Northern Lights Express

High Speed Rail:

MN APA Conference

September 2011

NLX Overview

Minneapolis

Duluth

Project Structure

• Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is lead federal agency

• Mn/DOT is the lead state agency

• WisDOT also a participating agency• NLX Alliance is the sponsoring

agency: St. Louis, Lake, Isanti, Pine, Anoka, Hennepin Douglas Counties, Cities of Minneapolis and Duluth, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe

Project History

1985 – Last Amtrak passenger rail train runs between Minneapolis and Duluth

2001 – Duluth corridor study

2007 – Alliance activities begin

Dec 2007 - Comprehensive Feasibility Study and Business Plan completed

2008 – NLX Board formed; Federal grants and state bond funds received

Aug 2009 – Current project underway

Passenger Rail Planning

Project Goals

• Alternative mode time-competitive with the auto and cost-competitive with air

• Integrates with other modes and improves system continuity

• Provides opportunities for rail oriented development at station sites

• Reliable high-amenity service

Corridor Assessment Process

Corridor Speed

Schedule

Trainset A B C A B C A BNorthbound #7000 #7002 #7004 #7006 #7008 #7010 #7012 #7014MTI 7:05 8:45 11:10 13:35 16:00 17:20 19:45 22:10Foley Blvd 7:20 9:00 11:25 13:50 16:15 17:35 20:00 22:25Cambridge 7:46 9:26 11:51 14:16 16:41 18:01 20:26 22:51Hinckley 8:12 9:52 12:17 14:42 17:07 18:27 20:52 23:17Sandstone - - - - - - - -Superior 9:11 10:51 13:16 15:51 18:06 19:26 21:51 0:16Duluth Depot 9:24 11:04 13:29 16:04 18:19 19:39 22:04 0:29

Trainset B C A B C A B CSouthbound #7003 #7005 #7007 #7009 #7011 #7013 #7015 #7017Duluth Depot 5:10 6:30 10:35 13:00 14:00 16:35 19:10 21:35Superior 5:25 6:45 10:50 13:15 14:15 16:50 19:25 21:50Sandstone - - - - - - - -Hinckley 6:23 7:43 11:48 14:13 15:13 17:58 20:23 22:48Cambridge 6:51 8:11 12:16 14:41 15:41 18:26 20:51 23:16Foley Blvd 7:17 8:37 12:42 15:07 16:07 18:52 21:17 23:42MTI 7:30 8:50 12:55 15:20 16:20 19:05 21:30 23:55

Equipment Rotations:Train A: 7000,7007,7006,7013,7012 Starts at MTI, Ends at DuluthTrain B: 7003,7002,7009,7008,7015,7014 Starts at Duluth, Ends at DuluthTrain C: 7005,7004,7011,7010,7017 Starts at Duluth, Ends at MTI

1) #7011 need to get equipment back into Minneapolis as quickly as possible for evening rush, this is a lightlyused midday departure so meet opposing train #7006 (delaying #7006) in freight siding north of Sandstone.2) #7008 is advanced to meet peak hour capacity requirement must meet opposing #7013 in freight sidingsnorth of Sandstone; delay opposing #7013 which will be less heavily loaded3) Schedules of #7003 and #7010 have to be slotted in between Northstar Commuter Trains

Schedule Locked due to Northstar Slot

Meet Point with opposing NLX Train

AB C

Ridership, Revenue and Cost

Preliminary Assessments

(refinements in progress)

• Ridership: 96 million passenger miles in 2020;130 million in 2040

• Revenue: $28 million in 2020; $38 million in 2040

• Cost: $950 million including infrastructure, stations and equipment

NLX Support

Minneapolis Terminal Station

Northstar Commuter Rail

Hiawatha LRT

Central Corridor LRT

Minneapolis Transportation Interchange

Duluth Terminal Station

Environmental Concerns

• Impacts to State Trails• Native prairie remnants

along rail corridors• Mussel impacts at bridge

crossings• Wetland impacts• Impacts to historic and

archaeological sites• Noise• Contamination potential

Public Comments received

• Support for project –Cambridge, Hinckley

• Desire competitive pricing/travel times

• Connectivity with other transportation options

• Anticipated economic benefits

• Concerns about project funding/ local impact

• Concerns about safety, noise, traffic

• Impacts to freight rail operations

Next Steps

• Complete environmental documentation for public review in early 2012

• Preliminary engineering 2012-2013 (recently received $5 million in FRA funding)

• Final engineering to follow

• Alliance will continue to seek funding to support the project