Map of the Central Corridor Light Rail Line
Here’s a map of the Central Corridor Light Rail Project with all the stations between Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Public support for NLX
Another article (MinnPost) from Steve Raukar, chair of the the Minneapolis-Duluth/Superior Passenger Rail Alliance, disputing arguments made by Phil Krinkie (Taxpayers’ League of Minnesota) article, “Train to Nowhere.” In this article, Raukar argues that a substantial majority of Minnesotans agree that the state needs to explore “more ways to expand and promote regional rail services as a means of affordable and efficient transportation.”
Moreover, he says, the Minnesota legislature agreed by overriding the governor’s veto on the transportation bill.
Beyond that, and probably most importantly, the National Passenger Rail Study Group identified “this route as one of eight top priorities for development in the entire country.”
Building the Northern Lights Express (NLX) between Minneapolis and Duluth isn’t a no-brainer. It requires you to think about what the future of transportation will be for Minnesota, the Midwest and the nation. Money is being infused into national, intercity rail transportation, with the passage of the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 2008 (funding Amtrak’s intercity work). Minneapolis/St. Paul will be connected to a high-speed rail network with Chicago as the hub. Both the President-elect and his Vice-President have made statements about their support for high-speed rail networks. Sen. Kerry (Mass.) just proposed a bill that would supply $10 billion for a “world-class” national rail network.
In other words, NLX is not happening in a vacuum. Should we get NLX before the route to Chicago? Probably not. Should we get NLX before commuter lines supplying the Twin Cities? Probably not. But funding schedules and political allies in Congress (Rep. Oberstar, et al.) make NLX a reality right now and we shouldn’t wait for everything else to be in place. One part will make the other parts easier to put in place.
I think, for example, that once the Northstar Commuter Rail Line between Minneapolis and Big Lake, Minn. is open and proves its success, it will be much easier to get other commuter lines in Minnesota. There will be more public pressure, politicians can point to success, and there will be hard data on actual performance, making future applications easier to write.
Invest in rail infrastructure for jobs (and other benefits)
Jared Fallon’s December 2 article at statesurge.com, highlights some of the reasons Sen. John Kerry is calling for world-class high-speed rail for America (Bill S.3700):
- Prevent unproductive hours, wasted fuel and other economic impacts of traffic congestion
- Reduce greenhouse gasses
According to the bill’s proponents, the new office and rail system would also provide:
- More reliability than air travel
- National security: provides an alternative in an emergency (like a hurricane)
Fallon probably is making the connection, but I’ll make it here explicitly: We’re in a recession, probably another economic depression, and it’s public spending on infrastructure that’s going to help pull us out. Improved rail service will mean trains will need to be built, stations constructed, and right-of-ways improved.
I’m not sure how this new Office of High-speed Rail that Kerry is proposing would jive with the current Amtrak framework. Maybe Fallon has some idea about the viability of this proposal — I don’t. But Congress did passed the “Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008″ earlier this year and President Bush signed it into law. This act:
Provides Funding for High-Speed Rail Corridors. The bill authorizes $1.5 billion ($300 million per year) for grants to States and/or Amtrak to finance the construction and equipment for 11 authorized high-speed rail corridors. The Federal share of the grants is up to 80 percent. The Secretary of Transportation would award these grants on a competitive basis for projects based on economic performance, expected ridership, and other factors.
A provision in this Rail Safety Improvement Act “provides $1.9 billion (#380 million per year) for grants to States to pay for the capital costs of facilities and equipment necessary to provide new or improved intercity passenger rail.”
The rail line that could (prove its worth)
Read Steve Raukar’s (president of the Minneapolis-Duluth/Superior Passenger Rail Alliance and a St. Louis County Commissioner) indignant rebuttal to arguments made by Phil Krinkie (Taxpayers’ League of Minnesota) that the proposed Northern Lights Express (NLX) high-speed passenger rail line between Minneapolis and Duluth is the “train to nowhere.”
Krinkie’s major points:
- Proponents of the Northern Lights Express incorrectly believe
that success on a light-rail line between downtown Minneapolis and the
airport will translate into success for an 150-mile high-speed
passenger line between downtown Minneapolis and Duluth. - Generous federal funding (80 percent) and congressional support from Rep. Jim Oberstar are the only major reasons for the line
- There will be no transportation alternatives upon reaching Duluth and riders will be stranded
- The Northern Lights Express is the brainchild of county
commissioners that stand to benefit from the line going through their
districts - A trip to Duluth will take longer on the train than it does by car
Raukar’s major points:
- Rail infrasturcture is much cheaper than highway construction
- Trains will relieve traffic congestion
- A multi-modal station in Duluth won’t leave arriving passengers stranded
- The high-speed train will shave 30 minutes off normal driving time (making it a 2-hour trip, one way)
- Commuters will have productive time on the train
- The train will inspire development along its route
I’ll share my thoughts on this later — I’m off to work.
Northern Lights is presumed
This is the first article in a major publication (that I’ve seen) where the author assumes that Northern Lights Express between Minneapolis and Duluth will BE a reality.
Google map of Northstar Commuter Rail Line
Google map of Northstar Commuter Rail Line between Big Lake and Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Route of the Northstar Commuter Rail Line
Google map of Northstar Commuter Rail Line between Big Lake and Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Google map of Northern Lights Express rail route
Google map of the proposed Northern Lights Express high-speed rail route
Google map of the proposed Northern Lights Express high-speed rail route
Google map of the proposed Northern Lights Express high-speed rail route
Joe Biden promises ‘first-class’ rail for America
Biden himself brought up passenger rail in a conversation during a campaign stop in Milwaukee, said Wisconsin Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi, a Democrat who backs more intercity train service.
“He said, `Frank, if we’re elected, we’re going to have a first-class passenger rail system in this country,”’ Busalacchi said in an interview.
and
Obama and Biden are “staunch” Amtrak supporters, said Mary Kerr, spokeswoman for House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar.
“We anticipate the Obama administration will be much more receptive than the current administration to ensuring that Amtrak has adequate resources,” said the Minnesota Democrat’s spokeswoman. She declined to be more specific about the spending amounts Oberstar expects.
Convenience trumps cost?
Tidbit: Mike Spack of Spack Consulting noted:
There was a strong correlation between gas prices and the amount of time people spent traveling in Las Vegas, Miami, and Atlanta. People drove less in those metro areas as gas prices went up. Curiously, there is zero correlation between gas prices and the amount of time
people spent traveling in the Twin Cities.
Mike’s an engineer, but I’m guessing that people still find driving more convenient in the Twin Cities than other forms of travel — or other forms of travel are unavailable. In other words, cost isn’t the primary “driver.”
The designers of the Northern Lights Express are paying attention to the convenience factor, too. The train has to compete with autos by running equivalent distances in shorter times, at less cost. They also have to make runs at an ideal frequency to make it convenient.
Infrastructure improvements could help economy
In a September 29 article, Ben Schiendelman argues that we could do a whole lot of high-speed rail for $700 billion. That’s true. But we could probably put a colony on Mars for that price, too. Or fix health care.
Right now, it doesn’t appear to be a matter of having money or not. We’ve been digging ourselves into a $11 trillion hole for a long time. We need a pay-as-you-go system, obviously (like any good budget), but I think right now, countries around the world are desperately injecting money into their systems to get credit moving again. And we’re no different.
But I agree with Schiendelman: Instead of focusing on bundles of toxic mortgages with unclear valuations, let’s put some of that $700 billion rescue package into a national transportation system; effectively creating jobs, spurring economic development, repairing a neglected rail system (freight, too) and relieving traffic congestion for millions.
Passenger rail transportation has been in such poor shape in this country for a number of reasons, but primarily because there hasn’t been a vision for it. Now, with the economy in shambles and people out of work and unpredictable fuel costs — the time is right to put Americans to work building a system that will encourage economic development, provide basic transportation for many, alleviate congestion and save our air.
President-elect Obama has said he’d consider using building infrastructure to create jobs and stimulate the economy. According to the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, there are plenty of projects across America are ready to go in 90-120 days, without additional design or engineering:
In January 2008, a survey of State Departments of Transportation by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (“AASHTO”) identified 3,071 ready-to-go highway and bridge projects with a total cost of $17.9 billion that could be under construction within 90-120 days.
