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South Dakota

3 buyers · 6 tenders · checked 2026-10-08

No passenger rail or open tender; six FRA awards to SDDOT above the floor, led by Sisseton Milbank and Pierre to Rapid City.

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0Metro systems operating
3Buyers tracked
6Tenders tracked
4Cities tracked
Live pipeline
$24.7m CRISI grant, Sisseton Milbank (planned); $22m FRA award, Pierre to Rapid City upgrade (in execution); $17.6m CRISI STC grant, DMVW Britton line; $14.06m CRISI grant, RCPE segment; $9.96m CRISI STC grant, D&I Railroad rail relay; $8.31m CRISI grant, Chamberlain to Presho (Ringneck & Western)
Technology areas
Track & civil

Key figures

Sisseton Milbank grant$24.7mFRA CRISI grant to SDDOT for the Sisseton Milbank Railroad Modernization Project, December 2025; total funding $30.95m.
1 source · primary
  • ● USAspending award 69A36526420960CRSSD · FRA CRISI grant to SDDOT titled Sisseton Milbank Railroad Modernization Project: federal $24,712,204, non-federal $6,239,956, total $30,952,160; signed 2025-12-15; period 2025-10-01 to 2029-10-31 (published 2025-12-15 · checked 2026-10-08)
Pierre to Rapid City award$22mFRA National Infrastructure Investments award to SDDOT for the 160-mile Pierre to Rapid City upgrade; total funding $84m on USAspending.
1 source · primary
  • ● USAspending award 69A36524420060RASSD · FRA National Infrastructure Investments (assistance listing 20.933) award to SDDOT for the Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Pierre to Rapid City upgrade: federal $22,000,000, non-federal $62,000,000, total $84,000,000; outlays $21,574,622.55; signed 2024-09-06; period 2024-06-03 to 2027-12-31 (published 2024-09-06 · checked 2026-10-08)
FY2027 rail capital authority$44mSDDOT FY2027 Railroad Capital Improvement budget authority, just over $44m after the Legislature added $30.6m; used when SDDOT administers STC grants.
1 source · primary
  • ● State Railroad Board minutes, 18 March 2026 · FY2027 Railroad Capital Improvement budget authority just over $44 million after the Legislature added $30.6 million; FRA STC notice still awaited; 2026 maintenance plans approved for Napa-Platte (SDDOT, no operating lease) and DMVW on the Britton Line; weed contracts of $7,200 and up to $60,000 (published 2026-03-18 · checked 2026-10-08)
Railroad Trust Fund loans$4.6mFour Railroad Trust Fund loans in the five years to the 2022 plan; the fund has no dedicated revenue and received a one-time $20m legislative contribution in 2020.
1 source · primary
  • ● South Dakota State Rail Plan, December 2022 · SDDOT plan: about 1,935 active route miles in 2021; Railroad Trust Fund with no dedicated revenue and four loans totalling $4.6 million in five years; one-time $20 million legislative contribution in 2020; Table 33 state-owned segments and lessees; Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern a G&W subsidiary; SMRR owned by Twin Cities & Western; no Amtrak service (published 2022-12 · checked 2026-10-08)
Operating rail miles1,977 milesOperating rail lines in South Dakota per SDDOT; the 2022 plan counts about 1,935 active route miles in 2021.
2 sources · all primary
  • ● SDDOT Current Rail System and Operators page · 4,420.5 miles built, 1,977 miles of operating rail lines today; the State bought the essential lines left after the 1980 Milwaukee Road embargo and holds a state-owned railroad system (published undated · checked 2026-10-08)
  • ● South Dakota State Rail Plan, December 2022 · SDDOT plan: about 1,935 active route miles in 2021; Railroad Trust Fund with no dedicated revenue and four loans totalling $4.6 million in five years; one-time $20 million legislative contribution in 2020; Table 33 state-owned segments and lessees; Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern a G&W subsidiary; SMRR owned by Twin Cities & Western; no Amtrak service (published 2022-12 · checked 2026-10-08)
State Rail Plan expiryDec 2026Expiry of the 2022 State Rail Plan (adopted 2022, amended 2024); SDDOT awarded the successor plan and Napa-Platte feasibility study contract to CPCS Transcom Inc. in June 2026, executed 27 July 2026.
2 sources · all primary

Buyers

BuyerTypeTendersContracts awarded
South Dakota Department of TransportationState DOT60
Dakota, Missouri Valley & Western RailroadFreight railroad00
Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern RailroadFreight railroad00

Tenders

TenderBuyerStatusValue bandNext key date
Pierre to Rapid City rail upgradeSDDOTIn execution$5–25m
Sisseton Milbank Railroad modernizationSDDOTPlanned$5–25m
RCPE Pierre to Rapid City remaining segmentSDDOTPlanned$5–25m
DMVW Britton line track repairSDDOTPlanned$5–25m
Ringneck & Western Chamberlain-Presho grade repairSDDOTPlanned$5–25m
D&I Railroad 11.84-mile rail relaySDDOTPlanned$5–25m

Cities

CityNetwork statusNetworks
PierreSDDOT headquarters and the Railroad Board's meeting place; on the Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern line whose Pierre to Rapid City upgrade is funded by a federal award.
Rapid CityWestern end of the 160-mile Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern subdivision being upgraded under a federal award; the railroad takes its name from the city.
SissetonNorthern end of the Sisseton Milbank Railroad line to Milbank, to be rebuilt under a federal CRISI grant.
AberdeenSouthern end of the state-owned Britton line to Geneseo Junction, leased to DMVW, where it joins the BNSF Appleton subdivision.

Withheld in the free surface

  • Capex in this region (3)
  • Live pipeline value (3)
  • Market narrative

Full detail withheld: 3 fields. In the United States edition · See a fully open example

  • Napa platte lease (2)
  • Lease dates stale (2)

Full detail withheld: 2 fields. In the United States edition · See a fully open example

Sources

  • ● SDDOT Railroad Grant Projects and Maps page · Office oversees FRA and state grants; Special Transportation Circumstance grants are the primary railroad funding for SDDOT because the state has no Amtrak service; railroads apply through the Railroad Board and SDDOT administers environmental clearance, bidding, construction and reimbursement (published undated · checked 2026-10-08)
  • ● SDDOT Current Rail System and Operators page · 4,420.5 miles built, 1,977 miles of operating rail lines today; the State bought the essential lines left after the 1980 Milwaukee Road embargo and holds a state-owned railroad system (published undated · checked 2026-10-08)
  • ● State Railroad Board minutes, 16 July 2025 · Board terminated Dakota Southern's lease of the state-owned Napa Junction to Tyndall line for default (rent of $179,134 unpaid), authorised STB filings, repair contracts and a lawsuit; Ringneck & Western and G&W representatives attended (published 2025-07-16 · checked 2026-10-08)
  • ● State Railroad Board minutes, 18 March 2026 · FY2027 Railroad Capital Improvement budget authority just over $44 million after the Legislature added $30.6 million; FRA STC notice still awaited; 2026 maintenance plans approved for Napa-Platte (SDDOT, no operating lease) and DMVW on the Britton Line; weed contracts of $7,200 and up to $60,000 (published 2026-03-18 · checked 2026-10-08)
  • ● SDDOT memo to the Railroad Board on the State Rail Plan update, 10 November 2025 · Asks permission to procure consulting services for the 2026 State Rail Plan; current plan adopted 2022, amended 2024, expires December 2026; about 18 months needed; plan required for STC eligibility (published 2025-11-10 · checked 2026-10-08)
  • ● South Dakota State Rail Plan, December 2022 · SDDOT plan: about 1,935 active route miles in 2021; Railroad Trust Fund with no dedicated revenue and four loans totalling $4.6 million in five years; one-time $20 million legislative contribution in 2020; Table 33 state-owned segments and lessees; Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern a G&W subsidiary; SMRR owned by Twin Cities & Western; no Amtrak service (published 2022-12 · checked 2026-10-08)
  • ● USAspending award 69A36525421360CRSSD · FRA award to SDDOT for transload and shop tracks on Ringneck & Western property east of Plankinton: federal $1,799,009; below the floor (published 2024-11-01 · checked 2026-10-08)
  • ● USAspending award search, FRA awards with South Dakota place of performance · spending_by_award query on FRA grants and cooperative agreements, 1 October 2017 to 8 October 2026, South Dakota place of performance; 18 records, six at or above $5m, all to SDDOT (published 2026-10-08 · checked 2026-10-08)

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