The Moorhead Subdivision or Moorhead Sub is a railroad line which runs from Moorhead

Moorhead, Minnesota

Moorhead is a city in Clay County, Minnesota, United States, and the largest city in northwest Minnesota. The population was 38,065 at the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Clay County....

 to Breckenridge, Minnesota

Breckenridge, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,559 people, 1,438 households, and 911 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,516.4 people per square mile . There were 1,582 housing units at an average density of 674.0 per square mile...

. It briefly crosses the border into North Dakota

North Dakota

North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....

 around Wahpeton

Wahpeton, North Dakota

The first European explorer in the area was Jonathan Carver in 1767. He explored and mapped the Northwest at the request of Major Robert Rogers, commander of Fort Michilimackinac, the British fort at Mackinaw City, Michigan, which protected the passage between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron...

, across the Red River

Red River of the North

The Red River is a North American river. Originating at the confluence of the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail rivers in the United States, it flows northward through the Red River Valley and forms the border between the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota before continuing into Manitoba, Canada...

 from Breckenridge. Currently operated by BNSF Railway

BNSF Railway

The BNSF Railway is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It is one of seven North American Class I railroads and the second largest freight railroad network in North America, second only to the Union Pacific Railroad, its primary...

, this was part of the Great Northern Railway's transcontinental line from Minneapolis to Seattle, Washington

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

.

Today (as of 2010), BNSF's Northern Transcon travels up the Staples Subdivision

Staples Subdivision

The Staples Subdivision or Staples Sub is a railway line running about from Dilworth to Fridley, Minnesota . It is operated by BNSF Railway as part of their Northern Transcon and contains the busiest segment of mainline track in the state, between Coon Rapids and Fridley...

 instead, which is a more direct route between Minneapolis–Saint Paul and Fargo, North Dakota

Fargo, North Dakota

Fargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777...

. Amtrak's Empire Builder

Empire Builder

The Empire Builder is a passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the Midwestern and Northwestern United States. It is Amtrak's busiest long-distance route and busiest daily train, carrying more than 500,000 travelers annually since 2007. Overall, it is the railroad's 10th-busiest line. Before...

, formerly a Great Northern Railway train, was shifted to take the Staples Subdivision in the late 1970s.

U.S. Highway 75 closely follows the rail line. The Red River Valley and Western Railroad

Red River Valley and Western Railroad

The Red River Valley and Western Railroad is a regional railroad operating in the US states of North Dakota and Minnesota, which began operations in 1987...

 interchanges with BNSF in Wahpeton. In the north, the line meets BNSF's KO Subdivision.