Summer 2025 Rail Upgrades: NPR’s Commitment to Safety and Performance
Those of our readers who live and work in our northern climates know very well that winter conditions turn to summer very quickly as late April dawns. It’s at that point that the work of the unsung heroes of the
How NPRS Supports Railroad History at Lake Superior Railroad Museum
By Lake Superior Railroad Museum Executive Director Ken Buehler Northern Plains Railroad has been one of the Lake Superior Railroad Museum’s longest and most consistent supporters. Our association with NPR’s Chairman Gregg Haug and President Jesse Chalich has benefited the preservation
NPR Capacity: Driving Rail Traffic Growth to Vancouver and Beyond
By William J. ("Bill") Salmond Twenty years ago, when employed in the Network Capacity group at CP, we were provided with an unusually large budget and told to address infrastructure issues in western Canada that, when fixed, would improve the capacity
Mileposts: CPKC’s New Laredo Bridge Doubling Rail Freight Capacity
By Shawn I. Smith In February 2025, CPKC officially announced the opening of a second span of their Patrick J. Ottensmeyer International Railway Bridge, which crosses the Rio Grande between the U.S. and Mexico at Laredo, TX. This work is
Employee Spotlight: Get to know Karl Carson, General Manager of Operations
Leading Operations with Vision, Dedication, and Team Excellence. What is your job title? My title is General Manager of Operations. What does your job entail? I oversee all aspects of Complete Track Works and Highland Excavating. When did you start with the company? I started here
How Northern Plains Rail Services Powers Agricultural Growth with Track Work, Locomotives, and Safety Training
Northern Plains Provides Track Work, Locomotives, and Safety Training to New Agricultural Industries Located in Hager City, WI, ALCIVIA, a member-owned agricultural and energy cooperative recently opened a new shuttle-loading grain elevator facility in Wisconsin, served by the BNSF Railway.Northern Plains Rail Services was
Getting to Know Amanda Rey: An Employee Spotlight
1. What is your job title at Northern Plains? Regional Manager of Marketing and Development 2. What does your job entail? My role is to identify opportunities where we can strategically grow our business. I work alongside existing and prospective customers to grow
New Era: Cypress Rail Takes Over NPRS Facilities
On October 2, 2024, Cypress Rail Solutions assumed operations of rail car shops and facilities formerly operated by Northern Plains Rail Services at both Erskine, Minnesota, and Grand Forks, North Dakota. In addition, Cypress assumed operations of several NPRS-operated mobile
One of the First Industrial Railways
Located 30 miles northeast of Edmonton, within Alberta’s Industrial Heartland, is Nutrien’s Redwater Plant, producing over 950,000 tons per annum of ammonia- and nitrogen-based fertilizer products that remain essential to the agricultural industry.Taking advantage of the attributes of a local
Heartland Heritage: Rail and Agriculture’s Role in Economic Growth
Growing up in rural Alberta, I was constantly reminded that I lived in the “Heart of Alberta” – the proud slogan adopted by Stettler in its earliest days. In town, we had many similarly titled businesses, like the Heartlander Motel,