pf_02993A - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Commuter rail study urges phased construction Page 2 of3 at $21.9 million a year and fare collections are expected to bring in $6.1 million a year, leaving a gap of $16 million a year to be funded by public sources. Routes serving Bethel, Norwood Young America and Forest Lake should continue to be studied to confinn their place in the lineup, the report recommends. Northstar numbers Happy that its route received top billing ITom the state study, the Northstar Corridor Development Authority said its own eight-month investment study, finished last week, shows that the route1s cost and ridership estimates compare favorably to other commuterrail services operating elsewhere in the country. That study, which focused in more detail on the Northstar Corridor all the way to St. Cloud~ shows the corridor in a more positive light than the study done by consultants for the state. It found that initiating service along 66 miles of rails between Minneapolis and St. Cloud would cost $146 to $175 million in capital costs (1999 dollars) and would carry 7,350 people a day in 2005. Annual operating costs were estimated at $9.5 million. "We find that the daily ridership and the capital costs, the operating cost and the capacity all seem -- in comparison to other commuterrail programs across the country -- at least better than the average of those that are operating right now,n said Tim Yantos, the Anoka County deputy administrator who directs the Northstar study. Joint authority The Northstar Corridor study has been done with federal and state funding for a development authority made up of Anoka, Sherburne, Hennepin, Benton and Stearns county representatives joined by officials from 19 cities and counties. . 1tartribunt..am . Hems These local governments share a concern for growing traffic congestion on Hwys. 10 and 169 and see commuterrail as the best way to improve transportation to and from their part of the state. They oppose the state's recommendation to stop the line at Ramsey. Their early organization and support from U.S. Rep. James Oberstar have helped them positi9n the Northstar route for a quick start if funding is approved. Sherburne County Commissioner Betsy Wergin, chairwoman of the Northstar Corridor development authority, said her county initially decided to pursue the idea of commuterrail because it "would offer http://www2.startribune.comlcgi-bin/stOnLine/article?thisSlug=RAIL 15&date= 15-Dec-98&wor~~ord=c