Staging yard is 'sweet-and-sour'

situation for NU

By RON LARSEN

Journal Staff Writer

SIOUX FALLS, S.D.--There will be a railroad staging yard just east of New Ulm as a result of the Surface Transportation Board giving Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad approval to proceed with its $1.5 billion construction project.

"Yes, it's the only staging yard included in the report," DM&E President Kevin V. Schieffer said at a tele-news conference held here to react to the STB's decision. "The full yard won't be built immediately; we'll start by building a part of it. Still, it's going to mean jobs and economic development for New Ulm."

"It's a 'sweet-and-sour' situation," said Brian Tohal, industrial development coordinator for the City of New Ulm. "While it will mean more jobs for New Ulm, the sour part of it is if you have a house out there, there will be some noise and increased traffic to deal with."

Schieffer estimated the number of trains a day could range from "eight to as high as 37, but whether it's eight or 37, it all depends upon the amount of business we can attract."

Schieffer said DM&E must have at least eight trains a day to make the project financially viable. He noted that while the mix of coal and grain hauled depends upon the market, "we fully expect to move much more grain than we do now."

DM&E officials had said earlier that the staging yard, with eight siding tracks and a small "records-keeping" building, could employ anywhere from 100 to 400 employees. However, most of the employees would be transient train crews that would not necessarily live in the New Ulm area.

In a meeting last year, Schieffer had told residents in the Shag Road area where the staging yard is expected to start that even if the railroad could place the yard closer to Mankato, there would be sidings near New Ulm to allow trains to pass each other.