Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corp., bidding to become the third U.S. railroad to serve Wyoming’s coal fields, may be able to use a federal loan program to fund a $2.5 billion plan to build and repair tracks.
Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said the railroad can use new provisions in federal transport spending law to apply for a loan package covering 1,300 miles of track.
The railroad wants to build 262 miles of track west from South Dakota to the coal fields and rebuild existing lines to haul as much as 100 million tons of coal a year.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. and Union Pacific Corp., the two biggest U.S. railroads, carry more than 400 million tons of coal annually from the Powder River Basin, accounting for more than $4 billion in annual revenue.
Dakota, based in Sioux Falls, S.D., received U.S. regulatory approval to build the project three years ago and has been seeking funding ever since.
