MN: Should passenger rail line between A.L. and Northfield be in next state rail plan?

Local government leaders across southern Minnesota are continuing to discuss the possibility of passenger rail lines in this part of the state, including a line between Albert Lea and Northfield and then north to the Twin Cities.

The 2015 Minnesota State Rail Plan included phase one designation for two corridors — one between the Twin Cities and Mankato and the other between Northfield and Albert Lea. A phase one project is one that is prioritized by the state and considered next in line to be completed somewhere in one to 20 years, said former Northfield City Councilor Suzie Nakasian, who is a part of the effort.

Because the state rail plan is required to be updated every 10 years, the Minnesota Department of Transportation has engaged the public again regarding updating the plan for 2025. She said the passenger rail lines proposed in the 2015 plan are not guaranteed to be in the 2025 plan, and that what ends up in the new plan largely depends on what they hear from the public and elected leaders in communities.

Being included in the plan qualifies projects for not only state funding but also federal funding, as the federal government looks to the state plans.

She said it is important the state continue to prioritize the lines from the 2015 plan and that they also add the east-west Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad line for passenger rail.

She asked that mayors, councilors and commissioners who support the project sign on to a joint letter.

Nakasian's comments came during a meeting Thursday with officials from across the region about the projects.

She said though the public comment period has closed, MnDOT always welcomes input from elected leaders, and she encouraged leaders to lobby for the designation of the lines if they are in support of them.

There have been two significant developments since the 2015 rail plan was published, she said, though she noted that much could depend on who is elected in November.

In November 2021, the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed with an appropriation of $66 billion for passenger rail. She said by 2022, the Federal Railroad Administration had rolled out four projects and was hoping to create a national network.

She said since the first request for proposals, 69 regional projects have come online, and noted the southern Minnesota projects could be in that pipeline.

She noted that projects that move forward are championed by regional groups.

"It's very well attested that the corridors that have moved forward for implementation are those that have a regional coalition of cities and counties that work together to advance the project and advocate for various funding available," she said.

In May, the Federal Railroad Administration published a national study regarding long-distance corridors that warrant addition to the Amtrak network. She said one of the corridors that warranted addition to the system could involve the southern Minnesota corridor as well.

She also referenced a train that ran through Albert Lea and Northfield to St. Paul in the 1940s through 1960s.

Though no funds have been appropriated for long-distance projects, if these projects advance, the state will need to get its plans in place.

The group of city, county and other advocates will meet again in January and consider the political landscape for the projects and likely organize a formal coalition.

Freeborn County has been part of the conversation in the past and last approved a letter supporting the passenger rail project in 2008.

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