BROOKINGS, S.D. -- The 1,100-mile Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad will mark its 15th anniversary on Wednesday, September 5. Since acquiring tracks of the former Chicago and North Western (now Union Pacific) in 1986, the DM&E has become a major grain carrier in Minnesota and South Dakota, moving 1.1 billion bushels of corn, wheat and soybeans. Freight volume has increased 46 percent to more than 63,000 carloads annually -- half of which consists of grain and grain products. DM&E currently has 350 employees, more than twice the 130 employees at startup. Seventy, who joined the railroad in 1986, are still with the company.

Working closely with local shippers, connecting railroads, and communities along the line, the DM&E has been able to attract new industry and open new markets for customers. This includes three rail-to-barge terminals at Winona, Minn., where grain is transloaded for shipment to the Gulf.

In May 1996, DM&E purchased 201 miles of Union Pacific track between Colony, Wyo., Rapid City, S.D. and Crawford, Neb. By adding the Colony Line, DM&E preserved rail service between the Black Hills region and Nebraska and opened a new gateway at Crawford. This has given DM&E shippers better access to markets in the West, including Denver, Colo., and export markets in Asia, via ports in the Pacific Northwest.

Meanwhile, DM&E is preparing for tomorrow. The railroad is working aggressively to provide competitive service and improve market access options for its customers. DM&E is also working to develop a major upgrade of its tracks. This will allow the railroad to accommodate today's heavier 111-ton shipments of agricultural and other products, so farmers in southern Minnesota and central South Dakota farmers will no longer be at a competitive disadvantage, as well as provide new service to power generators seeking cleaner, lower-cost Wyoming low-sulfur coal.

Track project would add 2,880 jobs

The $1.4 billion project initially would create an estimated 505 permanent railroad jobs in Minnesota, South Dakota and Wyoming, plus 2,375 direct construction jobs during the three-year construction period. Because the upgrade will allow DM&E to haul more grain, more efficiently, the project has received wide support from agricultural organizations, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

DM&E President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Schieffer said, "We are very proud of our progress and our employees can take great pride in their accomplishments. This has been an incredible success story. Now, we are on the threshold of making the DM&E boom in the 21st century. With the help of our entire DM&E team and the continued support of our customers and communities along the line, I know we will succeed in making the DM&E the most efficient, productive railroad in the country."

Since 1986, DM&E has spent more than $132 million in capital expenditures to upgrade tracks and bridges and install more than one million crossties and 120 miles of quiet and safer welded rail. DM&E has also added a fleet of approximately 5,000 freight cars since 1996, including 2,600 dedicated to grain service. (For the first ten years, DM&E depended on connecting railroads to supply freight cars.) The railroad also expanded its fleet of locomotives from 37 to 65 today, including 30 3,000 h.p. SD40-3 units acquired in 1999 and 2000.