Eastern Idaho Railroad


The Eastern Idaho Railroad started running on November 21, 1993, as a collection of two disconnected clusters of former Union Pacific branches. EIRR is owned by Watco, Inc, of Pittsburg, Kansas, a short line operator. EIRR operates two segments, that move more than 35,000 carloads per year to the Union Pacific, with interchanges at Idaho Falls on the Northern Segment, and Minidoka on the Southern segment. The annual income is reported as being under 25 million dollars.

The Southern segment

The Southern lines consist of:
All lines connect for a total of. Operations are based out of the ex-UP depots at Twin Falls and Rupert. The southern segment interchanges with U.P. at Minidoka, Idaho.

The Northern Segment

The Northern lines consist of:
All lines connect for a total of, served by three locomotives, with operations based out of an office trailer on the north end of the Idaho Falls yard, the point at which EIRR interchanges with UP's Montana sub.