Twin Cities Metropolitan Commuter Rail Feasibility Study

During the 1997 Minnesota Legislative session, the Legislature instructed the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) to conduct a feasibility study to determine if the Twin Cities metropolitan area could support commuter rail service. The primary goal of this study was to determine if the use of existing freight railroad lines could provide a transportation alternative to automobile commuting. Much of the work in the feasibility study has been superceded by the transitway study conducted as part of the Metropolitan Council's 2030 Transportation Policy Plan.

Out of 19 rail corridors studied, six proved to be feasible of supporting commuter rail services. Those six lines were divided into two tiers. The first tier was given more priority than the second based on characteristics of each corridor, such as predicted ridership, public support, and geographic feasibility.

Tier one included the Northstar Corridor, the Red Rock Corridor, and the Dan Patch Corridor.

The Northstar Corridor was one of the tier one corridors and will open in late 2009.

The 2002 Minnesota State Legislature prohibited further work on the Dan Patch Corridor.

Tier two included the Bethel Corridor, the Rush Line Corridor and the Norwood-Young America Corridor.

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Tier One Corridors:

Northstar Corridor: St. Cloud/Rice Area to Minneapolis

Red Rock Corridor: Hastings to Minneapolis through St. Paul

Dan Patch : Minneapolis to Northfield

Tier Two Corridors

Tier two corridors are routes that could support potential commuter rail service. Tier two corridors would be implemented after 2020.

Rush Line Corridor: St. Paul to Hinckley

Bethel Corridor: Bethel to Minneapolis

Norwood-Young America Corridor: Norwood-Young America to Minneapolis

In January 1999, Mn/DOT presented the results of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Commuter Rail Feasibility Study to the Minnesota Legislature. After hearing those results the legislature passed M.S. 174.80 to 174.90 which gave the Commissioner of Mn/DOT the authority to plan, design, construct, and operate commuter rail in the state of Minnesota. Further, the Commissioner was charged with the responsibility of developing a commuter rail system plan that would ensure that, if built, commuter rail would be part of an integrated transportation system that would interface with other forms of transportation including Light Rail Transit (LRT), bus transit, bicycles, and pedestrians.

The Commuter Rail System Plan, published in February of 2000, was developed as a prescriptive tool that ensures commuter rail will be accomplished in a cooperative and consistent manner that provides coordination among stakeholders, to the maximum extent possible. Some of the corridor specific information in this plan is no longer accurate: the Northstar Corridor Rail terminus will be in Big Lake, not Elk River as stated; it does not make note that legislation prohibits further work on the Dan Patch Corridor. Much of the work in the Commuter Rail System Plan has been superceded by the transitway study conducted as part of the Metropolitan Council's 2030 Transportation Policy Plan.