CSX, UP to serve new Illinois grain facility come late 2025
1/6/2025
By Jeff Stagl, Managing Editor
Before the sound of “Auld Lang Syne” rang in the new year, FS Grain broke ground on a shuttle loader facility adjacent to its grain elevator in St. Anne, Illinois.
To be served by CSX and Union Pacific Railroad, the shuttle loader will help transform the elevator into a multimodal grain hub, providing area farmers access to new markets in the southern United States and Mexico, FS Grain officials say. Grain also will be moved from St. Anne — which is located about 70 miles south of Chicago — to points in the U.S. Southeast and West.
Headquartered in Morris, Illinois, FS Grain provides grain services at 19 locations in northern Illinois. The company was formed by six member cooperatives and GROWMARK Inc., an agricultural cooperative that serves grain cooperatives, retailers, businesses and other customers in the United States and Canada.
To open in late 2025, the shuttle loader will feature a 1.5-mile oval loop track so rail cars can be loaded more efficiently. The loading facility will help increase accessibility and capacity to better accommodate high demand, FS Grain officials say. The facility’s total annual throughput capacity is expected to reach a minimum of 40 million bushels.
The loop track’s capacity is 120 rail cars. The shuttle loader is designed to handle up to 450 trucks and load up to one unit train — or 460,000 bushels of grain — in an eight-hour period.
The facility will feature state-of-the-art technology and automation so grain can move quickly through the elevator to reduce loading and unloading times for trucks and rail cars, FS Grain officials say.
“We are building it with the mindset of speed and efficiency,” said FS Grain General Manager Cory Winstead in an interview with WCIA Channel 3 in Champaign, Illinois, that’s posted online. “The exciting thing is to [open] more markets to farmers in this area.”
A UP grain shuttle train typically includes a dedicated set of 110 or more covered hoppers that form a unit train to transport grain from an origin to a destination. Union Pacific RailroadWorking with CSX and UP on more transportation options will help the St. Anne elevator become a premier choice for area farmers, he said in an online post.
“We are excited to partner with Union Pacific and CSX to open these new market opportunities to our farmer customers,” Winstead said. “We’re always looking for ways to grow and innovate that give our farmer customers a competitive edge in the global grain market.”
CSX expects to derive benefits from the project by expanding its service into St. Anne.
“Our collaboration on the new facility reinforces our commitment to delivering superior service for all our customers. Together, we are driving growth and strengthening the foundation for future success,” said CSX Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Arthur Adams.
UP, too, is anticipating some long-term business gains by working with FS Grain.
“This facility strengthens our grain origination base in northeast Illinois and provides additional supply options for Union Pacific grain customers,” said UP Director of Marketing and Sales J.J. Sullivan.
To be built by GROWMARK Construction, the shuttle loader will take about 18 months to fully complete.
