The Northern Lights Express (NLX) Alliance on Oct. 4 reported hiring global advisory firm DGA Group to help pursue a federal funding match for the proposed NLX passenger rail service, which would operate along 152 miles of existing BNSF track between Target Field in Minneapolis and the Deport in Duluth, Minn., with stops in Coon Rapids, Cambridge, and Hinckley Minn., and in Superior, Wis.
The estimated cost for project construction is $592.3 million. This includes final design work, track and signal upgrades to accommodate higher train speeds, new and longer sidings to improve traffic flow, grade crossing improvements to increase safety, new train stations, and the expansion of existing stations, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), the lead agency for the project. The estimated annual operating cost is $18.9 million.
In May 2023, the Minnesota Legislature appropriated the full state share (20%) needed for the project: $194.7 million. Federal matching grants are expected to cover the remaining cost.
In December 2023, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) granted $500,000 to MnDOT through its Corridor Identification and Development (Corridor ID) Program, a new planning program to help guide intercity passenger rail development throughout the country. For each selected Corridor, FRA said it will initially award the grantee $500,000 for the development of a scope, schedule, and cost estimate for preparing a service development plan (SDP).
“The goal of hiring DGA Group is to make NLX a priority in Washington, D.C.” St. Louis County Commissioner Keith Nelson, who is Chair of the NLX Alliance, a group comprising local governments, tribal and other interested stakeholders located along the existing route. “NLX advocates can occasionally travel to D.C., but that’s not the same as being there as decisions are made every day. Our new relationship with DGA Group gives us a team in D.C. who can engage Congress and the Administration. It’s vital we raise awareness of the economic development and mobility choices NLX passenger rail can offer to the people in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The time is now.”
The Minnesota DOT is expected to apply for federal funding this fall, NLX Alliance reported.
