This connecting line was built by the Saint Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railroad (under control of the Great Northern Railway at the time) from their tracks in Thief River Falls south to a connection with the Northern Pacific Railroad (Fertile to Grand Forks, now also abandoned) at Red River Falls. This was a strategic play by the GN to gain additional access to the Red River Valley, in which the NP had significant presence.

As both NP and GN merged into the Burlington Northern Railway, this line was considered redundant and abandoned in 1985.