The rail sale is official, as Iowa Chicago & Eastern's purchase of the I&M Rail Link was finalized 12:01 a.m. this morning.

IC&E, a subsidiary of Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad, does not plan to change the way the rail is operated, said Lynn Anderson, vice president of marketing of DM&E.

"We're going to continue the operations pretty much as they are today," Anderson said. "The vast majority of employees are former IMRL employees that will be running the railroad."

DM&E rail business has been doing well and IC&E hopes to do the same on this link, Anderson said.

"We are going to do everything we can to try to increase rail business on the IC&E railroad," he said.

I&M employees received a fax about the finalization this morning.

"We don't know a lot right now," said Mark Corkill, a member of the section crew in the Austin office. "We just kind of got flipped over."

Corkill did not know what IC&E's plans were for the link, but predicted he and his coworkers would know more this week.

"We don't know anymore until the week progresses," he said.

Cari Quam can be reached at 4343-2235 or by e-mail at cari.quam@austindailyherald.com