Otter Tail Valley Railroad

Fergus Falls station
Overview
Headquarters	Fergus Falls, Minnesota
Reporting mark	OTVR
Locale	Minnesota
Dates of operation	1986–present
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length	81 miles (130 km)
Other
Website	www.gwrr.com/otvr/
Route map Legend to Hillsboro Subdivision Red River spur to Georgetown Fargo Sub to Minneapolis South to Breckenridge Sabin Baker To Downer Barnesville Rothsay UNDER I-94 Fergus Falls Dalton Ashby Evansville Brandon Garfield Alexandria Soo Line Osakis West Union Sauk Centre Melrose Freeport Soo Line Albany Avon Collegeville St. Joseph Now Northern Lines to St. Cloud Sauk River Waite Park to St Cloud

The Otter Tail Valley Railroad (reporting mark OTVR) is a Class III railroad operating 81 miles (130 km)^[1] of track between Moorhead, Minnesota, and Fergus Falls, Minnesota, and short branch lines from Fergus Falls to French and from Fergus Falls to Hoot Lake.

History

The railroad began operations in 1986^[2] on former Burlington Northern, ex Great Northern Railway track between Moorhead and Avon, Minnesota, interchanging with Burlington Northern. The railroad railbanked the 96 miles (154 km) of track between Avon and Fergus Falls in February 1991.^[3]

In 2008, the railroad handled approximately 10,000 carloads, principally outbound grain and inbound coal.^[2]

Otter Tail Valley Railroad is owned by Genesee & Wyoming, having been acquired in 2012. As of 2023, OTVR can hold up to 286,000 pounds of supplies. ^[4]