(KNSI) – With the dream of extending Northstar Commuter Rail service to St. Cloud fading away, some area activists are pushing for a different type of passenger train connection.
St. Cloud area faith leaders and other interested people are invited to a meeting on Saturday, April 26th, at 10:00 a.m. inside Salem Lutheran Church. According to event organizer Anne Buckvold, instead of light rail, the gathering is to launch a campaign to get support for more Amtrack service, including more routes between St. Cloud and Moorhead and increased routes to Chicago and Duluth.
A press release states that St. Cloud Representative Dan Wolgamott and Representative Erin Koegel of Spring Lake Park will be in attendance. She is the DFL lead on the transportation committee.
In Feburary, the Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Met Council announced the likelihood that the Northstar Commuter Rail will transition from trains to buses. Met Council Chair Charlie Zelle and MnDOT Commissioner Nancy Daubenberger issued a joint statement saying, “MnDOT’s recent Twin Cities – St. Cloud-Fargo/Moorhead Corridor study makes it clear we can provide more cost-effective transit service in the corridor currently being served by Northstar Commuter Rail. As the world and consumer demand change, we must be willing to be flexible and innovative to offer better service while saving dollars. We have jointly started the process to explore transitioning to bus service in this corridor. That process includes working with our federal partners and our rail partners at BNSF Railway, who we have appreciated as a critical partner. In the coming months, we will have more information, including timeline information and projected future savings.”
The Northstar stops in St. Cloud already takes riders by bus to the rail terminus in Big Lake. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was talk of extending rail service to St. Cloud. In 2019, the Northstar served over 767,000 passengers annually, but ridership has tanked to just over 50,000 in the last several years.
House Transportation Finance and Policy Chair Jon Koznick (R-Lakeville) says, “Northstar has been an over $320 million failed experiment, costing taxpayers $11 million annually despite near-zero ridership.”
Koznick’s bill, which formally begins to end Northstar operations, is in the House Transportation Finance and Policy Committee.
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