Passenger Trains > "Minn.'s Northstar receiving $53.9M in Fed. funding"

May 9 news blurb from RAILWAY TRACK & STRUCTURES Magazine:
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Minnesota’s Northstar receiving $53.9 million in federal funding

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said the U.S. Department of Transportation has released $53.9 million in federal funding for the Northstar commuter rail line from Big Lake to Minneapolis. Klobuchar, who serves on the Senate Commerce Committee and Environment and Public Works Committee, was instrumental in securing DOT support for the project and making sure that Northstar was included in the 2007 DOT funding bill.



“A growing metro area needs a forward-looking transportation policy – one that gives people choices, gets them out of rush-hour traffic and reduces congestion on our roads," Klobuchar said. “North Star is also an important step toward a broader transportation and energy strategy to reduce our dependence on foreign fuels and reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases.”



Running from Big Lake to downtown Minneapolis, with stops in Elk River, Anoka, Coon Rapids and Fridley, the Northstar line is expected to carry two million riders per year. Officials say the trip from Coon Rapids to Minneapolis would take 20 minutes, compared to 45 minutes by car. In downtown Minneapolis, the Northstar line will connect to the Hiawatha light-rail line.





Last December DOT officials gave their blessing to the North Star project and committed the federal government to pay approximately half of the $320 million cost. The line is scheduled to open in November 2009.