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Northern Lights Express High Speed Rail: MN APA Conference September 2011. NLX Overview. Minneapolis. Duluth. Project Structure. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is lead federal agency Mn/DOT is the lead state agency WisDOT also a participating agency
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Northern Lights Express High Speed Rail: MN APA Conference September 2011
NLX Overview Minneapolis Duluth
Project Structure • Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is lead federal agency • Mn/DOT is the lead state agency • WisDOT also a participating agency • NLX Alliance is the sponsoring agency: St. Louis, Lake, Isanti, Pine, Anoka, Hennepin Douglas Counties, Cities of Minneapolis and Duluth, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
Project History 1985 – Last Amtrak passenger rail train runs between Minneapolis and Duluth 2001 – Duluth corridor study 2007 – Alliance activities begin Dec 2007 - Comprehensive Feasibility Study and Business Plan completed 2008 – NLX Board formed; Federal grants and state bond funds received Aug 2009 – Current project underway
Project Goals • Alternative mode time-competitive with the auto and cost-competitive with air • Integrates with other modes and improves system continuity • Provides opportunities for rail oriented development at station sites • Reliable high-amenity service
Ridership, Revenue and Cost Preliminary Assessments (refinements in progress) • Ridership: 96 million passenger miles in 2020;130 million in 2040 • Revenue: $28 million in 2020; $38 million in 2040 • Cost: $950 million including infrastructure, stations and equipment
Minneapolis Terminal Station Northstar Commuter Rail Central Corridor LRT Hiawatha LRT
Environmental Concerns • Impacts to State Trails • Native prairie remnants along rail corridors • Mussel impacts at bridge crossings • Wetland impacts • Impacts to historic and archaeological sites • Noise • Contamination potential
Public Comments received • Support for project –Cambridge, Hinckley • Desire competitive pricing/travel times • Connectivity with other transportation options • Anticipated economic benefits • Concerns about project funding/ local impact • Concerns about safety, noise, traffic • Impacts to freight rail operations
Next Steps • Complete environmental documentation for public review in early 2012 • Preliminary engineering 2012-2013 (recently received $5 million in FRA funding) • Final engineering to follow • Alliance will continue to seek funding to support the project