The long-awaited development of a passenger train from Rapid City to Deadwood will continue to be long-awaited as long as court battles and rail ownership issues hold back progress.

Black Hills Transportation of Rapid City and its predecessors would like to use rail lines from Rapid City to Whitewood to gather travelers from the Rapid City Airport.

The company also aspires to build a track from Whitewood to Deadwood to take passengers to the historic gaming town.

However, those two planks of the project are in a holding pattern for the foreseeable future, according to Black Hills Transportation chairman Mike Reynolds.

Reynolds addressed the annual meeting of the Northern Hills Regional Railroad Authority on Friday at the American West Restaurant in Belle Fourche.

The authority oversees development of the BHT line from Whitewood to Deadwood, using statutory authority to negotiate easements and rights of way for the track to be put in place. The authority also contracts with BHT for payment of the authority's expenses while working through the legal matters regarding the development.

The rail plan was proposed in the early 1990s as part of a resort development near the present-day site of Tatanka - Story of the Bison near Deadwood.

The resort never developed, but desires to build the rail line continue.

"Legal issues have been a big issue for the past year," Reynolds said.

Authority attorney Tom Brady of Spearfish said landowners along the proposed route have sought legal protection of their land, hoping to keep their land-use rights on an abandoned rail bed that runs from Whitewood to Deadwood. However, the authority is seeking a right of way based on previous court decisions regarding old railroad beds and state and federal statutes.

The South Dakota Supreme Court this year ordered local judges in Lawrence County to review the cases, setting the matter back at least two years, Brady said.

"It is moving forward, albeit slower than anticipated," Brady said. "A business plan is in place depending on the court decisions."

Another delay for BHT has been the pending sale of Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad to the Canada-Pacific.

BHT officials were in negotiations for a track-rights agreement with DM&E when the sale was announced. Now, Canada-Pacific cannot make any such agreements until the U.S. Surface Transportation Board approves the sale, which could be a year from now.

Reynolds said track-rights discussions could be done at any time, giving them a little head start before the sale becomes final.

The Authority, consisting of representatives from Belle Fourche, Spearfish, Sturgis, Whitewood, Lead and Deadwood, is required to meet at least once a year or "whenever there is business to do," according to its chairman, LaVern Bills of Belle Fourche.