South Dakota DOT to sell all state-owned rail lines

The South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) will issue an invitation for proposals (IFP) to purchase all state-owned rail lines, after the state's Railroad Board decided yesterday they should be sold.

The lines to be sold include:
• the 285-mile Mitchell-to-Rapid City Line (MRC);
• the 77-mile Britton Line, which runs from Aberdeen to Geneseo Junction Connection, North Dakota, and Jarrett Junction to Britton, South Dakota;
• the 83-mile Napa-Platte Line, which runs between Napa Junction and Platte, South Dakota;
• the 68-mile Sioux Valley Line, which runs between Elk Point to Canton, South Dakota, and Beresford, South Dakota, to Hawarden, Iowa;
• the 15.3-mile Yale Line between Huron and Yale; and
• the 4.2-mile Wolsey, South Dakota, interchange.

Prospective buyers may propose to purchase a single line, a portion of a line or a combination of any of the lines, according to a draft IFP.

The SDDOT is expected publish rules for the sale on its website on Aug. 26. Offers are due Nov. 21 and the board will review all offers on Dec. 4, keloland.com reported.

The state government bought hundreds of miles of track in the late 1970s, when the Milwaukee Road went bankrupt, according to the news station.