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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Catching a train
The Minnesota Department of Transportation is studying the feasibility of developing passenger rail service between Duluth and Minneapolis by upgrading existing tracks to allow for trains that could travel at 175 km/h.
It's a fascinating idea, but it would be truly exciting if the service linked the Twin Cities with Winnipeg and re-established the rail link abandoned in the 1960s. As Peter Lacey and Jeff Lowe explain in View from the West (Page J6), the only way to travel between the two cities is by road or air, but a third option might dramatically bolster the historic north-south connection, enriching both Winnipeg and Minneapolis-St. Paul in the process.
At this point, Minnesota is merely exploring the Duluth-Minneapolis option, which could cost $1 billion. It may, in the end, turn out to be economically unrealistic, but it's worth considering whether it would be more viable if the route extended to Winnipeg using existing rail links.
The towns and cities along the U.S. line believe it would stimulate economic activity and boost local tourism. There's no reason that towns on the Canadian side wouldn't enjoy the same experience.
The U.S. federal government has given the state $5 million for an engineering and environmental review under a program that promotes inter-city passenger rail links. For Americans, then, the idea is not idle fancy, at least not yet.
Manitoba and Minnesota are not exactly rolling in the dough right now, but the Americans are interested in determining the economic potential of the idea. Manitoba should show the same venturesome attitude by collaborating with the Americans.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 18, 2012 A16
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