Q 4 Newsletter

November 1, 2023

In this issue:

  • St. Paul Union Depot Issues - 2nd Twin Cities to Chicago train
  • Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission Annual Meeting
  • Northern Lights Express - likely many years before service begins
  • Let's Celebrate - AAMN 10th Anniversary!

1. St. Paul Union Depot Issues:

Amtrak operating personnel recently provided All Aboard Minnesota with an internally generated report about safety issues at the Saint Paul Union Depot (SPUD). This report is currently circulating within Amtrak’s operating departments and details concerns these personnel have with crime, prostitution, vagrants, drug usage and other issues that threaten both passenger and employee safety. The report also highlights a conflict between using the building as a multi-modal transportation hub or a banquet facility. When the concourse is used for events, passengers are forced to wait in a narrow corridor with minimal seating and exposed to very loud music making train related announcements impossible to hear. This situation also causes congestion when passengers are boarding and detraining.

The AAMN board forwarded the report to Ramsey County Commissioners Ortega, Trista Matascastillo, and Ramsey County Transportation Planner Kevin Roggenbuck, to make them aware of these concerns and offering our help for possible solutions. Commissioner Ortega responded that they will set up meetings with Amtrak to resolve these issues. We understand there have been some very informal discussions within Amtrak that if conditions don't improve at SPUD, Amtrak may move their operations back to their former station at Midway. We will keep you posted but if you experience any issues at SPUD please report these to us.

Late this summer, AAMN received information from Amtrak that the 2nd Twin Cities to Chicago train might begin service as early as Sept. or Nov 2023! But we recently learned that the operating agreements between Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Amtrak, and Canadian Pacific Railway have not yet been signed. Also impacting operations are the issues with St. Paul Union Depot as outlined above. We have been told that service could begin in the fall of 2024, or maybe even in the spring of 2024. Greg Mathis from MnDOT will give an update at our 10th Anniversary event (more details below). All Aboard Minnesota will stay on top of this developing situation and once we know when service begins we will publicize the start up with multi-channel communications. Stay tuned! ​


2. Midwest Interstate Rail Passenger Commission Annual Meeting

The Interstate Rail Passenger Commission (MIPRC) held its annual meeting last month in Normal, Ill. This eight-state commission is responsible for helping states build out their state rail plans and building out a broader mid-west passenger rail plan. Most states are waiting for the Federal Railroad Administration to select corridors state DOT's have applied for (the FRA will help with study money and planning resources for corridors selected), which will be announced in November or December. Some of the highlights included Michigan, which seeks to expand service frequencies on all three of their state corridor routes, and increase speeds to 110 mph; Wisconsin, which wants to extend service from Milwaukee to Green Bay, and Madison, along with a third Twin Cities to Chicago train routed through Eau Claire, WI; Oklahoma which seeks to connect the Heartland Flyer with the Southwest Chief in either Kansas City or Newton, and Indiana which wants to increase speed between Indianapolis and Chicago along with making the Cardinal long distance train daily.

The MIPRC itself applied for a $5M federal grant to build out the mid-west passenger rail plan which was not granted. Minnesota gains new representation on the Council with Senator Rob Kupec from Moorhead replacing Rep. Alice Hausman who retired. Senator Kupec is a strong proponent of adding daytime passenger service from St. Paul to Fargo/Moorhead, which AAMN has worked on for years. We look forward to a strong partnership with Senator Kupec.

3. Northern Lights Express - Twin Cities to Duluth - likely many years in the future:

Sources close to this project have informed AAMN that the Northern Lights Express is nowhere near "shovel ready" as is often citied. The final design and construction study, along with the environmental impact study - both necessary to secure federal grants, are at the end of their "shelf lives" and need to be updated. That updating will take approximately two years and then negotiations with BNSF Railway will need to be restarted. After that, federal matching grants will need to be obtained before construction could begin to upgrade the existing freight railway for passenger train speeds. This entire process could take anywhere from seven to ten years we have been told. Greg Mathis will update us on this project also at our 10th Anniversary event. ​​

4. Let's Celebrate!
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2023 officially marks 10 years for All Aboard Minnesota as a 501 (C) (3) organization! ​​​​​​​​​ A celebration event is planned for Saturday November 18 at 1:00pm at the Edina Public Library (corner of Hwy 100 and 50th street) We will provide a light lunch and an exciting program! It will be free for all of our members and friends. Invites, both email and mail, have been sent to you and the event with all of the details are posted here: All Aboard Minnesota is 10 Years Old! Let's Celebrate! • Please register and attend. We look forward to seeing you!

We could not have achieved this milestone without your generosity, activism and support. We are very grateful to all of our members, friends, colleagues, and partner organizations.