Dakota Southern Railway

Dakota Southern Railway is a short-line freight railroad operating in south-central South Dakota, carrying grain and other agricultural freight over track that was formerly part of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad main line. The line runs through sparsely populated ranch and farm country, linking local grain elevators and shippers to the wider national rail network through interchange with larger Class I carriers. As with many American short lines formed from abandoned or spun-off main line trackage, Dakota Southern exists primarily to keep a segment of rural line in service for agricultural shippers who would otherwise lose direct rail access once a larger railroad withdrew from the route.