from the remnants a line poised for abandonment Chicago & North Western Railroad. It has since become one of the largest regional (Class II) railroads in the United States, with over 2,500 miles of track.
The initial DM&E network consisted of 825 miles of track located principally in South Dakota and Minnesota, and 140 miles of trackage rights. The DM&E mainline extends from the Mississippi River at Winona, Minnesota, across southern Minnesota and central South Dakota to Rapid City.
In 1996, DM&E acquired more than 200 miles of track from Union Pacific extending from Colony, Wyoming, through Rapid City to Crawford, Nebraska. Of the 1,103 miles, 908 miles are owned by the DM&E and the remainder are operated under long-term trackage rights agreements.
DM&E acquired the IMRL in 2002. For legal and regulatory historical reasons, the IMRL was brought into the DM&E as a separate entity—Iowa, Chicago & Eastern (IC&E) Railroad—yet both the DM&E and IC&E were operated as a single system under common management by Cedar American Rail Holdings.
The IC&E territory covered 1,400 miles of track in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin. Its main lines extended from Chicago, Illinois, to Kansas City, Missouri, and from Sabula, Iowa, along the Mississippi River northwesterly to Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, using trackage rights over the Canadian Pacific from La Crescent, Minnesota. Branch lines (known as the "Corn Lines") extend from Marquette, Iowa, west to Mason City and Sheldon, and from Austin, Minnesota, to Jackson and to Rosemount.
In December 2008, the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) approved the merger of the IC&E and DM&E under the DM&E name. Today, the IC&E territory is referred to as the DM&E South.
Canadian Pacific (CP) officially gained control of the DM&E on October 30, 2008, after a year-long federal regulatory process. The acquisition was announced September 4, 2007, and closing held October 4, 2007. The acquisition concluded a competitive process to find the best approach to advance the DM&E's Powder River Basin (PRB) project. To date, the CP has not decided if it will build the PRB project.
For more information, please visit the website: http://www8.cpr.ca/cms/English/General+Public/Community/DHSoo.htm#dme
Canadian Pacific
Gulf Canada Square
401-9th Ave. SW
Calgary, Alberta
T2P 4Z4
Canada
Phone: 1-800-777-4499, then press 3 for a directory
TTY Line: 1-800-855-0511
Sales inquiries and rate requests: 1-877-277-7283
*CP Police Emergencies: 1-800-716-9132
