Twin Cities & Western Railroad will buy 200 new grain cars and upgrade track in central Minnesota with up to $22 million from the Federal Railroad Administration, part of a federal rail grant round that sent more than $400 million to short lines handling grain.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) selected the project for construction under the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements, or CRISI, program, according to FRA's project summaries. The project will also replace turnouts and switches so the line can handle the heavier cars and 286,000-pound railcar capacity. FRA said the work is meant to reduce delays and improve reliability.
Twin Cities & Western, based in Glencoe, Minnesota, operates more than 360 miles of track in Minnesota and South Dakota and calls itself the state's largest short-line railroad. It will cover a 20% nonfederal share of the project, which qualifies for CRISI's rural set-aside.
The award is larger than the railroad's earlier CRISI work. A $2 million grant, matched 50% by the railroad, converted 1.3 miles of track under slow orders to welded rail, according to 2025 testimony to the House transportation committee from the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association. A statement from Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., included in that testimony said the railroad carries more than 30,000 freight cars a year.
FRA's Oct. 19 announcement covered $2.3 billion for 105 projects in 45 states and the District of Columbia, plus more than $1.9 billion in nonfederal matching funds. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Grain Transportation Report put the grain short-line share at more than $400 million. FRA did not give a delivery schedule for the new cars.
