The Minnesota Department of Transportation has awarded nearly $4.5 million to five freight rail projects to improve freight rail service that supports economic development in different regions of the state.
The Minnesota Rail Service Improvement Program, established in 1976, strengthens Minnesota’s freight economy through grants and loans for freight rail infrastructure projects that connect Minnesota goods and commodities to regional and international markets. Since 2017, $28.6 million in competitive MRSI program grants have helped fund 21 completed freight rail infrastructure projects.
“These projects strengthen Minnesota’s freight rail network and provide critical connections which help move Minnesota goods and products to markets more efficiently,” said MnDOT Commissioner Nancy Daubenberger. “Investing in freight rail infrastructure supports economic growth in communities across the state.”
The five projects selected and their funding amounts are:
- Minnesota Northern Railroad (Crookston) — $750,000 to extend the Minnesota Northern Rail Terminal into the Crookston Industrial Park. The project will install more than 2,600 feet of new track, add a switch to the existing track and construct a new turnout.
- Lake Agassiz Bean, LLC (Euclid) — $900,000 to install a mainline turnout, 2,487 feet of new track, new safety equipment, and a concrete loading area to efficiently load product directly into railcars on site.
- Cloquet Terminal Railroad Co, Inc. (Cloquet) — $840,000 to upgrade 2,500 feet of aging track to new, heavier-duty track and renew two switch points on the Cloquet Terminal Railroad’s mainline connection.
- JMJ Properties (Staples) — $1 million to establish new freight rail service at an industrial facility to transport granite and potentially other commodities in central Minnesota. The project includes 13,500 feet of new track.
- Denco II LLC (Morris) — $1 million to construct new rail siding that connects the Denco II facility to the mainline BNSF connection. The project will enable on-site loading and rail shipment of ethanol, and includes installing new track, switches and a railcar loading area.
This most recent round of MRSI funding includes $1 million in bond funding appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature during the 2025 legislative session, and $3.5 million in existing bond funding from previous years.
Learn more about Minnesota Rail Service Improvement program and the projects it has helped fund.
