ST. PAUL, MN — The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) releases an updated Minnesota State Rail Plan, a long-term blueprint geared at improving Minnesota’s rail system. The State Rail Plan identifies needs to improve safety, expand services, and improve transportation options throughout Minnesota so people and cargo can get where they need to go.
“Minnesota’s rail system provides efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally responsible transportation, and we’re working hard to make it even better for passengers and freight operators," MnDOT Commissioner Nancy Daubenberger said. "This plan demonstrates how key investments can improve the mobility of goods and people.”
The plan advances several key initiatives to support an updated vision for rail in Minnesota over the next two decades, including:
- Detailing additional funding needs to support freight rail operations
- Updating the process to analyze the expansion of passenger rail in new or additional corridors throughout the Midwest
- Expanding passenger rail service by extending or adding more service along existing corridors, such as potentially expanding the Borealis or building the Northern Lights Express lines
- Identifying capital improvement projects necessary to enhance reliability, speed, or improve capacity in existing passenger rail corridors
