Rail improvements ahead
Kansas Grain and Feed Association’s and industry stakeholders’ efforts to successfully include passage of the short line rail improvement fund into the Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Plan during the 2020 Kansas legislative session paid off as the Kansas Department of Transportation recently announced four KGFA member locations who will receive cost-share funding.
“We are very happy to be a recipient of this grant where everyone from our producers, to the state of Kansas as a whole wins with this program,” said David Cron, CEO of Skyland Grain. “The biggest percentage of our locations are going to be on short line rails and by expediting the timing of upgrading our rail infrastructure our farmers win because our operating costs go down and the state of Kansas wins by reducing the number of trucks on our highways. This is a program that makes a lot of sense for everyone and we are thankful to be a recipient.”
The new cost-share grant program is a three-year, $15 million program that provides 70% state money to 30% investment by the eligible entity for improvements. The geographically dispersed organizations awarded a total of nine projects for funding of rail sidings, rehabilitation and track extensions were: Cimarron Valley Railway, Frontier Ag, New Century Air Center Railroad, Scott City Coop, Scoular Grain, Skyland Grain, South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad and V&S Railway.
The projects span seven different counties on three short line railroads and will encompass nearly 6 miles of track improvement or new construction. When completed, the improved rail infrastructure will allow shippers to nearly double railcar loads annually, up to 2,400 cars a year, decreasing the amount of heavy truck traffic on Kansas highways by nearly 10,000 per year.
