Welcome
Welcome to the Self-Guided Virtual Meeting
Welcome to the Self-Guided Virtual Meeting for the Freight & Rail Plan and thank you for your interest and your time today.
How to Interact With the Meeting
Use the arrows on the left and right to toggle through this meeting. Throughout this meeting, you will have the chance to learn about freight & rail in North Dakota and provide feedback to help guide the development of the plan.
How to Participate
Submit a comment at any point by clicking the comment button at the top right of your screen. You may close the form to continue through the slides. Once finished, please make sure to hit "Submit" to confirm that your comment is sent to the project team.
What is the Freight & Rail Plan?
The state freight and rail plans have previously been two separate plans with several areas of overlapping content. This new Freight & Rail Plan will combine both plans, creating a comprehensive view of how goods move in, around, and out of our state. Producing one plan versus two cuts down on costs and time and creates efficiencies & economies of scale. The Freight & Rail Plan will take the goals established in Transportation Connection, the Long Range Transportation Plan, and apply them to the movement of goods across our state. The North Dakota Department of Transportation is leading the effort and developing the plan.
What does the Freight & Rail Plan do for North Dakota?
- Guides the advancement of the multimodal transportation system
- Assesses all freight modes (rail, road, air, & pipeline)
- Identifies needs for growth and improvement
- Creates recommendations for policies, programs, projects, & processes
- Serves as a roadmap for future investment
Plan Goals
The Freight & Rail Plan will take the goals established in Transportation Connection, the Long Range Transportation Plan, and apply them to the movement of goods across our state.
Goals for Transportation Connection
Project Components
Challenges to be Addressed by the Freight & Rail Plan
How Does the Plan Impact You?
If you are not directly involved in an industry related to freight & rail, it may seem that this plan doesn’t need your input or that the future of our freight & rail systems doesn’t impact you. You may be surprised!
Freight's Effect on ND Industries
Not only are our community members impacted by our freight & rail systems, but essentially all business and commerce that takes place in North Dakota is affected by the ability to move goods around our state.
- Agriculture
- Energy
- Mining
- Manufacturing
- Distribution
- Construction
- Retail
- Healthcare
- Restaurants
- & more!
Roads
North Dakota has over 88,000 miles of roads. A good portion of these see some sort of freight traffic. This freight includes anything from windmill blades to pints of ice cream. Without our vast network of roads, our communities would not have access to food in the stores, and our industries would not have a way to export goods from the state.
Click Images to Expand
Did you know?
516 million tons of freight are transported through ND each year!
Truck Freight
Trucks pick up and deliver goods and commodities in nearly all North Dakota communities in all 53 counties. Freight represents 30% of the tonnage (weight) moved around our state and the largest percentage of the total freight value (dollars) at 47%!
Weigh Stations
Have you ever noticed the weigh stations on the interstates in North Dakota? These checkpoints are used to monitor freight size and weight and other large vehicles that travel on our roads. Weigh stations are manned by Highway Patrol staff.
Sharing the Roads with Semis:
- Avoid their blind spots, if you can’t see them in their mirrors, they can’t see you!
- Increase your following distance.
- Don’t merge in too close in front of a semi – remember, they take more time and space to slow down.
- Stay focused and alert while driving.
Air Freight
Although a small percentage of total freight volume (<.5%) and value (<1%), air freight is an essential part of our freight & rail system. The United States Postal Service, private mail carriers, and other companies use commercial airports in North Dakota to quickly transport goods long distances.
Commercial Airports
- Bismarck
- Devils Lake
- Dickinson
- Fargo
- Grand Forks
- Jamestown
- Minot
- Williston
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
It might not be too long before your packages are being delivered to your doorstep by a drone! North Dakota has been an industry leader in Unmanned Aircraft Systems & Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and will continue to play a part in the development of this emerging technology.
Rail
North Dakota has over 3,000 miles of privately-operated railways. These railways provide a transportation mode for freight into our state and are used for exporting commodities such as crops and oil worldwide. Many communities in North Dakota have been built by and around railroads that cross our state.
Click images to expand
Did you know?
Rail accounts for 14% of freight moved through North Dakota!
Rail Safety
For many North Dakotans, waiting for trains and crossing tracks is a part of everyday life. Whether the trains are running through rural pastures or the middle of our downtowns, it is important that we recognize the safety measures that must come along with this mode of transportation.
Train Facts
Trains weigh A LOT. That is why it is so important to practice safe behaviors around trains such as staying behind guard rails, never stopping or parking on the tracks, and patiently waiting for a train to cross. The average weight of an EMPTY freight car is about 25 tons (50,000 lbs).
25 tons = 1 EMPTY freight car
25 tons = 8 Tommy Turtles (Largest Turtle in the World, Bottineau)
25 tons = 5 Sandys (World’s Largest Sandhill Crane, Steele)
25 tons = 4 Salem Sues (World’s Largest Holstein Cow, New Salem)
25 tons = Almost 1 Dakota Thunder (World’s Largest Buffalo, Jamestown)
Passenger Rail
North Dakota boasts seven Amtrak stops along the Empire Builder route which travels between Chicago and Portland/Seattle.
Click map to expand.
Map Credit: Amtrak
Pipelines
Pipelines in our state transport natural gas, water, oil, and other materials across the state. These systems help us transport those goods safely and efficiently.
Click each map below to enlarge.
Pipeline Transport Materials
Crude Oil
Water
CO2
Natural Gas
International Freight
Our multimodal systems help us deliver and receive commodities around the state, the country, and the world. Thanks to sharing a border with Canada, we have the capability of sending and receiving freight by truck, train, and pipeline across North America. When it comes to planes, the sky’s the limit!
Road Freight: 18 border crossings
Air Cargo: 3 airports with international cargo service
Pipeline: 4 border crossings
Rail Freight: 2 border crossings
Thank You!
Now you can see why this plan is a big deal! It’s vital to our communities and economy to keep these systems in good shape. It’s also important that we continue to thoughtfully develop and invest in these systems to help our economy grow.
What’s next for the Freight & Rail Plan?
We will spend the next year gathering input from industry leaders, major stakeholders, and residents to develop a plan that benefits our state’s economy. This input will be gathered via meetings, surveys, and interactive tools (like this one!). Stay in touch!
Please note: your answers will remain anonymous even if you provide your name and contact information here.