ST. PAUL, Minn. – Today the Minnesota Department of Transportation released a report on the Northstar Commuter rail line 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 details another stark example of Minnesota tax dollars being wasted on an expensive, bureaucratic boondoggle,” Senator Mark Koran said. “As our state is facing a $5 billion budget deficit, we should be prioritizing the allocation of our resources to balance the budget, not throw more money at a failing project that is inflexible and heavily subsidized by taxpayers.” 

 

The report documents the trend in 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. 

 

The report also 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 full report can be found here.