2/26/2013

Rail Industry Trends Article
Progressive Rail to serve new Minnesota grain facility; Union Pacific to serve new Texas rail park

Grain marketing and storage firm Interstate Mills L.L.C. held a "golden shovel" ceremony Feb. 20 to mark the start of construction on a grain handling and storage terminal in the Great Western Industrial Park in Randolph, Minn.

To be completed in fall, the terminal will include a unit train loadout facility to be served by Progressive Rail Inc., which interchanges with Union Pacific Railroad.

The terminal is projected to handle 15 million to 20 million bushels of grain annually. The facility is designed to store 5 million bushels with a maximum dumping efficiency of 60,000 bushels per hour and drying capacity of 10,000 bushels per hour.

Meanwhile, Frac Resources and Frontier Logistics L.P. last week broke ground for the Mission Rail Park near San Antonio.

To open by mid-summer, the 1,000-acre rail park will serve oil companies in the Eagle Ford Shale that need to move or store frac sand, crude oil or natural gas. In addition, the park will be marketed to companies that need to move lumber, ethanol, corn syrup, sand or other commodities that require rail transportation.

The project includes the construction of a grade crossing and a rail line to connect with a UP mainline. A rail facility to be built in the park is designed to accommodate 100-car unit trains.