By STEVE RAUKAR StarTribune.com
October 30, 2011
Rep. Chip Cravaack’s Oct. 19 commentary (“Not so fast on funding for high-speed rail”) is off-track. I feel compelled to speak up on behalf of proponents for the Northern Lights Express (NLX) high-speed rail project between Minneapolis and Duluth.
The time is now to make investments that create jobs today and economic development for generations to come. And the time to begin kicking our oil habit is before gas prices get more staggering — and while we have federal rail money available to help.
Many of the incorrect numbers and misinformation in the congressman’s article could have been avoided if only he had accepted repeated invitations from the NLX Alliance to have a meaningful discussion about the proposal for 110-mile-per-hour service in the 155-mile corridor. We had one short meeting with him; few thoughtful questions were asked. He arrived without an open mind.
The congressman discounts the diligence and commitment to a data-driven process shown by members of the Minneapolis-Duluth/Superior Passenger Rail Alliance, made up of elected officials from six counties and two cities, and the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, with participation from representatives of Douglas County in Wisconsin and numerous cities and agencies in the corridor. City, county, state, federal and private dollars are blended to do the investigative work needed to make informed decisions about the project that are fact-based.
Our investigations point to a project that will enhance the commercial and residential possibilities in the existing BNSF Railway corridor and produce increased private, commercial freight traffic along with passenger service. Private development will grow along the route as a result of fast, reliable and safe commuter connections. Estimates are nearly 14,000 jobs and $2 billion in investments.
Every $1 that communities invest in public transportation generates approximately $6 in economic returns, according to the American Public Transportation Association. That’s one of the reasons competition is increasing among states for federal rail funds.
NLX got a boost on the federal level under President George W. Bush, when the NLX corridor was selected as one of eight top priorities for development in the entire country. Also under Bush, another indicator of America’s interest in passenger rail was the increase in Amtrak’s passenger-rail funding. Since 2000, Amtrak ridership is up nearly 44 percent.
Support for NLX has been demonstrated by the federal government with $7 million in grants and this summer’s approval of the preferred route using existing tracks. At the state level, support has been demonstrated by the route’s high-profile inclusion in the state rail plan and $11 million in state bonding authority.
Roads need to be maintained, on that I agree with the congressman. But we need a broader transportation system if our residents and businesses are going to prosper, now and in the future. Besides, if Cravaack was so concerned about building bridges and highways, why did he vote to cut $18 billion from the highway trust fund at a cost of 54,000 construction jobs?
The 80 percent federal funding available, if not used for NLX, will not go for roads. Instead, the money — including the federal taxes paid by Minnesotans — will go to rail projects in other parts of the country. That would be a serious missed opportunity for Minnesota.
There’s a bigger picture connected to the NLX corridor. The southern end of the NLX line will be the Minneapolis Interchange. This station will, in just a few years, have more than 500 trains and 2,000 bus connections daily. In the not-too-distant future, I can envision NLX riders connecting to a regional rail system, moving safely and efficiently between Duluth, Minneapolis, St. Paul, St. Cloud, Rochester, Chicago and points between.
Even under the old Amtrak in 1985, 180,000 people rode the train between Duluth and the Twin Cities. Now, we have booming student populations at universities in Duluth and the Twin Cities, commuters armed with mobile technology for working in route, and a robust tourist industry.
NLX offers a vision worth pursuing. And, the time is now, while the project gains momentum and federal funds are available. To wait or abandon the project, as Cravaack suggests, only puts us farther behind in the competitive pursuit of jobs and long-term economic development opportunities.
Steve Raukar is a member of the St. Louis County Board and chair of the Minneapolis-Duluth/Superior Passenger Rail Alliance.
