Opinion | Don’t kill the Northstar Line — reconfigure it

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A little bit of creativity, and some strategic thinking, could give the Northstar Line — the 16-year-old commuter rail service run by Metro Transit but set to end in January — a whole new lease on life. The solution would involve assigning the service to a contracted operator — of which there are many in the country besides Amtrak.

It has become apparent that Northstar’s initial implementation decisions were too limited. Service into Minneapolis in the morning, outbound service to Big Lake in the afternoon. Nothing during the day. No extension to St. Paul or the University of Minnesota. A terminal in an empty field at Big Lake, rather than the bustling city of St. Cloud.

The pandemic, of course, was a game-changer. And lack of any fare compliance basically gives the service away for free. Small wonder the service loses money.

But rather than let that modern, expensive equipment languish all day underneath Target Center in Minneapolis, why not keep it moving, shuttling people along the busy corridor between the Twin Cities and St. Cloud multiple times per day?

A major reason that Northstar was never extended past Big Lake was that, at the time, host BNSF Railway had only a single main line track between there and Becker, making freight-traffic congestion a big problem. There was no way BNSF was going to allow commuter trains to interfere with its freight trains.

Second, BNSF freight traffic has declined substantially. During years past, numerous coal trains came in daily to supply Twin Cities-area power plants with Wyoming coal. Those plants have now converted to natural gas, thus the loss of coal trains. The transport of oil from the Bakken region of North Dakota also has diminished. Whereas during the oil boom upward of a dozen solid oil unit trains came into the cities daily from St. Cloud (with a like amount of empty traffic returning), the diversion of oil to pipelines — along with other economic factors — has slowed that traffic dramatically.

The truth, then, is that BNSF now has a lot of extra capacity that did not exist when Northstar was implemented. Therefore, there is no reason why multiple round trips to St. Cloud couldn’t be renegotiated with the railroad at this time.

I’m of the belief that a well-designed service could include all current stops during the a.m./p.m. commuter hours; beyond that, it’s open to debate. I could envision a handful of limited-stop “express” runs, plus others that could make some alternating/intermediate stops.

If folks are concerned about traffic congestion along Interstate Hwy. 94/Hwy. 10 between St. Cloud and the Twin Cities, here is a real way to ameliorate that congestion — a desirable, convenient, comfortable alternative to highway travel.

But — and this is key — who could make it happen? Metro Transit can’t — it has no authority beyond the metro area. BNSF certainly won’t — despite its “common carrier” status, it is only interested in freight. Will the St. Cloud Metropolitan Planning Organization step up? Crickets so far. What about all the communities that have built new transit-oriented development and civic infrastructure around their Northstar station areas (an economic benefit seldom recognized)? The Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority? No peep so far. The Minneapolis Downtown Council? Greater MSP? The Legislature?

Who is going to take the lead?

It would be a shame to see all of our Northstar equipment leave the state. Before it’s gone for good, do yourself a favor and take a ride. See for yourself what our society is missing by not having a modern rail system working in our favor.

And above all, send a letter to your representatives. Good transportation is (or should be) a nonpartisan issue.