Northstar Commuter Rail

Background
A 40 mile, six station commuter rail corridor linking downtown Minneapolis to Big Lake.

Project Updates, News, and Events
Updates
State of Minnesota, Northstar and BNSF Sign Key Agreement. Officials from the state of Minnesota, the Northstar Corridor Development Authority (NCDA) and BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) signed a key agreement on March 7, 2007 that defines Northstar’s rights to operate along the 40-mile stretch of BNSF train tracks between Big Lake and downtown Minneapolis. http://himlehorner.typepad.com/northstar/2007/03/state_of_minnes.html

The Northstar Commuter Rail website has posted Flash animations of each planned station and a flyover of the entire route.

News
Northstar Federal Funding Likely. The U.S. Secretary of Transportation visited the Northstar line, telling state officials that a decision on funding will be made this fall, but they should remain confident.

St. Cloud Back on the Northstar Drawing Board (April 2007). Backers of Northstar commuter rail service between Minneapolis and Big Lake, Minn., will study whether to double the line's length to its original northern target: St. Cloud and beyond.With Stearns County agreeing to sit on its board, the Northstar Corridor Development Authority voted to approve $128,000 to look at updated ridership estimates, environmental issues, station designs, federal funding guidelines, layover space and issues involving the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF).

Events
No events at this time.

Project Resources
Northstar Commuter Rail website: http://www.mn-getonboard.org/

MnDOT Northstar Commuter Rail website: http://www.dot.state.mn.us/passengerrail/onepagers/northstar.html

St. Cloud Times Northstar site: http://news.sctimes.com/Northstar/index.html