LA CRESCENT, Minn. When construction equipment appeared next to the Canadian Pacific railroad tracks at Millers Crossing in January, sand mining opponents pounced.

Two citizen groups, Citizens Acting for Rail Safety and the Houston County Protectors issued a news release claiming the railroad was constructing a siding that would lay the groundwork for an industrial loading facility and pave the way for large-scale silica sand mining once the countys three-year moratorium expires in March.

Thats big news in our county the potential for frac sand mining in our county, said Ken Tschumper, a member of the HCP group. This rail siding offers the opportunity to have a loading facility in the same area.

As it turned out, the cranes were there to replace parts of the bridge over Millers Pond, but the railroad does have plans to upgrade its network from La Crescent south as it looks to expand its fastest growing business segment: North Dakota crude oil.

CP has four major projects in the works this year, including a realignment of its La Crescent switch yard, the Millers Crossing bridge replacement and new sidings on its Marquette line, which follows the Mississippi River south through Iowa and west to Kansas City.

The two-mile sidings one near completion in Harpers Ferry, Iowa, and another proposed for the tracks north of Brownsville, Minn. would allow trains to pass on what is currently a single-track line.

Most of CPs traffic including almost all the oil now crosses the Mississippi at La Crescent and follows the main line east through Wisconsin.

CP has been coy about the reasons for the projects but rail safety advocates suspect it signals plans to move more oil on the Marquette line, which now averages fewer than one oil unit train per week, according to reports filed with Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa officials.

We add capacity based on the routes where we believe we have demand, said spokesman Andy Cummings, who notes the railroad moves all types of commodities, including grain, coal and cars.

The companys 2014 investors book notes that crude both from Alberta, Canada, and North Dakota is the companys fastest-growing line of business expected to nearly double in 2015. The report indicates CP is working with other carriers who could pick up crude shipments in Kansas City for delivery to Gulf Coast refineries.

See original here:
Looking to gain crude, sand markets, CP expanding rail in Houston County

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February 23, 2015 at 5:36 pm by Mr HomeBuilder
Category: Siding replacement