Iowa Railroads Play Nice, Share Tracks Like Grown-Ups
Published Date: 12/11/2025
Notice
Summary
Iowa Northern Railway Company (IANR) just got the green light to use about 85 miles of track owned by Cedar River Railroad Company (CEDR) between Iowa and Minnesota. This new deal lets IANR run trains with its own crews to serve an ethanol plant and other big customers, making their service more flexible and reliable. The agreement started on November 3, 2025, and helps both companies work better together without extra costs to the public.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
New rail service to ethanol plant
Iowa Northern Railway (IANR) may operate its own trains and crews over about 85.0 miles of Cedar River Railroad track between milepost 0.0 at Mona Junction (Cedar Falls, IA) and milepost 85.0 in London Township, MN. The Nov. 3, 2025 agreement lets IANR serve Absolute Energy LLC's ethanol facility at Mona/St. Ansgar, IA and other facilities that tender or receive 'co-load' traffic in blocks of at least 25 cars combined into unit trains; the exemption becomes effective Dec. 25, 2025.
Rail employee job protections preserved
Employees affected by IANR's acquisition of the trackage rights are protected by the conditions imposed in Norfolk & Western Railway--Trackage Rights--Burlington Northern, Inc., 354 I.C.C. 605 (1978), as modified in Mendocino Coast Railway--Lease & Operate--California Western Railroad, 360 I.C.C. 653 (1980). The exemption becomes effective Dec. 25, 2025, and those employee-protection conditions apply to this transaction.
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