Today the Minnesota Department of Transportation released a report showing the “analysis and evaluation of options for development of transit and rail service improvements in the corridor between the Minnesota Cities of St. Paul, Minneapolis, Coon Rapids, St. Cloud and Moorhead, and Fargo, North Dakota.”  

“This report confirms what we already knew and what we have been talking about for years: Northstar is a financial black hole for Minnesota taxpayers,” Sen. Rich Draheim (R-Madison Lake) said. “Less than 3% of its costs are covered by fares, meaning Minnesota families are footing nearly the entire bill for a train that hardly anyone rides. And why aren’t they riding? Because it’s not just expensive, it’s also not safe. There is a stunning lack of public safety and security. Instead of wasting billions more, we should be looking at affordable, practical options that people will actually use.” 

The report showed that infrastructure costs for a full rail line extension to Fargo could reach almost $3 billion, while using buses would cost less than $200 million. The cost to subsidize rail tickets could be as high as $187 million per year, compared to $72 million for bus service.  

The report also documents a clear trend of declining ridership since the COVID-19 pandemic. In its first year, 2017, Northstar recorded approximately 790,000 rides, but by 2020, ridership had plummeted to around 150,000, and by 2024, it had declined further to fewer than 100,000.  

NOTE 

If the above link to the report is not working, it can be found on this page titled “Twin Cities-St. Cloud-Fargo/Moorhead Corridor Study (PDF)”