TC&W appreciates efforts to obtain federal grant

To the Editor:
Twin Cities & Western Railroad (TC&W) would like to express its public gratitude to Minnesota’s congressional delegation in securing a federal grant to help our railroad install Positive Train Control (PTC) technology to comply with federal safety mandates in time for the December 2018 deadline.
As the regional railroad serving south central Minnesota’s shippers and utilizing the rail line shared by Northstar Commuter Rail and BNSF Railway to get Minnesota’s producers’ products to the world marketplace, TC&W exists to ensure that the shippers located along our rail line continue to have safe, reliable and economical freight rail transportation.
The U.S. Department of Transportation grant will help TC&W install this federally mandated technology, projected to cost as much as $2 million, without having to reduce the funds available in our annual budget for track repair and maintenance, another essential safety function.
TC&W especially appreciates the letters of support for the grant we received from U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and State Transportation Commissioner Charlie Zelle, and the intense interest of U.S. Al Franken’s Washington, D.C., office in translating our grant request into reality.
Ultimately, the state of Minnesota will benefit as this expensive new accident-prevention technology will make Minnesota safer while at the same time allow freight rates to remain competitive for the south central Minnesota region and the rural companies we serve.
In these days of cynicism about government, we felt it was important for all Minnesotans to know that the state’s congressional delegation was responsive and effective in helping us get the federal help we needed to meet new federal requirements and still continue to serve our shippers cost-effectively.
On behalf of all of the shippers TC&W serves, a large thank you to our Washington, D.C., delegation!
Mark Wegner, President
Twin Cities & Western Railroad Company