Will light-rail trains ever run through the southwest suburbs to and from Minneapolis?

Cost and ridership estimates expected today may hold the answer.

At an 8 a.m. meeting of Minneapolis, Hennepin County and suburban officials at St. Louis Park City Hall, HDR consulting engineers will give estimates on what it would cost to build and operate a light-rail line between Minneapolis and Eden Prairie, how many people would ride it and how many minutes the trip would take.

"The No. 1 thing that those numbers are going to tell you is: Do we have a viable project?" said Katie Walker, manager of the rail study for Hennepin County.

The information will indicate whether the proposed southwest line could qualify for a federal subsidy as measured by its cost versus benefits in travel-time savings, Walker said. The Federal Transit Administration will review the cost-benefit score for the project before clearing it for preliminary engineering, she said.

"You need to minimize costs and maximize ridership and speed," Walker said. "You get as many people on the train as possible and get them moving as fast as possible."

With that in mind, the Southwest Policy Advisory Committee, chaired by Hennepin County Commissioner Gail Dorfman and comprising representatives from cities along the line, will recommend a route from among the options already identified.

To view the ridership and cost estimates for the route options, residents are invited to open houses in the cities that would be served by the rail line.

The open houses will be from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Hopkins City Hall, Thursday at Minnetonka Marriott Hotel, Aug. 18 at St. Louis Park City Hall and Aug. 19 at Eden Prairie City Hall. A midday session, from 11 a.m to 1 p.m., will be held Thursday at the Central Library in downtown Minneapolis.

Route selection will begin Aug. 26 with a recommendation from technical advisers on a preferred route. A public hearing on that recommendation will be held at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 17 at Eisenhower Community Center in Hopkins.

On Sept. 30, the policy committee will consider public comment and recommend a preferred route to the Hennepin County Board, which in turn will select a route for approval before the end of the year by the Metropolitan Council.

Laurie Blake • 612-673-1711