MVRRA and the Minnesota Prairie Line – History at A Glance

Monday, June 26, 2017

The Minnesota Valley Regional Rail Authority operates 94 miles of short-line railroad track that, while the MVRRA has owned it since 2002, has been around for nearly 140 years.

The Minnesota Prairie Line was originally built around 1880 by Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway. Since then, it has had additions, changed owner/operator hands, and been abandoned twice – once in 1982, once in 2000. It then began to fall into disrepair.

Since the MVRRA took over, they have been acquiring state and federal funding to repair and maintain the MPL, enabling the tracks to withstand higher speeds and more frequent trips. It can be toured using Map-N-Tour and more information can be found here.

 

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