Wishing for a Train in Winter

By Andrew Slade, Hindsight Community Fellow, December 6, 2011 at 10:30 am

As I write this blog, it's snowing. In December, the nights come early, and snow falls through a dimming sky. What looks lovely out the window in the late afternoon, will be a threat to my safety when I hit the road.

Tomorrow, I have to be in the Twin Cities for meetings, two in St. Paul and one in Minneapolis. I’ll be driving. Through fresh and falling snow. If it gets much worse, I might cancel. It sure would be nice to have the Northern Lights Express  ready to roll.

Interstate 35 has been a lifeline for Duluth, connecting our little city on the lake with the people and the resources of the 16th largest metropolitan area in the country. The interstate was a massive public investment from the 1950s and 1960s that is still paying off today. We citizens of the North can get to important meetings, great shopping, and professional sporting events, then get back home all in the same day.

The lifeline goes both ways. The poor folks stuck in the Twin Cities for work and family have an easy escape to the cool inland sea of Lake Superior, funky Duluth and rugged wilderness trails.

I sure wish I could take a train tomorrow. Instead of three hours of white-knuckled driving, I could be reviewing a grant proposal or writing a blog entry. After my St. Paul meetings, I could hop on the Central Corridor light rail and zip to my meeting in Minneapolis. On the ride back up at the end of the day, I’d plan on working some more but would probably just sleep. A train is a great place to fall asleep after a busy day; behind the wheel of a car is not.

Preliminary engineering for the Northern Lights Express gets underway next year. The easier that connection between the Twin Cities and Duluth becomes, the more each metropolitan area benefits. Ironically, our U.S. Representative Chip Cravaack opposes funding for this project.

Thanks, people of the 1950s and 1960s, for your investment in the interstates connecting us. Now the people of the 2010s get to invest in the next fifty years of connection and growth through high speed rail. Whether you’re a Twin Cities resident hungry for some quality time with Lake Superior or a Duluthian like me headed for some meetings, the Northern Lights Express will make your life and your state safer and more prosperous.

Andrew Slade is Northeast Programs Coordinator for the Minnesota Environmental Partnership.

Posted in Transportation | Related Topics: Passenger Rail  Transportation Funding  Road Safety