In a post Tuesday, Rochester to Twin Cities high speed rail meetings: Zip Rail TAC Jan. 28; CCARL Feb. 4, we noted that CCARL doesn't oppose all high-speed passenger rail, particularly not those proposed lines that would use existing rail corridors.
Yet one of those projects might be jeopardized by the North American High-Speed Rail Group's claims that it's planning to extend its line from Rochester to Chicago, the Winona Post reported last October in Will Rochester rail plan leave river cities in the dust?
The conflicting claims may come up again in discussions of the latest MnDOT request for money for HSR in the state. At the Winona post, Chris Rogers reports in Mn/DOT seeks funds for high-speed rail:
When Minnesota Legislators and Governor Mark Dayton sit down to decide how much money to borrow this year, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) hopes it will get $21 million for passenger rail projects and project planning. If they get it, Mn/DOT officials have not decided exactly where the money would go. Projects that would expand passenger rail service between St. Paul and Chicago, including stops in Winona, are one possibility. A project to create high-speed rail service to Rochester, which some Winonans have described as a competing project, is another.
Every year, the legislature and the governor borrow money — or in government terms, sell bonds — to pay for a variety of capital projects around the state. State parks get funding, state colleges and universities get funding, some local governments get funding, and other state agencies like Mn/DOT get funding. All of these branches of government submit requests for bonding to the Dayton administration's Minnesota Office for Management and Budget (MMB) in November. The $21 million passenger rail request is number 10 on Mn/DOT's wish list, just after a request for millions to improve Minnesota ports and just ahead of a request for millions to repair historic bridges.
In their request, Mn/DOT officials describe various passenger rail projects they might fund with the $21 million. Mn/DOT might use some of the money to continue developing a planned passenger rail line from the Twin Cities to Duluth called Northern Lights Express (NLX). It might use some of the money to pursue adding a second daily Amtrak train that would double the frequency of Amtrak service between Chicago and St. Paul, including stops in Winona, La Crosse, and other river towns. Also, Mn/DOT might use the money to plan a high-speed rail line between Rochester and Minneapolis called ZIP Rail, according to Mn/DOT officials funding request.ZIP Rail is mentioned in a draft version of a new state rail plan that was released in March 2015. In that plan, ZIP Rail is described as a spur line between the Twin Cities and Rochester that would be separate from any effort to connect Chicago and the Twin Cities with high-speed rail. Mn/DOT helped fund planning work for both ZIP Rail and the River Route, the official state and federally designated high-speed rail route to connect St. Paul and Chicago. The River Route runs along the Mississippi River with stops in Winona, La Crosse, and other river towns. Mn/DOT officials stressed that ZIP Rail was not competing with the River Route, but Winona leaders involved in rail planning were not so sure. Supporters of the River Route see a second daily Amtrak train as the first step toward developing ridership for high-speed rail on the River Route, but they have raised concerns that the ZIP Rail project was a bid by Rochester leaders to route the regional high-speed rail line to Chicago through Rochester and away from Mississippi River cities.
Around the same time that the draft rail plan came out, a private company called North American High Speed Rail (NAHSR) approached Mn/DOT with a plan to build high-speed rail from Minneapolis to Chicago via Rochester. They proposed a privately funded high-speed rail line partly backed by Chinese investors that would run on an elevated track next to or in the air above Highway 52. Top state officials worked with NAHSR for months to develop the proposal and talked with NAHSR leaders about NAHSR taking over the ZIP Rail project, including the purchase of environmental studies conducted for ZIP Rail.
If NAHSR is taking over the ZIP Rail project, why should the state borrow more money for ZIP Rail? . . .
Read MNDOT's answer at the Winona Post. To learn more about the River Route, visit the Minnesota High-Speed Commission's website here.
As we noted in CEO out at North American High Speed Rail Group; consultant's contracts draw scrutiny, first the website for the EB-5 regional center that the rail group's leadership were involved in disappeared, along with its pitch for the ghost EdCampus. Next, the plan to partially fund the "Velos" line between The Cities and Rochester with EB-5 visa holders' investments vanished. Now the CEO is out.
Maybe MNDOT could consider taking a long look at this outfit before it spends any more on planning for a bullet train to the Med City, while working on less pie-in-the-sky routes to Duluth and Chicago.
Those readers in the Winona area with questions about transportation funding are urged to attend Saturday's League of Women Voters annual forum on government. The Winona Daily News reports in Meet, greet and ask: Winona elected officials' forum is Saturday:
The League of Women Voters will hold its annual forum on government this Saturday, featuring a number of local and state officials.
The event will run from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Winona History Center, with the forum from 9:15 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
State lawmakers expected to attend include Sen. Matt Schmit, DFL-Red Wing, Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, and Rep. Gene Pelowski, DFL-Winona.
Local speakers will include Winona Mayor Mark Peterson, Goodview Mayor Steve Baumgart, Winona County Recorder Bob Bambenek, and County Commissioner Marie Kovecsi, among others.
Lynn Theurer, LWV voter services chair, said the group hopes to address a number of issues in the hourlong presentation, which will start with statements from the panelists before moving into open discussion.
“This is an open public forum,” Theurer said. “There should be ample time for those who attend to ask questions.”
Those who attend should be civil and willing to listen to a wide range of issues.
Image: The logo for Minnesota High Speed Rail.
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