The Mankato Subdivision or Mankato Sub is a railway line operated by the Union Pacific Railroad

Union Pacific Railroad

The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....

. It runs generally southwest, starting at Chestnut Street in Saint Paul, Minnesota

Saint Paul, Minnesota

Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...

 where it crosses the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

, then runs south along the Mississippi and then the Minnesota River

Minnesota River

The Minnesota River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of nearly , in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa....

 to Mankato

Mankato, Minnesota

Mankato is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 39,309 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest city in Minnesota outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The county seat of Blue Earth County, it is located...

, where it turns away from the river and continues to St. James

St. James, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 4,695 people, 1,845 households, and 1,186 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,050.3 people per square mile . There were 2,006 housing units at an average density of 876.0 per square mile...

. At that point, Union Pacific rails continue southwest toward Sioux City, Iowa

Sioux City, Iowa

Sioux City is a city in Plymouth and Woodbury counties in the western part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 82,684 in the 2010 census, a decline from 85,013 in the 2000 census, which makes it currently the fourth largest city in the state....

 as the railroad's Worthington Subdivision. The rail line interchanges with the Canadian Pacific Railway

Canadian Pacific Railway

The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...

's Merriam Park Subdivision

Merriam Park Subdivision

The Canadian Pacific Railway Merriam Park Subdivision or Merriam Park Sub, also known as the Short Line, is a railway line in Saint Paul, Minnesota, which runs from Pig's Eye Yard and the CP River Subdivision in the east to the Short Line Bridge over the Mississippi River in the west, where rails...

 at Chestnut Street in the north, and with CP subsidiary Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad

Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad

The Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad is a Class II railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway operating across South Dakota and southern Minnesota in the northern plains of the United States...

 in Mankato (Tracy Subdivision

Tracy Subdivision

The Tracy Subdivision or Tracy Sub is a railway line in southern Minnesota owned and operated by the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad subsidiary of Canadian Pacific....

). Union Pacific operates their own spurs north and south from the line which interchange at a point named Merriam between Jordan

Jordan, Minnesota

Jordan is a city in Scott County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 5,470 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water. U.S. Highway 169; and State Highways 21 and 282 are three...

 and Carver

Carver, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,266 people, 458 households, and 349 families residing in the city. The population density was 328.6 people per square mile . There were 467 housing units at an average density of 121.2 per square mile...

.

This was formerly Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway

Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway

The Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway or Omaha Road was a railroad in the U.S. states of Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and South Dakota. It was incorporated in 1880 as a consolidation of the Chicago, St. Paul and Minneapolis Railway and the North Wisconsin Railway,. The...

 (Omaha Road) trackage which became part of the Chicago and North Western Railway

Chicago and North Western Railway

The Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...

 until Union Pacific took over the line.

The line is primarily dispatched via track warrant control, but also has automatic block signaling from the junction at Merriam to Mankato. North of Chestnut Street and farther into the Merriam Park Subdivision, trains use centralized traffic control

Centralized traffic control

Centralized traffic control is a form of railway signalling that originated in North America and centralizes train routing decisions that were previously carried out by local signal operators or the train crews themselves. The system consists of a centralized train dispatcher's office that...

. The general speed limit for freight trains on the line is 49 miles per hour (21.9 m/s), though many segments are restricted to lower speeds. There is no passenger service on the line, though any passenger excursions or business trains may operate up to 10 mph faster.