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.

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 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

In an April 2008 piece for Duluth/Superior Magazine, Wendy Webb highlights some of the benefits of the Northern Lights Express line, from a northern Minnesota perspective. I found she answered at least one question, in the back of my mind: Besides the lake and some shopping, why would I want to go to Duluth?

Webb writes that Congressman Oberstar is comparing the proposed line with the line in Dallas (DART) that spurred a billion dollars worth of investment:

Oberstar points to a similar line in Dallas, the DART, as an example of the kind of economic impact this train will have on our region.

“There’s a billion dollar increase in development there,” he says. “They’ve got 18,000 riders per day. They’ve seen millions of dollars in investments in housing, grocery stores, shops, stores, and other businesses in clusters around the stops on that line.”

He wants to see that same type of development here, in Duluth.

Keep in mind that DART is a light-rail system, subsidized by taxpayers. The vision for the Northern Lights Express is a self-supporting, high-speed, inter-city passenger rail system that offers commuter service on its southern end (the broader plan is to tie it into a greater Midwest network including Chicago). The only comparison that I think Rep. Oberstar is making with DART is that rail can be the engine for economic and transit-oriented growth.

I guess that’s the point. A restored rail connection could transform Duluth and make it more of a destination than it already is. And getting to the question about whether the line will suffer a demise similar to its predecessor, Webb notes that there are three anchors to this line:

1. The Twin Cities (read: Minneapolis)
2. Two casinos (Black Bear, and Grand Casino Hinckley)
3. The Twin Ports (although Duluth will be a bigger draw than Superior, I’m sure)

Duluth station

Sandstone station

Hinckley station (notice Grand Casino Hinckley east down Hwy. 48)

Cambridge station

Coon Rapids-Riverdale (edited) station (more info)

Fridley station (near the intersection of 60th and Main St.)

Minneapolis station (more info)

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).

Cambridge mayor Marlys Palmer told a friend of mine (who told me) that the Northern Lights Express was basically a ‘done deal,’ and should be ready to go between 2012 and 2015. But let’s get it moving faster than that. Right now I’m just waiting for its website to get official. We can make this happen, together.

There’s been some flap about some increases to the cost estimates ($60 million+) for improved rail lines around Sandstone. But officials were saying that this is one possible increase and that there’s a whole smorgasbord of possibilities …. sounds like no one knows yet, but it’s likely the $400 million estimate for the line isn’t a “hard” estimate.

A station in Fridley, Minnesota (map) has been added to the list of stops for the Northstar Commuter Rail Line opening up next year between Minneapolis and Big Lake. The new station will cost upwards of $9.9 million.

In a press release a couple weeks ago, Minnesota’s Eighth District U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar wrote that “portions of the line could become operational by the end of next year.” The Northern Lights Express is moving forward “at full throttle,” according to the congressman, but the recent $1.1 million grant for an environmental study has nothing to do with this portion. An unrelated rail commuter line (Northstar)is opening between Big Lake, Minnesota, and Minneapolis at the end of 2009. The proposed Northern Lights Express (primarily an inter-city passenger-rail line, not a commuter line) is expected to share tracks with the Big Lake line between Minneapolis and Coon Rapids. Going north from Coon Rapids, the Northstar will hang a left and go to Big Lake, the Northern Lights Express will go almost directly north to Duluth.