Minnesota High-Speed Rail Passes Preliminary Test

The private Bloomington-based company, the North American High Speed Rail Group (NAHSR) has completed a preliminary study of a line between Rochester, the state's third largest city (pop. 112,225) and the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, a distance of about 80 miles.

The rail group's study did not reveal any significant problems, reports Heather J. Carlson, Post-Bulletin political reporter.

"Right now, I don't see any final barriers that would stop the project from going forward," Chief Manager Wendy Meadley said.

That's significant because opposition has arisen in Goodhue County. "[T]he county has made their stance very clear with numerous oppositions to the proposed rail line," wrote Gunnar Olson, editor and publisher of the Kenyon Leader on June 27. As is common to these types of large infrastructure projects, a central issue is eminent domain.

In addition, Carlson writes that the "project has faced fierce criticism from some landowners who live along the proposed corridor."

Mazeppa Republican Rep. Steve Drazkowski said he's seen no indication that opposition is dying down.

Zip Rail project

The high-speed rail proposal appears to continue what began with Zip Rail, a proposal by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) that would have run in the same 100-mile corridor, left off after MnDOT suspended the project on Jan. 16, although the agency adds that the "NAHSR project is initially much different than the proposed Zip Rail plan."

Private funding a model for U.S. high-speed rail?

The model for the estimated $4.4 billion line that would run from is similar to the privately funded Texas Central high-speed railway linking the 230 miles between the two most populous cities in the Lone State State, Dallas and Houston, in only 90 minutes. That project is estimated to cost $10 billion according to the Texas Department of Transportation. The completion date is projected to be 2021.

NAHSR's Meadley told Reuter's in May, "All the rules relating to public engagement start the day you take public funding."

With private financing, she said, opponents "can't make thousands of public records requests and run the project over."

That comment caught the attention of Bluestem Prairie. "Meadley's hostility to transparency is breathtaking," notes the rural Minnesota blog.

Funds needed

NAHSR "is looking to move to phase two — raising up to $50 million from U.S. investors to fund a detailed feasibility study," adds Carlson for the Post-Bulletin. "The company has recently broadened its money raising efforts, reaching out to investors across the country."

Plus, they are looking abroad.

The company is in negotiations with two countries — China and Japan — over the potential of importing their high-speed rail technology for the project. Representatives from two other countries are flying in to meet with Meadley about the proposal.

Hat tip to National Association of Railroad Passengers Hotline.