Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad
Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad is a Class II railroad operating across South Dakota and southern Minnesota in the northern plains of the United States. Portions of the railroad also extend into Wyoming, and Nebraska. It is owned and operated by Genesee & Wyoming.History
The Genesee & Wyoming, a holding company of mostly short line railroads, formed the Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern to acquire the western end of the former Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad rail line from the Canadian Pacific Railway. The acquisition was completed on May 30, 2014, for $210 million. Most of its employees came over from the DM&E.Route
The Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern owns of track. The main line runs between Tracy, Minnesota, and Rapid City, South Dakota, with branches north to Colony, Wyoming, and south to Dakota Junction, Nebraska. Much of the main line parallels U.S. Route 14. There are three short branches as well:
- Blunt, South Dakota–Onida, South Dakota
- Huron, South Dakota–Yale, South Dakota
- Redfield, South Dakota–Mansfield, South Dakota
The RCPE also has trackage rights over the BNSF Railway between Yale and Watertown, South Dakota, and Wolsey, South Dakota, and Aberdeen, South Dakota.Operations
Customers on the line ship approximately 64,000 carloads annually of grain, bentonite clay, ethanol, fertilizer and other products.
