Red River Valley and Western Railroad

Red River Valley and Western Railroad

Route map of the RRVW. Solid lines are trackage owned by the railroad; dotted lines are those with trackage rights.
Reporting mark	RRVW
Locale	North Dakota with a branch into Minnesota
Dates of operation	1987–
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Headquarters	Wahpeton, North Dakota
Website	www.rrvw.net

The Red River Valley and Western Railroad (reporting mark RRVW) is a regional railroad operating in the US states of North Dakota and Minnesota. It began operations in 1987 in an era of railroad restructuring.

Its 648 miles (1,043 km) of track, originally acquired from the Burlington Northern Railroad, included:

Shortly after it began operations, the Red River Valley and Western Railroad acquired a 19-mile (31 km) rail line between Oakes, North Dakota and Hecla, South Dakota from the Dakota, Minnesota, and Eastern Railroad. It abandoned 18 miles (29 km) of this rail line, beginning just south of Oakes, North Dakota, on September 7, 2001.

Currently, the Red River Valley and Western Railroad owns and operates 490 miles (790 km) of trackage which includes:

The Red River Valley and Western Railroad is affiliated with the Twin Cities and Western Railroad and the Minnesota Prairie Line. Andrew Thompson is the chief executive officer of all three railroads.