KWCH – 3/24/19
Amtrak has requested funding from the federal government to extend the Heartland Flyer north to the city of Newton.
"There's opportunity now to grow improvements to our downtown, to grow food service to passengers who maybe making connections, parking changes that we can make to improve passenger experience," says Barth Haughes, Newton City Commissioner.
Red Wing Republican Eagle - March 8, 2019
The Great River Rail Commission has a simple goal: install a second train to run between Chicago and the Twin Cities. However, a lot more goes into adding another passenger train than simply putting it on the tracks. The Commission, which began as the "Minnesota High-Speed Rail Commission," has been working to improve train transportation between the two Midwest metro areas for a decade. After numerous stalls, the second train is slowly getting closer to becoming a reality. Goodhue County Board voted on Tuesday, March 5, to inform Gov. Tim Walz that it supports starting the next step in making the second train a reality.
Rail Passengers Association - February 28, 2019
A second Amtrak train between Chicago and Minneapolis/ St. Paul could bring $25 million annually for the state of Minnesota, according to the Rail Passengers Association. This represents an economic return of eight- to ten- times Minnesota's annual net spending to support the potential new service, which is an estimated $2 to $3 million annually. In a review of an Amtrak feasibility study, Rail Passengers also found that the overall economic benefit for three states of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois would be $47 million annually -- a return on investment of better than seven-to-one.
