Friends and neighbors,
The numbers are in, and they confirm what many of us already knew: Northstar commuter rail is a financial disaster. The latest report from the Minnesota Department of Transportation spells it out in black and white — this train is running almost exclusively on subsidies, not ticket sales, and it’s costing all of us a fortune.
Less than 3% of Northstar’s costs are covered by ticket sales. That means hardworking Minnesotans are on the hook for the $10-$15 million it takes to run each year, whether they ride it or not. And ridership? Cratered. Northstar had nearly 800,000 riders in 2017, but by 2024, that number has fallen below 100,000. The demand for commuter rail simply is not there, and no amount of government subsidy is going to change that.
Despite these facts, there’s still talk about expanding commuter rail — possibly all the way to Fargo. The price tag for that is nearly $3 billion in infrastructure costs and up to $187 million per year in operating expenses.
Expanding bus service along the same route would cost a fraction of that — under $200 million to build and as little as $10 million per year to run. The math isn’t complicated.
I have been fighting against this boondoggle since 2017. Ever since I came into the legislature and was added to the transportation committee, I – and my Republican colleagues like former Sen. Scott Newman – have been outspoken against putting even a dime more toward commuter rail. Why it has taken MnDOT so long to catch on, we will never know, but I am glad they have finally acknowledged what a waste it is.
This report should be the final nail in the coffin for Northstar. It’s time to move on. Let’s invest in practical, cost-effective solutions like buses that actually work for the people who need them. Northstar is a failed experiment, and the numbers prove it.
Senator John Jasinski