Dakota Southern

Company History: The DSRC runs 190 miles from Kadoka to Mitchell, South Dakota. The line was originally part of the Milwaukee Road but the state took ownership sometime after 1980. Dakota Southern became the designated operator in 1985. They also operated a route from Napa to Platte but service on that line ended in 1989. By 2000, they were down to just one customer in Mitchell and the rest of the line became inactive. However, a 2005 haulage rights agreement with BNSF brought the DSRC back from the brink. New owners and a 16 million dollar grant for track upgrades later, the line is in service as far as Kimball with plans for 110 car grain shuttle trains plus a fair amount of fertilizer traffic. Following a 2014 government grant, the line was upgraded as far as Kennebec, permitting the operation of 115 car grain shuttles two years later.

In 2015, the state expressed interest in restoring service on the Napa to Platte segment that had last seen a train in 1989. The following year, DSRC signed a ten year lease for the line between Napa Junction and Ravinia.

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