On March 27, we posted about the numbers surrounding the proposed $600 million investment to bring Amtrak rail service along a corridor between Minneapolis and Duluth. Many of you shared your stories of rail and bus travel, and many expressed a deep appreciation for the comfort and conveniences of travel by rail. In an effort […]
The demand for “light service” between the Twin Cities and Duluth is clearly there. But will a three-hour, $30 train ride draw enough riders?
Featured image credit: Laura Bliss, CityLab As a transit-oriented blog reader, you may have heard back in 2015 that Houston’s Metro system changed the route map of its buses overnight after years of careful planning and community feedback. Now going on four years later, what has been the impact on riders and the communities they live in? […]
Direct transit links are not only good for urban quality of life but improve regional competitiveness. They should be a no-brainer. Being able to land in a city and board a train with assurance you’ll be downtown in a fixed amount of time provides peace of mind for residents, tourists and businesspeople alike. A pleasant […]
Here’s a map from erstwhile rail and transit blogger, Alon Levy, with a proposed “high-speed” / low-speed rail network that would connect to Minnesota. First, the map itself: For Levy’s proposal, the Chicago-to-Minneapolis travel time would be 2 hours and 30 minutes. There would also be connection north to Duluth. Here’s what Levy writes about […]
Metro Transit and BNSF are offering a holiday train to St. Paul Union Depot again! As last year, streets.mn is doing a small event for those that wish to ride it. It was quite an enjoyable ride, with some trackage normally not used for current commuter service (though we can always discuss how it should […]
Dealing with a driver shortage, and a budget deficit Few people set out to be bus drivers. They select the job because the pay and benefits are good, even though the working hours tend to be inconvenient. So when unemployment is low, Metro Transit has difficulty recruiting enough drivers to offset retirements, let alone grow […]
July 10, 2016 Downtown, West Side 18.3 Miles I frequently look at maps of Saint Paul. Call it a “blogupational” hazard. Sometimes I’ll plan a ride with the help of Google maps. Occasionally I’ll use an official City of Saint Paul paper map. Street maps from the mid and late- 1800s to the 2010s are […]
After posting about potential rapid transit routes in the Twin Cities here and potential regional rail routes in the Twin Cities here, now is the potential for intercity rail in Minnesota. History of Intercity Rail in Minnesota Post-Amtrak Like most states, Minnesota had a large intercity rail network operated by private freight railroads. With the […]
A lengthy and uneventful trip on Amtrak shows that train travel can be a more pleasant, relaxing experience than flying, driving or taking the bus.