Rio Grande Industries, the nation's fifth largest rail system and which operates a line through Utah, has announced an agreement to purchase 532 miles of railroad between Kansas City, Mo., and Chicago from the Soo Line for $66 million.
The purchase will allow the company's Southern Pacific and Denver and Rio Grande Western subsidiaries to reach Chicago directly.San Francisco-based Rio Grande is owned by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz. Its Denver and Rio Grande Western unit has its headquarters in Denver.
Southern Pacific's primary eastern gateway city has been Kansas City. The rail acquisition will expand the company's rail system by 15,500 miles serving 17 states.
The agreement is subject to approval by the Interstate Commerce Commission.
The Kansas City-Chicago main line being purchased follows a route through Missouri, Iowa and northern Illinois.
The Southern Pacific system would also acquire trackage rights on other Soo Line routes to gain direct access to Milwaukee and Dubuque, Iowa.
Southern Pacific and the Rio Grande were combined into the nation's fifth largest rail system last October, when Anschutz' Rio Grande Industries made the buy.
The company operates the so-called `'central corridor" across the Rockies from Denver, through the Moffat Tunnel to Utah, Nevada and the West Coast.