ST. PAUL, Minn. — Funding to launch passenger rail service between the Twin Cities and Duluth, Minn., has been included in transportation bills in both houses of the Minnesota legislature, although the two versions provide substantially different levels of funding.
The Duluth News Tribune reports that the budget bills prepared by both houses, controlled by a majority of Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party legislators, include funding for the Northern Lights Express. The estimate for reviving the route, last operated by Amtrak in 1985, is $450 million; the state would have to provide 20% of that total with the federal government providing the remaining 80%.
The transportation bill in the state Senate currently provides $50 million for the train — short of what is needed to unlock full federal funding — while the House version calls for $194 million, which would make almost $1 billion in total funds available. A DFL Party spokesman told the newspaper the party has a commitment to getting the train funded, and the difference will get ironed out later in a conference committee.
Supporters of the project say they are optimistic that, with both houses of the legislature and the state’s governorship all controlled by the same party, the train will finally receive funding. Republicans had opposed the train, questioning whether projected ridership and the expected 2½-hour travel time for the 152-mile trip were worth the expense.
If the train is funded, it is expected to take about three years to launch. More on the project is available here from the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
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