Cambridge Rail

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.

More optimism from Minnesota’s elected officials after the November elections:

… The new balance of power in Washington will bring change in ways that will be felt in Minnesota and across the country. 

“It gives me hope that we’re going to get a lot of the things we want to get done, done,” said U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar. ….

For Iron Range Democratic Rep. Jim Oberstar, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the path is suddenly wider for a huge multibillion-dollar stimulus package — half of which includes jobs-creating road, bridge and rail initiatives that already have been blessed by his committee.

“The Obama presidency dramatically changes the landscape,” said Oberstar, who also is pushing for new high-speed rail lines connecting the Twin Cities to Chicago and Duluth.

Whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican, you’ve got to be excited about Minnesota building commuter and inter-city rail. In fact, the reason it’s been “successful” so far, has been bi-partisan support:

“Restoration of passenger rail from the Twin Ports to Minneapolis has been our goal for a long time,” said St. Louis County Commissioner Steve Raukar, chairman of the Minneapolis-Duluth/Superior Passenger Rail Alliance.

“The news of $1.1 million in federal dollars [a recent grant] moves us that much closer to completion.”

Raukar credited the bi-partisan support and effort by Congressional leaders, including U.S. Sens. Norm Coleman, R, and Amy Klobuchar, DFL, of Minnesota and DFLer Congressman Jim Oberstar of Minnesota’s Eighth District, and Wisconsin Democrat Congressman David Obey.

A year-long study to begin in January 2009 will set the groundwork for engineering and designing the project. Without glitches in federal or state funding, Northern Lights Express could be operational in 2010 or 2011.
My carpool partner made an observation tonight on the way home from St. Paul: He said he realized he’d be able to take the train from Cambridge to go to a Twins game. And take it home again. My father commutes to Minneapolis from Cambridge every day (with a carpooler), but he thinks a commuter-friendly train going to Minneapolis might make him consider putting off retirement.

I’m waiting for the day in 2011, when I can ride my bike to the station, grab a coffee, hop aboard and open my laptop on the ride into work.

Be sure to let your elected officials know that Northern Lights Express is a priority for you (if it is).

Is the Northern Lights Express any different than the Amtrak service running the line a couple decades ago? In a May 2008 article, the Lake Minnetonka Liberty blog entered some good arguments against the proposesd rail line and I thought I’d respond (six months later).

Things are not the same as they were before:

1. There is a giant casino on the route that will boost ridership
2. The southern end of the route will be used as a commuter rail line for northern suburbs
3. There’s an economic downturn (recession), but the North Shore is still a popular destination for Twin Cities residents
4. The train will cover the distance to Duluth/Superior in less time than it takes to get there by car

Private corporations are going to gain from the Northern Lights Express. So far, the owner of the tracks, BNSF, has been cooperative and supportive. It stands to gain. Private corporations will gain, too: There will be concessions at stations, food on the trains, and transportation needs (shuttles, taxis) at both ends of the lines. Not to mention builders and developers up and down the line, who will build vacation homes, cabins, condos, restaurants, malls and other places for people to stop. Businesses in Fridley, Coon Rapids, Cambridge, Sandstone, Hinckley, Superior and Duluth may all see an uptick in sales, too.

Never turn a profit? The project proposers are being asked to specifically design the line so that it will be self-sustaining, if not profitable. That’s part of the reason the proposers are being so flexible with the casino and are trying to make the train times/frequencies competitive with auto traffic. Also, trains won’t be running the full route at equal frequencies. The proposers are suggesting running more routes between Minneapolis and Hinckley than between Hinckley and Duluth.

I don’t know what the cost will be to take the train to Duluth from Minneapolis, but if the cost of fuel goes up again (and it will), it won’t be hard to make the case. It’s a 150-mile, 2.25-hour route. Twenty-five mpgs will get you there and back on 12 gallons, not to mention upkeep. At current prices ($1.91), it’s about $22 bucks there and back. But if prices shoot up to $3.50, like they were most of the summer, the round-trip price will cost a driver closer to $42 @ 25mpg. I’m sure the proposers are keeping these numbers in mind as they do their calculations.

Once you get to Duluth by rail, how are you going to get around without a car? Take a taxi. Ride a bus. Bring a bike. Rent a motorcycle. I’m sure an industry will grow up on the north end of the route to cater to these folks. I think this is a problem, and one of Anti-Strib‘s better points.

One final note: From what I’ve heard, Minnesota pays more than its share of federal taxes and doesn’t get it all back. With the federal government paying 80% of the costs, this would be one way Minnesota could get something back.

Personally, I don’t think (and no one should argue) that this line has ‘national’ importance. But it isn’t happening in isolation. If you look at a map of the Midwest high-speed rail network that’s forming, this line will connect. Other routes are far more important, I think — for example, the improved high-speed line between Minneapolis and Chicago. Passenger rail is in the ascendancy, I think, and this line will connect into a broader network that’s being developed.

Times have changed. Fuel is expensive. Airlines are struggling and hasseling customers with fees. The Lakes region and the North Shore are popular places and will probably grow more so with an aging baby-boomer population in the Twin Cities. Suburbs and cities north of the Twin Cities are growing and people need alternative ways to get to work. Roads are becoming crowded and dangerous (case-in-point: Central Avenue, Hwy. 65).

I complained to a co-worker this morning that no one was reading my blog. She responded: “Are you talking to me?” That’s sort of the feeling I’m getting about passenger rail/commuter rail in Minnesota. Maybe I’m not marketing my stuff right, but there just doesn’t seem to be a lot of enthusiasm (anywhere online) for this sort of transportation in Minnesota. Some regional transportation folks and railroad enthusiasts, but that’s about it.

The mean travel time for Isanti County’s 17,120 workers (age 16 and older) is 32 minutes. That’s the mean travel time, not the median time, so the numbers could be considerably higher. Cambridge is a bedroom community. Even though a lot of jobs have sprung up at the big-box retailers, workers with good jobs are heading south to the Twin Cities.

Thousands of people in Cambridge are driving down a dangerous Hwy. 65, or out to North Branch to take I-35 to the Twin Cities. We used to have passenger rail in Minnesota. There’s still a very active train that runs through Cambridge. I live two blocks from a BNSF freight rail line and my workplace parking lot abuts a BNSF track in St. Paul. I considered jumping a train and taking it to work until I learned that jumping a train is a felony.

So, I’m looking for feedback of any kind. Let me know if you would ride a train to work from central Minnesota.   –Dan